Sky sale to be decided by auction between Comcast and Rupert Murdoch's Fox

Protracted takeover battle for UK broadcaster to come to an end within days

Whoever emerges as the victor will have paid significantly more than the £18bn Mr Murdoch’s company valued the broadcaster back in 2016 (Reuters)

The sale of broadcaster Sky to either 21st Century Fox or Comcast will be settled by an auction, the Takeover Panel has announced.

The auction is set to start on Friday at 5pm and end on Saturday evening with the winner to be announced “as soon as possible” after the bidding is complete.

It will finally decide whether Rupert Murdoch and his sons can take full control of the British broadcaster after years of advances. They currently own 39 per cent of Sky.

Under Takeover Panel rules, the auction will consist of a maximum of three rounds which will all take place on Saturday 22 September 2018.

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

Then Comcast will have the opportunity to raise its bid, followed by a third and final round if necessary.

Auctions are rare in the British corporate world – this will be the third since 2007, according to Reuters.

Whoever emerges as the victor will have paid significantly more than the £18bn Mr Murdoch’s company valued Sky back in 2016.

The media tycoon made an £8bn swoop for Sky in 2011 but his plans were derailed by the phone hacking scandal that engulfed his empire, revealing that reporters routinely intercepted private communications to find stories.

Former culture secretary Matt Hancock said in May this year that he would only allow Fox to take full control of Sky if Sky News was sold off to ensure adequate media plurality.

Mr Murdoch’s companies also own The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, and The Sun on Sunday as well as many other newspaper titles around the world.