Auction for Sky kicks off as Comcast and Fox battle it out to take over broadcaster

The auction will be completed by 5pm on Saturday evening, after up to three rounds of bidding

An auction for the sale of Sky has begun, with US group Comcast and Rupert Murdoch’s Fox battling it out to buy the broadcaster.

The Takeover Panel announced on Thursday that the deal would be settled by auction, after years of attempts at an acquisition - Fox first made a move for Sky in 2016, but the company faced intense scrutiny from the competition watchdog.

The auction, which started at 5pm on Friday, will consist of a maximum of three rounds of bidding. In the first round, Fox can decide whether or not to increase its £24.5bn bid to match or better Comcast’s £26bn offer.

In the second, Comcast will have the chance to raise its bid, and a third round will follow if necessary. All three rounds will take place over a 24 hour period, with the winner to be revealed on Saturday evening.

Auctions are rarely used to decide a takeover battle, and this is only the third to take place in the last 11 years.

In the first round, Fox can decide whether or not to increase its £24.5bn bid to match or better Comcast’s £26bn offer.

Sky shares closed at 1,585p on Friday, valuing the group at more than £27m, which is significantly higher than Comcast’s most recent bid.

Meanwhile, analysts have warned that the long-awaited takeover of Sky is likely to mean higher prices for customers.

“"This is a smart move to get some certainty," James Bevan, chief investment officer at CCLA Investment Management,told the BBC.

"The only real losers in this process, I'm afraid are going to be the people who watch Sky, who are going to have to pay more, because the more that is paid for the bid, the more that the viewer is eventually going to have to make this profitable.”