Major foreign banks gearing up to acquire cash-hungry CLiF leasing firm

Foreign banks vying to acquire a strategic stake in leasing company Centrum Leasingu i Finansow (CLiF) will begin conducting due diligence at the company by the end of this month, with the investor to be selected by May or June. The list of potential candidates is reportedly much the same as that of bidders for a stake in another leasing firm, EFL, and includes UniCredito Italiano, Credit Agricole of France and major U.S. financial institutions GE Capital and Citibank. Two or three of those will conduct due diligence at CLiF, an anonymous source told Puls Biznesu. The strategic investor will take at least 25% in the company, possibly as much as 80%. CLiF, Poland's twelfth largest leasing firm, badly needs the backing of a strong financial investor, as five major banks recently cut off financing to the company, while five others limited theirs. The company, which is 60% owned by CLiF Investment, last year leased assets worth zl.227 million. (Puls Biznesu, p.4) T.J.