(Dec 12): Bangkok Bank Pcl. is nearing a deal to buy control of Standard Chartered Plc’s Indonesian bank, according to people familiar with the matter.
An announcement could come as soon as Thursday, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified as the deliberations are private. The Thai lender was competing with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. in the final race for almost 90% of PT Bank Permata, a stake with a market value of about US$2.3 billion ($3.1 billion), Bloomberg News reported earlier.
Bangkok Bank is looking for a new market in the region as interest rates in Thailand remain low. Indonesia, where the economy is forecast to expand 5% in 2020, offers more growth potential for the Thai lender.
A representative for Permata declined to comment, while representatives for Bangkok Bank, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Mitsui and PT Astra International didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Shares of Permata rose as much as 5.6% in Jakarta on Thursday, outperforming the country’s benchmark index, which slipped 0.7%. Shares of Bangkok Bank fell as much as 5.3% in its biggest intra-day decline since April 2018.
Hopes that Bangkok Bank will increase dividend payments would likely be hurt if the lender acquires Permata, Citigroup Inc. analysts Kritapas Siripassorn and Robert Kong wrote in a note.
“We expect a rather negative reaction from investors if this deal were to come through,” the analysts wrote. Bangkok Bank has sufficient capital to buy the Indonesian lender, but could find it difficult to manage a mid-sized bank in a market dominated by the top four, they added.
Standard Chartered earlier this year said that its Permata investment is no longer considered core and named Indonesia among four countries where the bank is focused on reducing costs. Selling the Permata stake would free up cash for a stock buyback, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts wrote in November.
Standard Chartered and Jakarta-listed Astra each own about 44.6% of Bank Permata, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Permata previously attracted interest from other potential suitors including Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and DBS Group Holdings Ltd., people familiar with the matter have said.
