Swissasia declared eligible to buy Lippo

Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Swissasia Global consortium has been given the green light to acquire a majority stake in Bank Lippo, Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) chairman Syafruddin Temenggung says.

"I have heard from Bank Indonesia that the fit and proper test has been completed, and that the Swissasia Global consortium has been declared eligible (for the take over)," Syafruddin said on Tuesday.

Syafruddin said the IBRA and the consortium were to sign a sale and purchasing agreement (SPA) on Wednesday morning, hours before the bank's shareholders meeting.

If the SPA is signed as scheduled, a 52.02 percent stake in Lippo, the country's 11th largest lender by assets, will change hands -- from the government, via the IBRA, to the consortium.

This would make it the first sale of a national bank this year by the IBRA, which is rushing to meet performance targets before it closes on Feb. 27.

Swissasia Global had offered Rp 1.2 trillion (US$142 million) to acquire Lippo, which has some Rp 22.5 trillion in assets and employs about 6,000 workers in 379 branches across the country.

The IBRA currently holds 54.9 percent of the shares in Lippo, while public investors own a 35.5 percent stake. The remaining 9.6 percent of shares are held by Lippo E-Net, controlled by the Riady family -- the bank's founders and former owners.

Swissasia Global comprises Swissfirst Bank AG, a subsidiary of investment brokerage and private bank Swissfirst AG; Chaffron Ltd., owned by Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG, Austria's fourth largest lender; Matrix Asia Holding Ltd.; ASM Investment Ltd.; and Ferrell Opportunity Capital Ltd.