SEOUL: South Korea's top mobile carrier, SK Telecom Co, said on Wednesday talks with Terra Lycos SA to purchase the Spanish Internet media group's jointly-owned Lycos Korea were almost complete. "The talks are in final stages and we expect a deal this week at the earliest," an SK Telecom official told Reuters.

SK Telecom is scheduled to hold a regular board meeting on Friday, where the deal is expected to be presented for approval, he said. SK said in February it had been in talks with the Spanish firm to buy Lycos Korea in an effort to beef up its wireless Internet service, "NATE".

Lycos Korea is a joint venture in which Terra Lycos and Mirae Corp, a Korean semiconductor testing equipment manufacturer, each hold a 43.25 percent stake. The remaining stake is spread over a range of investors. Local media said SK would raise its stake to more than 50 percent by joining in Lycos Korea's rights issue offering later. SK officials declined to confirm the media report.

SK Telecom has been trying to purchase an Internet company to combine a variety of fixed-line content, such as ticket reservations, restaurants guides and on-line games, with its mobile Internet services. SK Telecom shares finished down 4.1 percent at 256,000 won on Wednesday, versus a 7.15 percent loss in the broader benchmark index.

Seoul stocks suffered their largest one-day drop since September on Wednesday as news of accounting irregularities at U.S. telecom WorldCom Inc triggered a broad sell-off.

(C) Reuters Ltd.