From Bloomberg:
21st Century Fox Inc. and
Comcast Corp., locked for months in a takeover battle for British broadcaster Sky Plc,
are now in discussions to settle the rules of engagement for the final standoff.
The contest between the U.S. media giants for the London-based pay-TV company is drawing to a close. If neither drops out by Sept. 22, the companies head to an auction overseen by regulators, according to U.K. takeover rules.
It’s a rarely used tool to help settle corporate sales in the U.K. that comes with a standard set of procedures set out by the nation’s Takeover Panel, which can be refined as requested by bidders. The auction is slated to last five days, unless the parties agree otherwise.
As a likely auction approaches, Fox, Comcast and Sky are negotiating how the process should play out, according to people familiar with the matter. The terms could include things like how long the auction will be and how many bids a party can make, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Regulators are expected to lay out the rules in the coming week, they said.