The new owner of Pantech, the nation’s No. 3 handset-maker, is set to be announced soon, industry sources said Monday, with a U.S. asset management firm highly likely to win the bid through a private contract.

According to sources close to the matter, the cash-strapped Pantech will be sold for about 100 billion won ($90 million) to a consortium led by the Los Angeles-based One Value Asset Management.

The manufacturer of the once hot-selling SKY and Vega phones was placed under court receivership six months ago due to financial trouble. The open bidding to seek a new owner failed twice last year.

One Value has shown strong willingness to purchase Pantech, pledging to guarantee the job security of some 1,500 workers, including those on paid leave. Temporary workers also could be elevated as regular workers, the company said.

Its consortium also said that once named the winner, it will work with Tmall Global, an online shopping mall operated by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, to widen the market for Pantech.

The Seoul Central District Court is expected to make an official announcement soon.

“If the takeover process continues as planned, it will be completed by March,” said a court official. “Then, Pantech could resume its normal management from April.”

Pantech completed a five-year debt rescheduling program in December 2011, but its financials weakened again due to falling sales and stifling competition from other homegrown tech giants, namely Samsung and LG.

The firm split off in 1991 from pager manufacturer Maxon and once ranked No. 2 in the local smartphone market. The company now takes up about 10 percent of the domestic market, behind Samsung’s 60 percent and LG’s 15 percent.

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