Retail giants Lotte and Shinsegae are locked in a two-way race to take over eBay Korea, the country's third-largest e-commerce company.

According to industry sources, bidding for eBay's sale ended at noon on Monday and Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae Group have submitted letters of intent, while the takeover prices they presented are not known. 

Mobile carrier SK Telecom and private equity firm MBK Partners dropped out of the race after taking part in preliminary bidding. This is eBay Korea's second attempt after initial bidding fell through last month. 

The company operates Gmarket, Auction and G9 online shopping malls and was estimated to command about 12 percent of the domestic e-commerce market last year, after Naver's 18 percent and Coupang's 13. 

Pundits say the takeover could reshape the country's online retail sector.