LONDON (Reuters) - Comcast (CMCSA.O) beat Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA.O) in the battle for Sky (SKYB.L) after offering more than 30 billion pounds ($39 billion) for the British broadcaster, in a dramatic auction to decide the fate of the pay-television group.
U.S. cable giant Comcast bid 17.28 pounds a share for control of London-listed Sky, bettering a 15.67 pounds a share offer by Fox, the Takeover Panel said in a statement shortly after final bids were made on Saturday.
Comcast’s final offer was significantly higher than its bid going into the auction of 14.75 pounds, and compares with Sky’s closing share price of 15.85 pounds on Friday.
Brian Roberts, chairman and chief executive of Comcast, coveted Sky to expand its international presence as growth slows in its core U.S. market.
Owning Sky will make Comcast the world’s largest pay-TV operator with around 52 million customers.
“This is a great day for Comcast,” Roberts said on Saturday.
“This acquisition will allow us to quickly, efficiently and meaningfully increase our customer base and expand internationally.”
Comcast, which also owns the NBC network and movie studio Universal Pictures, encouraged Sky shareholders to accept its offer. It said it wanted to complete the deal by the end of October.
Comcast, which require 50 percent plus one share of Sky’s equity to win control, said it was also seeking to buy Sky shares in the market.
A spokesman for Fox, which has a 39 percent holding in Sky, declined to comment.
The quick-fire auction marked a dramatic
