SK Telecom, KDDI bidding for First Media

SINGAPORE: South Korea's SK Telecom Co and Japan's KDDI Corp have submitted first-round bids for Indonesian cable TV and internet firm First Media which its parent Lippo Group is trying to sell for $400-$500 million, sources said.  

"SK Telecom and KDDI have submitted bids along with local telcos," said one of the sources with knowledge of the deal. The sources declined to be named because the deal is not public.

Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group had hired Bank of America's Merrill Lynch to  advise on the sale of First Media, sources had earlier said. Deutsche Bank is advising SK Telecom, sources said. SK Telecom said it is interested in First Media, but has not made any decision. It declined to comment on the bid. "We are looking at various  (investment) opportunities overseas, and it (First Media) is just one of the options under consideration," a company official said.

KDDI spokesman in Tokyo declined to comment. Merrill and Deutsche also declined to comment.