SCi Entertainment Group plc, the video game publisher best known for the Lara Croft Tomb Raider series, reports Tuesday that it has received an approach concerning a potential offer for the company. SCi said the discussions were “extremely preliminary” and no proposal has been received nor is there any certainty of an offer.

The Times of London suggests bidders could include media giants Time Warner Inc., which owns a minority stake in the company, and Viacom Inc. It also lists industry titan Electronic Arts, which owns a large stake in French game publisher Ubisoft.

SCi is a perennial takeover target. Over the last two years, it has reported talks with several suitors, but only closed one deal, a stake sale to Time Warner.

Following the announcement, shares in SCi surged 14.6%, or 49.5 pence, to 389 pence, giving the company a market value around £336 million ($676 million). —Phineas Lambert and Matthew Wurtzel

See story from The Times of London
See related story about SCi purchase of Eidos from TheDeal.com

Tags: media, acquisition, deals, m&a, mergers, video games