Sky shares leaped to an 18-year high yesterday as investors bet that a transatlantic battle for the TV group had further to run after Comcast’s $34bn (€29bn) bid trumped an offer from Rupert Murdoch made just hours earlier.

Walt Disney said it was taking a stake in a streaming video technology company to sell more content directly to consumers, as it reported quarterly profit and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates fuelled by movie studio hits.

The owner of UPC in Ireland, Liberty Global, has reported a decline in second-quarter revenue as its Dutch unit Ziggo lost customers, highlighting the difficulties for billionaire John Malone’s European cable company in its hunt for growth.

Yahoo said it is acquiring blogging service Tumblr for $1.1bn (€850m) cash, a bold bet by chief executive Marissa Mayer to revitalise the struggling internet pioneer by co-opting a web property with strong visitor traffic but little revenue.