Lippo sale relaunched, old bidders given priority<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has relaunched
\nthe sale of a 52 percent stake in the publicly listed Bank Lippo,
\nthrough a strategic sale mechanism it expects to complete by
\nFebruary.<\/p>\n
IBRA was scheduled to complete the sale in October, but it was
\npostponed due to the low prices offered by three bidders.<\/p>\n
However, IBRA deputy chairman In Nyoman Sender said on
\nThursday that the three investors would be given priority during
\nthe current sale if they were willing to rebid.<\/p>\n
\"The old bidders will have priority because we have limited
\ntime, but new bidders are also welcome,\" Sender told a press
\nconference.<\/p>\n
The sale of the Bank Lippo stake comes ahead of IBRA's closure
\nat the end of February after five years in operation. With the
\nplanned closure, IBRA has to press ahead with unloading its
\nremaining unsold assets, so as to avoid a backlash for failing to
\nmeet its mandated task. The agency took over assets from bank
\nowners and failed banks following the late 1990s financial
\ncrisis.<\/p>\n
The three initial bidders were Eurocapital Asia Ltd., Summit
\nInvestment Ltd. and Swissasia Global.<\/p>\n
IBRA owns a total of 54.9 percent shares in Lippo, while
\npublic investors own 35.5 percent. The remaining 9.6 percent is
\nheld by Lippo E-Net, which is controlled by the Riyadi family,
\nthe founder and former controlling owner of the bank.<\/p>\n
IBRA has said that the postponement of the initial auction was
\nunavoidable as the prices submitted by the three bidders were
\nbelow the re-bid price range of between Rp 384 and Rp 591,
\ndetermined earlier by the agency.<\/p>\n
The re-bid price range has been set by IBRA upon learning that
\nall of the bidders, in their preliminary bids, had submitted
\nbidding prices which were lower than the floor price of Rp 591
\nper share.<\/p>\n
Sender did not say whether the agency expected higher bidding
\nprices in the second sale, or what would be the anticipatory
\nmoves if the prices offered remained unsatisfactory.<\/p>\n
A press statement said that IBRA had appointed ING Securities
\nIndonesia and ING Bank NV as financial advisors, and the law
\noffices of Ali Budiardjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro as legal
\nadvisors.<\/p>\n
The bank's non-audited consolidated financial report said that
\nas of September, Lippo had booked a net profit of 27.6 billion
\n(US$3.27 billion), with total assets of Rp 25.8 trillion -- the
\ncountry's eleventh largest.<\/p>\n
The capital adequacy ratio (CAR), a comparison between a
\nbank's capital with its risk-weighted assets, stood at 23.6
\npercent, far above Bank Indonesia's minimum requirement of 8
\npercent. Its non-performing loans (NPLs) was at 2.89 percent.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lippo-sale-relaunched-old-bidders-given-priority-1447893297",
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