The US cable giant Comcast has outbid 21st Century Fox in an auction to buy the UK company Sky.

Both US entertainment companies had been engaged in a lengthy bidding war for Sky.

However, following a rare auction this weekend initiated by authorities in the UK, Comcast has now prevailed.

Their successful offer is worth £17.28 (€19.24) per Sky share - valuing the company at more than £30 billion (€33.4 billion).

Sky will now recommend that its shareholders accept the offer 'immediately'.

Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said: "This is a great day for Comcast. Sky is a wonderful company with a great platform, tremendous brand, and accomplished management team.

"This acquisition will allow us to quickly, efficiently and meaningfully increase our customer base and expand internationally. We couldn’t be more excited by the opportunities in front of us.

"We now encourage Sky shareholders to accept our offer, which we look forward to completing before the end of October 2018."

Sky initially agreed to be taken over by its biggest shareholder Fox back in 2016, but the takeover effort was delayed by competition investigations in the UK.

After Comcast's offer, Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox said it is "considering its options regarding its own 39% shareholding in Sky and will make a further announcement in due course".

Fox itself has recently agreed to sell most of its entertainment assets to Disney, although Fox News is not included in the deal.