Comcast and Fox take $34 billion battle for Britain's Sky to the wire

Saturday's auction of pay-TV group Sky will last a maximum of three rounds and any bids will be made in private by either telephone or email, a source with knowledge of the process said

Comcast (CMCSA.O) and Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA.O) face a quick-fire auction for British broadcaster Sky (SKYB.L) on Saturday after neither side backed down in a drawn-out $34 billion battle.

A deadline for U.S. cable giant Comcast and Rupert Murdoch’s Fox to declare that their all-cash offers for Sky would not be increased passed on Friday without a move by either side, triggering a rare auction run by Britain’s Takeover Panel.

Fox, which has the backing of partner Walt Disney (DIS.N), and Comcast are vying for control of Sky to bolster their businesses in the face of rapid growth of streaming services such