Sony Music Entertainment is preparing to bid against private equity firms Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co. for the acquisition of Japanese electronic game provider Infocom Corp., in a deal estimated to be worth around 200 billion yen ($1.3 billion).

A second bidding round for the entire stake of Teijin Ltd. in Infocom is scheduled for May.

The music division of Sony Group Corp. is considering an offer with the Japanese fund Integral Corp., and the contenders are looking to acquire all shares of Infocom to take Mecha Comics, a manga application manager, private, one of the sources stated. Teijin, an industrial textile company, holds a 55.1% stake in Infocom, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.

Representatives from Teijin and Blackstone declined to comment, while Sony, Integral, and KKR did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The market for electronic comics is expanding rapidly within the smartphone ecosystem, with annual sales of digital manga now more than double those of their print counterparts, amounting to 483 billion yen. Mecha Comics faces competition from manga apps, including those managed by Japan’s largest messaging platform, Line Corp., as well as units of the South Korean messaging giant Kakao Corp. and Japanese telecom giant Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp.

Teijin, which hit a 52-week low in February, is seeking to divest non-core activities to focus on long-term growth.

Beyond its music activities, Sony Music Entertainment owns Aniplex, the producer of the successful anime film "Demon Slayer," and holds a stake in Japanese anime distributor Crunchyroll, a joint venture with Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Blackstone has financed Candle Media, a studio led by former Disney executives, while KKR has invested in David Ellison’s Skydance Media.