Foreign banks lining up to take over Lukas for estimated $200-$250 million

Four or five foreign banks are reportedly interested in acquiring Wroclaw-based Lukas, which controls Lukas Bank, for an estimated $200-$250 million. According to Rzeczpospolita, among the contenders are two French entities, possibly BNP-Paribas and Credit Agricole, Banco Santander Central Hispano of Spain and Citibank of the U.S. Apart from owning a bank, Lukas is also the leading loan intermediary in Poland. Lukas Bank has 97 branches and boasts 200,000 customer accounts. One of the most important factors weighing on the takeover price will be the results of an audit of Lukas Bank's loan portfolio, recently conducted by the National Bank of Poland (NBP). (Rzeczpospolita, Dec. 9-10, p.B1)