SCi Entertainment, the British computer games publisher behind Lara Croft, has received a takeover approach.

Speculation on the suitor's identity centred on Time Warner, the media giant that already has a 10 per cent stake in SCi, and on Ubisoft Entertainment, the French rival games company that has been linked to a possible bid in the past.

Shares in Britain's largest games developer gained 8 per cent, or 27p, in midday trade in London today, at 366.5p, valuing the company at about £316 million.

The stock had surged 15 per cent yesterday on talk that a bidder was circling the company.

Analysts noted that big media groups including Time Warner and Vivendi are looking to expose their exposure to the gaming market. They added that EA Games, the largest computer games publisher, could run a rule over SCi should it come into play.

Time Warner, in particular, is expanding its footprint in the UK, and is looking for a new head to run its Warner Brothers Interactive business in Europe from a new office in London.

SCi has flirted with several suitors over the past two years. In October 2005, it said it had received an approach and in the following January confirmed that several companies had expressed interest.

Rivals Midway and Vivendi Games, which specialises in online titles such as the hugely popular World of Warcraft series, were thought to be among the interested parties at that time but by February 2006 all talks had broken down.

In October last year rumours once again surfaced that Time Warner was interested in the company. The two groups later unveiled a tie-up in which the US giant took a minority stake in SCi and a licensing agreement that allows the UK group to develop games based on Warner brands such as Batman and Looney Tunes.

There has since been talk that Warner is seeking to take its brands in house for games development - a move that could be accomplished by an SCi takeover.

The group’s largest shareholder is entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz, who had a holding of 15.5 per cent as of August 1.

"Following the recent speculation … SCi Entertainment Group plc confirms that it has received an approach and as a result has entered into extremely preliminary discussions regarding a possible offer for the Company," SCi said in a statement.

Ubisoft, whose titles include Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and CSI: Hard Evidence, declined to comment. Time Warner would not give a comment.

SCi swung into the black last year, when it reported a £7.8 million full-year operating profit, only for the shares to take a major hit in July on a shock profits warning.

The company cautioned that the launch of Sony's new PlayStation 3 console had sent the price of games for its predecessor, the PS2, forcing the firm into a £14 million provision.

SCi bought Eidos, the Tomb Raider publisher, in 2005, an acquisition that has helped to boost SCi's revenues sevenfold over the past two years.

The Tomb Raider series is still one of the best selling videogame franchises of all time with over 32 million copies sold and two feature films released, starring Angelina Jolie. Conventional versions of Tomb Raider Anniversary released on disc for Sony’s PlayStation 2 and the PC have led the UK charts this year.

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