Bank Panin owners terminate plans to sell lender

Bids were lower than expected as Gunawan family eyes offers at 3 times book value.

Indonesia's Gunawan family, which controls PT Bank Panin, has called off plans to sell its 46 percent stake with a current market value at $1.3 billion after lower-than-expected bids, two sources said.

The sources, who have direct knowledge of the deal, said the family had expected offers over 3 times book value but the bids came in much lower, prompting them to defer the sale.

The sources declined to be named as they said they are not authorised to speak to the media.

Panin, now the seventh-largest Indonesian bank with a market value of $2.8 billion, is regarded as attractive since it is one of the few banking assets up for grabs in a fast-growing market. Fitch Ratings recently painted a rosy outlook for Indonesian banks, despite a somewhat crowded marketplace.

But the recent freeze in global debt markets and uncertainty over the health of the global economy forced bidders to turn more conservative, one of the sources said.

View the full story in Reuters.