(Indonesia) – A major European bank, codenamed only as “Osborne”, is among a group of bidders for a majority stake in state owned Indonesian lender Bank Danamon.The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) is hoping to raise as much as US$400 million by selling a 51 percent stake in the bank, which was nationalised during the 1998 financial crisis.
Other bidders are consortiums comprising Singapore’s Temasek with Deutsche Bank, small local bank Artha Graha and cigarette maker Gudang Garam and investment company Bhakti with Bank Mega.
IBRA Chief Syafruddin Temenggung used the codename “Osborne” for the fifth mystery bidder at a Jakarta press conference, but declined to say if HSBC was part of that bid.
Bank Danamon is Indonesia’s fifth largest bank.