IBRA extends bid deadline for Bank Lippo stake<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A consortium led by Swissfirst Bank AG, the only remaining
\nbidder in the current sale of the government's majority stake in
\nBank Lippo, will have until Jan. 30 to submit its final bid after
\nthe Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) extended on
\nFriday the initial Jan. 26 deadline.<\/p>\n
IBRA deputy chairman for bank restructuring I Nyoman Sender
\nsaid on Friday that the extension was meant to give the
\nconsortium more time to carry out its due diligence investigation
\nand eventually increase its bidding price.<\/p>\n
He did not mention what steps would be taken if the
\nconsortium, called the Swissassia Global, refused to raise its
\noffer.<\/p>\n
The sale of the Bank Lippo stake, expected to be concluded in
\nmid-February, was the agency's second attempt to return the bank,
\nformerly belonging to the Riady family, to private hands. The
\nfirst effort failed to generate reasonable offers, the agency
\nclaimed, forcing it to cancel the sale in October last year.<\/p>\n
As reported, the consortium offered Rp 403 per share, way
\nbelow the Rp 591.5 per share set by IBRA as the minimum price. At
\nthe current price of Rp 525 on the stock market, the sale of a
\n52 percent stake in the bank should generate more than Rp 1
\ntrillion in proceeds.<\/p>\n
The ongoing sale process should provide a test for the agency
\nas to whether it will maintain its stance regarding a reasonable
\nprice, especially as the agency is now rushing to unload its
\nremaining assets to meet this year's target of raising Rp 5
\ntrillion in proceeds before its term expires next month.<\/p>\n
The agency took over assets from bank owners and failed banks
\nfollowing the late 1990s financial crisis.<\/p>\n
IBRA currently has a 54.9 percent shareholding in Lippo, the
\ncountry's 11th-largest bank, while public investors own 35.5
\npercent. The remaining 9.6 percent is held by Lippo E-Net,
\ncontrolled by the Riady family.<\/p>\n
Lippo has some Rp 22.5 trillion in assets, with 379 branches
\nacross the country. It has around 6,000 employees.<\/p>\n
Aside from the Swissfirst Bank -- a subsidiary of investment
\nbrokerage and private bank Swissfirst AG, other members of the
\nconsortium include Chaffron Ltd. (owned by Austria's Raiffeisen
\nZentralbank Osterreich AG), Matrix Asia Holding Ltd., ASM
\nInvestment Ltd. and Ferrell Opportunity Capital Ltd.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Sender also disclosed that the agency would meet
\nwith the House of Representatives soon to seek approval for the
\nsale of a controlling stake in Bank Permata.<\/p>\n
House consent is not mandatory but is crucial to avoid a
\npossible backlash in the future.<\/p>\n
Over the last three years the government has sold majority
\nstakes in Bank Danamon, Bank Niaga, Bank Central Asia (BCA) and
\nBank Internasional Indonesia (BII).<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ibra-extends-bid-deadline-for-bank-lippo-stake-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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