Seoul: Homeplus Co., a financially troubled discount store chain currently under a court-led rehabilitation program, has failed to draw any bidders in an auction to sell the company, a Seoul court said Wednesday. No companies submitted their bids by the 3 p.m. deadline for the auction, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court revealed, despite two companies having previously submitted letters of intent (LOIs).

According to Yonhap News Agency, Homeplus entered the rehabilitation program in March after two local credit rating agencies downgraded its corporate bonds from A3 to A3-, citing deteriorating financial health. The deadline for submitting its rehabilitation plan to the court was pushed back from Nov. 10 to Dec. 29, following several extensions since June.

Two companies, including artificial intelligence agent-based direct transaction platform company Harex InfoTech Inc., had handed in their LOIs late last month but decided not to participate in the main bidding round. The court said it will discuss next steps with Homeplus, Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, the court-appointed accounting firm, and other stakeholders, including whether to carry out another round of merger and acquisition process.

Homeplus stated it will continue to accept proposals for acquisition until the Dec. 29 deadline.