S.Korea's Kumho narrows Daewoo Eng bidders to four

SEOUL Oct 5 (Reuters) - The parent group of South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co Ltd (047040.KS) has shortlisted four unidentified bidders for the builder from about 10 preliminary bidders, in a deal estimated at about $2.6 billion.

Kumho is offering its 33 percent stake in the country's No. 3 builder, along with another 39 percent owned by financial investors as it has to buy back the financial investors' holdings at more than double the current price, starting from December.

"Out of companies which submitted letters of intent on (Sept.) 29th, we picked four domestic and foreign investors, mostly strategic investors," Kumho said in a brief statement on Monday.

It declined to identify those companies in the shortlist, nor their bidding prices, citing confidentiality agreements.

Korea Development Bank and Nomura, which are handling the sale, had sent invitation to more than 20 companies, including steel firm POSCO (005490.KS) and private equity houses -- The Carlyle Group and Affinity Equity Partners.

KDB declined to comment. Nomura could not immediately be reached for comment.

The auction comes as banks and government agencies have kicked off sale processes for restructured companies, lifted by buoyant stock markets, with chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor (000660.KS) and Daewoo International (047050.KS) up for sale.

Kumho will receive final offers from the shortlisted buyers around mid-November following a four-week due diligence, aiming to pick the final buyer within the year.

Reports say most of the bidders are foreign companies.

The sale is estimated to fetch about 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion), on the assumption that 50 percent plus one share might be sold and considering a management premium. ($1=1172.3 Won) (Reporting by Kim Yeon-hee; Editing by Anshuman Daga)