Bank Danamon not to merge with BCA: Anthony
Bank Danamon not to merge with BCA: Anthony
JAKARTA (JP): Salim Group chairman Anthony Salim ruled out
yesterday the possible merger between the newly acquired Bank
Danamon with Bank Central Asia (BCA).
Anthony, the son of the business group's founder, Liem Sioe
Liong, said the Rp 297.92 billion (US$84 million) transaction was
purely for long-term investment.
"The aim of the acquisition was long-term investment. We
agreed to buy part of Bank Danamon because we think the bank is
good," he said.
Salim Group accepted an offer Friday to become one of the
majority shareholders in Bank Danamon by buying a 19 percent
stake in the bank, one of the country's largest private national
banks.
The 19 percent stake, or about 425.6 million shares, will be
bought at Rp 700 per share from Danamon International, with the
transaction totaling Rp 297.92 billion.
Bank Danamon, which is listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange,
had Rp 26.3 trillion in assets as of September.
Danamon International, which currently holds a 48 percent
stake in the bank, will also sell about 10 percent of its equity
shares in Bank Danamon to Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB). The
transaction will further reduce its ownership in the bank to 19
percent.
Public shareholders currently own 52 percent of the bank.
Anthony said the transaction would create a strategic alliance
between the Salim Group and Bank Danamon and would eventually
benefit both parties.
"The strategic alliance is best for both parties and there is
no need between Bank Central Asia and Bank Danamon to merge," he
said.
Bank Danamon's chief commissioner Usman Admadjaja also said
Danamon International sold the shares to the Salim Group because
both had a long-established good relationship.
"We have a very good relationship with the Salim Group," he
said.
He said both Danamon International and the Salim Group, which
controls BCA, the country's largest private bank, had a
substantial stake in another private bank, Bank DanaAsia.
Anthony denied speculation that the acquisition was made as
compensation for the funds the Salim Group injected into Bank
Danamon several months ago when the bank was hit by a massive
withdrawal.
"No, we didn't inject any fresh funds into Bank Danamon. It's
not true," he said.
Anthony said to acquire Danamon's shares, the Salim Group
would establish a new company.
"So it's not BCA that will acquire the stake but a new
company," he said.
A director of the Salim Group, Benny Santoso, said the new
company was expected to begin operations by the end of this month
or early next month.
He said the funds to finance the transaction would come from
Salim Group shareholders. "We'll use funds from Oom Liem and
Anthony Salim to purchase the shares," he said.
Usman said proceeds from the transaction would be used to
strengthen Bank Danamon's financial structure.
"We'll deposit the proceeds from the transaction and use them
to increase Bank Danamon's capital," he said.
Erick Varvel, country manager of CSFB -- which was also
offered a 10 percent share in Bank Danamon from Danamon
International -- was waiting a bit before signing a deal.
"We don't know what how much Danamon's shares will cost, but
we'll make the transaction for our own investment," he said.
Bank Danamon's share price on the Jakarta Stock Exchange
closed unchanged at Rp 625 yesterday with 74.17 million shares
changing hands in the regular market. (das/aly)