Creditors of Korea Express Co. have accepted preliminary bids from three local conglomerates, including steel giant POSCO, to buy Korea‘s largest logistics firm, sources said Monday.

Co-sales managers Nomura Securities and the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) accepted letters of intent in early March from POSCO, retail giant Lotte Group and leading food conglomerate CJ Group to buy a 37.6 percent stake in Korea Express.

All of the three prospective buyers submitted preliminary bids for the controlling stake to Nomura Securities, which wrapped up earlier in the day the process for the initial bid taking, according to the sources.

Market watchers predict the stake up for sale will fetch 1.5 to

2 trillion won ($1.8 billion), marking the biggest takeover deal this year.

The KDB, the main creditor of cash-strapped Kumho Asiana Group, is seeking to sell the stake held by the group’s two subsidiaries in a bid to wrap up the restructuring of the group.

The KDB is seeking to accept final bids by March 13 after allowing the three prospective buyers one-month due diligence on Korea Express.

The state-run bank plans to pick a preferred bidder by May 16 to finalize the deal by the end of June. 

(Yonhap News)