21st Century Fox ups Sky bid to beat Comcast

LONDON — Media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox increased Wednesday its bid to take full control of lucrative European pay TV service Sky in a prolonged battle with U.S. rival Comcast.

Fox raised its bid to $18.58 a share as it seeks the 61 percent of Sky not already under its control.

The company said this is 12 percent higher than the last bid from Comcast and values Sky at $32.5 billion. Fox has increased its bid by just more than 30 percent since its first offer in December 2016.

Shares in Sky Plc were down 0.8 percent at 14.90 pounds, suggesting investors believe Comcast could come back with another improved offer.

Sky operates in Austria, Germany, Ireland and Italy as well as the U.K. It has 22.5 million customers, attracted by offerings such as English Premier League soccer and “Game of Thrones.”

Murdoch’s company still faces significant regulatory battles in Britain, including the culture secretary’s statement that Fox would have to sell Sky News to win government approval because of concerns about media plurality.

Fox’s bid for Sky is the most recent episode in Murdoch’s long-running effort to take full control of the company.