SEOUL, KOREA - SK Telecom has tendered a letter of intent to acquire iriver. According to SK Telecom and investment banking sources on June 3, SK Telecom sent out a letter of intent to Daiwa Securities, the principal underwriter to sell of the digital audio player maker. The largest mobile telecom service provider in Korea is interested in wearable devices that irivers is working on. Currently iriver produces low-cost smartphones, wearable devices, automobile black boxes, intelligent robots, and ebooks, as well as portable audio players.

 

Last year, iriver launched "iriver-on," the portable health care product, one of the wearable devices. SK Telecom has also unveiled a social health care service "Health-on" in partnership with Seoul National University. Analysts predicted SK Telecom's acquisition of iriver would create sizable synergies in the wearable device market by combining iriver's hardware production capabilities with SK Telecom's content and service know-how.

 

The largest shareholder of iriver is Vogo Fund that owns a 34.5-percent stake in the company. In the bidding for iriver, other companies such as Japan's audio equipment makers and private equity fund firms. Vogo Fund said it would finalize the sell-off deal by July by closing the application for the bidding and determining the preferred bidder.