Temasek to join bid for Bank Danamon

Temasek to join bid for Bank Danamon

Singapore's investment arm Temasek Holdings was reported on Thursday as having brought Deutsche Bank on board in place of Goldman Sachs to advise on a bid for a 51 percent stake in Indonesia's Bank Danamon.

The move could see the German bank taking an equity stake in the US$400 million deal as well, sources told The Business Times.

The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has previously said it would prefer the stake going to a commercial bank or a consortium that includes a bank.

International and regional financial institutions, including Taiwan's Fubon Financial and HSBC, are said to be among the 17 bidders.

Bank Danamon is currently owned by IBRA, which took it over following the Asian financial crisis in 1997. It now needs to sell a 51 percent stake in Indonesia's fifth largest bank as part of International Monetary Fund-led reforms.

Preliminary bids must be made by this weekend.

"From what I hear, Deutsche Bank will replace Goldman Sachs as Temasek's financial adviser and will co-invest 50 million U.S. dollars in Bank Danamon," a source told the newspaper.

Both Deutsche Bank and Temasek would not comment on the reports.

Fubon, one of Taiwan's largest financial services groups, is regarded as a leading contender for Bank Danamon.

With a market capitalization of $6.5 billion and Citibank as a shareholder, Fubon could provide stiff competition to the other bidders, observers said. -- DPA