jenniferaniston.com Namejet auction cancelled

The domain jenniferaniston.com was registered with Network Solutions and it expired. So it was available for auction at Namejet. The domain entered an auction at Namejet on the 13th of August 2012 and it had 106 bidders. The auction was supposed to end on the 16th but it was canceled by Namejet before that. Auction has a message that reads: “We’re sorry, this auction was cancelled.”

The domain doesn’t seem to have been renewed as it on “CLIENT HOLD” at Network Solutions and registrant info says “Pending Renewal or Deletion”.

The actress Jennifer Aniston, who’s father is Greek, owns the domain names jennifer-aniston.com and jennifer-aniston.net although both are inactive. She doesn’t own any of these domain names:
jenniferaniston.com
jenniferaniston.net
jenniferaniston.org
jenniferaniston.info
jenniferaniston.biz
jenniferaniston.us
jennifer-aniston.org
jennifer-aniston.info
jennifer-aniston.biz
jennifer-aniston.us

Jennifer Aniston doesn’t have a history of UDRP complaints and there is no trace of an active UDRP complaint both at WIPO and NAF.

So probably a C&D letter was send by Jennifer Aniston to Network Solutions and/or Namejet that forced them to remove the domain name from auction.

I have asked Namejet why the auction was canceled and I will update this post if I have any reply.

UPDATE #1:
It seems that I got the default reply from Namejet as I expected but the reason is most probably a  legal or UDRP dispute:

In reviewing the domain jenniferaniston.com, it appears this was a pre-release domain. Keep in mind, pre-release domains are those that have expired and are typically still in the renewal grace period at the sponsoring registrar.

If you have added a pre-release domain to your backorder list, and the previous registrant renews their name for example, the backorder status will change to “wish list” and it will not go into an auction. The registrar has the right to remove any domain from the pre-release list at any time, and for any reason such as perhaps a legal or UDRP dispute, or some other issue that prevents it being sold. They do not provide us with a reason, the name is simply removed from our available list of domains.

UPDATE #2:
I searched the whois history for the domain jenniferaniston.com and up until it expired it was owned by “PMK-HBH Public Relations”, a PR company based in Beverly Hills. So it is most probable that Jennifer Aniston is a client of the said company. Wayback Machine shows that the domain has never been developed by this PR company, but about 10 years ago it displayed a coming soon message for the Official Jennifer Aniston website:

To be notified of the official launch and new updates, be sure to fill out the form completely. We use the information provided to ensure that the site which we launch provides content which the majority of the users are satisfied with. Thanks for taking the time and visiting the official Jennifer Aniston website!

For a leading, as it claims, PR company PMK-HBH is not doing such a great job by not developing the website for more than 10 years and now letting the domain name expire and enter an auction!