Fox-Comcast battle to buy Sky to be settled by auction in UK
LONDON — Comcast and 21st Century Fox will settle their battle for control of broadcaster Sky through a rare auction designed to put an end to months of offers and counteroffers from the American media empires seeking a foothold in the European pay TV market.
The auction will begin after the London stock market’s close on Friday and end sometime Saturday evening following a maximum of three rounds of bidding, said Britain’s regulator, the Takeover Panel.
Fox started the bidding war last December, when it sought to acquire the 61 per cent of Sky it doesn’t already own. Comcast has since offered 26 billion pounds ($34.3 billion) for Sky, topping Fox’s latest bid of $24.5 billion.
The regulator said it called the auction “to provide an orderly framework for the resolution of this competitive situation.”