Hapag-Lloyd was excluded from the second round of bidding for Korean shipping giant HMM.

Hapag-Lloyd, the only foreign company involved in the bidding, was ruled out of the privatization process by creditor banks Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Korea Ocean Business Co (KOBC), according to Splash 247.

“Selling HMM to Hapag-Lloyd could lead to an overseas leakage of Korea’s priceless national assets, such as maritime logistics know-how accumulated for decades and container transportation and terminal system management,” reads a statement from the Federation of Korea Maritime Industries and the Busan Port Development Council.

Harim Group, the company controlling the Korean shipper Pan Ocean, recently joined forces with a local private equity firm for its bid. It joins LX Holdings and Dongwon Group as the only companies that made it through to the second round of bidding.

A preferred bidder is expected to be announced by early November. State creditors hope to complete the sale of HMM by the end of 2023.

During the first round of bidding, five prospective buyers submitted offers of roughly $3.7 billion. At the time, Hapag-Lloyd was considered the front runner to acquire HMM because it had a $7 billion balance sheet, according to The Loadster.

With a fleet of 88 container ships, five bulk carriers, ten oil tankers and four heavy-lift vessels, HMM is one of the biggest shipping companies in South Korea.