Comcast, Fox to Settle $35 Billion Takeover Battle for Sky in Weekend Auction

The regulator hasn’t run such a process many times before—and never with such a large company as the prize

From AT&T and Time Warner to the hot pursuit of 21st Century Fox and Sky, media mergers are in full swing. Why now? WSJ's Amol Sharma answers all your questions about the forces driving media deals.

Stu Woo and

Ben Dummett

Updated Sept. 20, 2018 7:27 p.m. ET

LONDON—Comcast Corp. and 21st Century Fox Inc. will settle their takeover battle for Sky PLC in a weekend auction run by British regulators, setting up a dramatic climax to a 21-month sale process that has pitted some of the world’s biggest media giants against each other.

The U.K. Takeover Panel, which polices deal making in the country, laid out rules for the auction on Thursday. It is a process the regulator hasn’t run many times previously—and never before with such a large company as the prize. London-listed Sky has a...