MUMBAI, INDIA: Reliance MediaWorks said on Friday it was not in talks to buy a controlling stake in cinema chain operator Inox Leisure, responding to a media report that it had made on offer for the rival firm.

Shares in Inox jumped nearly 20 percent on Friday to 86.3 rupees after the Economic Times reported that Reliance MediaWorks offered 120 rupees per share to the owners of Inox Leisure, valuing the company at 7.4 billion rupees ($159 million).

"We categorically deny any discussions by Reliance MediaWorks and/or any offer by us to acquire any controlling stake in Inox Leisure," the company said in a statement.

Inox director Deepak Asher said the firm was not for sale.

"There is no communication, no conversation on this. We are not talking to anybody. We have not appointed any banker for the same," he told Reuters by telephone.

Reliance MediaWorks and Inox have been slugging it out to buy another multiplex operator, Fame India.

Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd owns roughly 66 percent of Inox Leisure, according to Thomson Reuters data.

At 11.50 a.m., Inox shares were up 14.3 percent at 82.2 rupees. Shares in Reliance MediaWorks, which operates the rival Big Cinema chain in India, were up 3.5 percent at 213.65 rupees each.