Sony Group, others eyeing buyout of Infocom, Bloomberg news reports

Sony Group and other parties are considering buying online comic store operator Infocom Corp in a deal worth up to 200 billion yen ($1.28 billion), Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

Infocom parent Teijin Ltd is aiming to sell its entire stake of around 55% and scheduled a second round of bidding for mid-May, Bloomberg said, citing multiple sources.

Other likely bidders include the U.S. investment funds Blackstone and KKR, Bloomberg said.

Some bidders are aiming to acquire all of Infocom’s shares through a tender offer that could put the purchase price at 200 billion yen, Bloomberg said, citing once source.

Sony will bid in concert with investment fund Integral Corp, according to another source, Bloomberg said.

Infocom operates digital comic site MechaComic, which is Japan’s largest, according to its Twitter page. Infocom’s market capitalisation is currently 171 billion yen, according to LSEG data. Reuters