KT has confirmed it is in early stage negotiations to acquire a 35% stake in Tunisian state-owned mobile operator Tunisie Telecom, as part of its attempts to expand internationally.
The company is holding talks with the Dubai conglomerate that owns the stakes, but nothing has been decided on yet, KT said in a stock market filing.
Dubai Holdings' Emirates International Telecommunications is seeking a buyer for the stake in an attempt to reduce debt.
JP Morgan Chase values the stake at $650 million, Reuters reports, a far cry from the $2.25 billion Emirates International spent to acquire the stake in 2006.
The Tunisian government was forced to abandon plans for an IPO of Tunisie Telecom at the request of trade unions in 2011.
KT last month dropped an initial bid to acquire Vivendi's stake in Morocco's Maroc Telecom, citing a discrepancy between KT's internal valuation for the stake and the market's valuation.
The company is pursuing international expansion to counteract saturation in the highly mature South Korean market.