LG Petro Bank buyer shortlist ready by end of June

A shortlist of potential buyers interested in acquiring a majority stake in LG Petro Bank should be ready by the end of June. Chief executive of the bank, Dong Chang Park, has said, "We are expecting to have the shortlist next month, and the final deal should be signed by the end of the year." Although Petro Bank is one of Poland's smallest banking institutions, with a market value of just $110 million and only 30 retail outlets, its acquisition is considered a useful way of entering the local market for banks that missed out on the earlier sale of state-owned financial institutions. LG is pulling out of the bank in order to concentrate on its mainstream electronics and chemicals businesses. (Reuters, Parkiet, p. 2) M.T.