South African-owned Conforama and French retail giant Fnac on Thursday filed rapid-fire rival bids in their takeover battle for electronics and white goods company Darty.

Fnac opened a new round in the bidding war early Thursday with an offer valuing Darty at £779 million ($1.1 billion, 990 million euros).

Only hours later, Conforama lifted its own earlier bid to £806 million.

Minutes later, Fnac raised its bid again, to around £820 million.

The share price of Darty, which is listed in London, jumped 19.4 percent to £157.00 as the takeover battle unfolded.