Shares in entertainment giant, Disney, have been buoyant since the board of directors turned down a hostile takeover bid from US cable group, Comcast.

The battle for ownership now looks to head into a drawn out battle, as the board decided unanimously to back chief executive, Michael Eisner, despite calls for his head from influential former vice-chairman, Roy Disney.

As news of the turndown came through, Comcast played down the prospects of a higher bid, saying it is ‘uninterested in acquiring Disney at current market values’.

Comcast offered 0.78 of a Comcast share for each Disney share and the deal was initially worth $54bn (£28bn) – but has since reduced to $48bn (£25.1bn) due to the slide in Comcast shares and the rise in Disney’s value.

Disney claimed earlier this week that the offer is now $3.60 per share less than the current value of its stock.

As the markets closed in New York yesterday, Comcast’s shares were worth $30.79 – up 89 cents – while Disney closed marginally down at $26.88.

Disney also announced that it had finalised a deal to acquire the popular Muppets characters yesterday, after having been interested in buying them since 1990.

Disney obtained the TV and film rights of the puppets after the children of their creator, the late Jim Henson, agreed to sell the rights for an undisclosed sum. Details: www.disney.com or www.muppets.com