Comcast outbids Fox in $40B battle for Sky

Comcast has outbid Twenty-First Century Fox for the UK's Sky, a final step in what's been a years-long takeover battle between the two media conglomerates.

Comcast's final offer gives Sky a roughly $39 billion price tag.

The acquisition of Sky, which has 23 million subscribers in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy, will give Comcast a much stronger foothold in the international market and much-needed ammo to compete with Amazon and Netflix in the streaming wars.

Both companies upped their offers for Sky at the settlement auction Saturday, with Comcast offering 17.28 per Sky ordinary share and Fox offering 15.67 per share. Comcast initially priced Sky's shares at 14.75 apiece. Fox's original offer was 14 per share.

Both companies will reveal their revised bids on Monday. Sky's board will make its official recommendation by October 11.

Sky operates several brands including Sky News, Sky Sports and Sky Cinema.

Comcast drops its pursuit of Fox, making way for Disney acquisition