Bidding Miscarriage

 

Pantech has failed to find a new owner. Amid fierce competition in the global smartphone market, the anxious anticipation that the Korean smartphone maker would not likely find a buyer has become a reality. Samjung KPMG, which processes and manages the bids for the sale of Pantech, said that it would continue to seek investors, suggesting the possibility of rebidding. The sluggish global smartphone market, however, is the obstacle on the road.

Samjung KPMG announced on Nov. 21 that there were no participants in the bid. Even though Samjung had once delayed the deadline for the submission of letters of intent to buy the smartphone maker, its efforts ended in vain. As the bidding turned out to be fruitless, Pantech now has to wait for the court to decide its fate.

The smartphone industry predicts that the company will be up either for another public bid, or its Gimpo factory will be divided and sold off separately.

Specifically, Pantech's manufacturing factory in Gimpo and its tangible assets including machinery would be sold to a phone manufacturer, while its patents and brand would be sold to another buyer.

Sources in the industry had said that three to four companies would have interest in the bid, but there were no participants in the public offer. Actually, several Chinese and Indian companies had been named as promising candidates for the bid, including the Indian manufacturer Micromax, which showed an interest in buying some percentage of Pantech’s stake, and Chinese IT giants such as Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi.

The main reason for these Asian companies recoiling from the bid, according to industry sources, is the recent increasing competition in the global smartphone market, and major phone manufacturers' performance deterioration. This shift in the global market atmosphere is causing every global smartphone company to be more cautious.

Copyright © BusinessKorea. Prohibited from unauthorized reproduction and redistribution