Failing to find viable buyers, the debt-ridden South Korean smartphone-maker Pantech has decided to end court receivership.

The local smartphone-maker, which once ranked third in the market by sales, came under court protection in August last year and has tried to find legitimate buyers since then.

Three rounds of bids held over the past months came to no avail.

“Despite our 10-month long efforts, we could not find an appropriate bidder with a right evaluation of Pantech,” the company said in a statement.

“Being unable to continue our duty and role as a company, we have decided to apply for the end of the normalization procedures.”

It is expected that the Seoul Central Court will likely begin liquidation procedures after it gathers opinions from interested parties over the next two weeks.

If the application to end receivership is rejected by the court, the company will have to come up with other plans to revive itself.

A Pantech official told local news media that “even though Pantech applied to end receivership, the company can once again be put up for sale if appropriate bidders emerge.”

(wone0102@heraldcorp.com)