A South Korean consortium seeking to take over cash-strapped local handset maker Pantech Co. said Friday it will delay the purchase schedule to next month as it needs more time to expand the scope of the acquisition.
  

Pantech, the country's No. 3 smartphone maker, had been teetering on the verge of bankruptcy after it sought to give up court protection from its creditors in May.
  

But a South Korean consortium led by optical manufacturer Optis and telecom device firm Solid won approval from a local court to begin its efforts to review the acquisition of Pantech in July.
  

Industry sources said the consortium needed an adjustment for the schedule as it has decided to expand the scope of the takeover to include service centers and Pantech's facilities based in Gimpo, just west of Seoul, which were originally not included in the takeover plan.
  

The purchase plan was earlier anticipated to be done by the end of this month. The deal is estimated at 40 billion won ($33.6 million).
  

Optis, founded by a former Samsung Electronics employee, is one of the country's biggest optical manufacturers that mainly sells optical storage devices. (Yonhap)