Jakarta. Bank Central Asia, or BCA, Indonesia's most valuable lender, has closed the deal on the acquisition of Bank Interim Indonesia, formerly Bank Rabobank International Indonesia for Rp 644 billion, or $44 million from a Dutch lender Coöperatieve Rabobank in a move that would pave way for the local lender expansion in the Islamic banking business. 

Vera Eve Lim, a director at BCA, said the lender secured approval for capital injection and acquisition from shareholders and cleared the fit and proper test at OJK, allowing the lender to close the acquisition on Sep 25. 

"So, BCA officially owns 99.999973 percent shares at Bank Interim and BCA Finance, a subsidiary that all of its shares owned directly or indirectly by BCA own the remaining shares," Vera said in a statement. 

BCA said it plans to merge Bank Interim to its Islamic lender subsidiary, Bank BCA Syariah, which the lender's expected to complete early next year. 

Rabobank and BCA announced a conditional sale and purchase agreement for the deal in December last year, announcing a price tag of Rp 397 billion for the local Rabobank unit.

The deal dragged on for several months, waiting for approval from shareholders and the Financial Services Authority (OJK). Rabobank Indonesia also changed its name into Bank Interim Indonesia before the acquisition. 

Rabobank announced its plan to exit Indonesia as part of its global business restructuring as the lender moving away from retail banking to focus on the wholesale side of the industry. 

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