Sky shares climbed almost 4pc today after reports Comcast, Verizon and Sony had made separate approaches to acquire assets belonging to its part-owner 21st Century Fox.

The news follows reports earlier this month that Disney had been in talks to buy 21st Century Fox’s 39pc stake in the British broadcaster, along with its film studio and a significant proportion of its television business.

Comcast is reportedly bidding for the same assets, while Verizon and Sony are also interested in acquiring portions of the company, raising the prospect of a potential bidding war.  

While it is thought talks with Disney have ended, news of fresh discussions suggests Rupert Murdoch, 21st Century Fox’s owner, could be seriously considering a deal that would break up the media conglomerate he has spent 50 years building.

If the proposed Comcast deal went ahead, 21st Century Fox would be left with its cable network, the Fox News channel and Fox Sports. 

Sky would be a prize asset for Comcast, acting as a bridgehead into Europe. Prior to the Fox bid for the rest of the company, Comcast explored a takeover, according to sources.

Sky shares

Mr Murdoch's company agreed a deal to buy the 61pc of Sky it doesn’t currently own for £11.2bn last December, but the takeover is still awaiting regulatory approval.

Media watchdog Ofcom waved through the deal in June but it was later referred to the Competition and Markets Authority for an inquiry that could last until March.

News of Fox's talks with Disney last week knocked Sky shares, as investors took it as a sign the Murdochs feared their bid for full control will fail a second time. Today the shares spiked as it was revealed multiple parties could be interested, raising hopes of a bidding war.

Comcast operates a telecoms network under its Xfinity brand and also owns media conglomerate NBCUniversal, parent of brands including MSNBC, Universal Pictures and Dreamworks.

Timeline Rupert Murdoch's major acquisitions

Telecoms giant Verizon acquired Huffington Post owner AOL in 2015 and Yahoo! the following year, before combining their assets into a new company, Oath.

All face fierce competition from technology giants including Netflix, Amazon and Google, which have spent billions investing in media production and distribution.  

Sky’s shares were up 3.9pc to £9.38 in afternoon trading.