If the deal closes later this year, Sotheby's would return to private ownership after being a publicly-held company for the past 31 years.

NEW YORK CITY—Famed auction house Sotheby's has announced it has signed an agreement to be taken private by BidFair USA, an entity wholly owned by media and telecom entrepreneur and art collector Patrick Drahi in a deal valued at $3.7 billion.

Sotheby's announced this morning that its board of directors had approved a plan that will have BidFair pay $57 in cash per share of Sotheby's common stock. The transaction would result in Sotheby's returning to private ownership after 31 years as a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The offer price represents a premium of 61% to Sotheby's closing price on June 14, 2019 and a 56.3% premium to the company's 30 trading-day volume weighted average share price. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019.