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Ministop Korea, owned by Japan’s Aeon Group, has provided insufficient information to potential buyers, leaving them to decide whether to submit final offers based only on information provided during due diligence.

Aeon Group earlier this month shortlisted bidders for the sale of its 100% stake in Ministop Korea, which is expected to be worth about 200 billion won ($168 million). The sale process is being handled by Samil PwC.

A two-page teaser about the convenience store chain was sent out about three weeks ago. In a normal sale via an auction, confidential information packages on a target company are also dispatched to potential buyers after they sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Yet, potential buyers for Ministop Kroea had to submit their preliminary, non-binding offers without such information because Aeon Group and Samil PwC decided to provide more details about the convenience store chain at a later stage of the sale process.

The shortlisted bidders, however, have received no further information yet from the seller. They are preparing final binding offers mainly based on information disclosed in due diligence, according to sources.

Ministop Korea is the fifth largest player in the country, with the domestic convenience store market largely dominated by CU and GS25 which had over 14,000 stores each nationwide as of the end of 2020. In comparison, Ministop Korea operated slightly more than 2,600 stores.

Aeon Group may be concerned about information leaks as industry players, including rival Emart24, are also bidding for Ministop Korea, observers said. “It would be concerning for the seller to disclose sensitive corporate information to a rival,” an industry insider said. “The seller is trying to be cautious to provide such information to serious potential buyers only.”

The due diligence process will identify serious potential buyers for the asset, industry watchers said. This is the second attempt by the Japanese conglomerate to offload the business after it called off the sale in 2019.

Aeon Group and Samil PwC are expected to receive final offers as soon as the end of this month. The timeline can be extended if the shortlisted bidders request more time for due diligence. (Reporting by Seon-young Kim)