The search for a new owner of the troubled Pantech, Korea’s No. 3 handset-maker, is gaining momentum as three foreign business groups have submitted bids for a takeover.

The three bidders include a U.S.-based consortium consisting of a Korean private equity fund and a Latin American telecom carrier, a Chinese handset-maker, and a China-based IT service firm.

Their names were not revealed due to the sensitivity of the ongoing negotiations, sources said.

After years of financial struggles, Pantech, the manufacturer of the once hot-selling SKY and Vega phones, filed for court receivership in August. Since then, the company has sought a new owner.

Korean network carrier SK Telecom and local conglomerates Samsung and LG had been rumored to be interested in Pantech. India’s Micromax and China’s Huawei and Xiaomi were also mentioned as possible bidders.

After the first auction ended in November without attracting any bidder, sources said, three new bidders submitted their letters of intent to the Seoul Central District Court on Dec. 30 and 31.

“The three bidders are not those who had been rumored to be interested in Pantech,” said an industry source who declined to be named. “Some Korean companies are also known to be gauging the deal’s profitability.”

The Seoul court plans to draw more bidders until mid-January and start the sales process from as early as next month.

The emergence of new bidders is likely to raise the bidding price for Pantech. But the court has stressed that the revitalization of the company is the key to the deal, saying the job security of some 1,500 employees should be guaranteed even under new ownership.

According to Samjong KPMG, the accounting firm supervising the Pantech sale, its liquidation value stands at about 150.5 billion won ($136 million).

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)