"The possibility of selling Finasta, as well as Snoro Lizingas (Snoras Leasing), is currently being discussed. There is interest from potential buyers, whose names we cannot reveal due to the ongoing discussions. The sale of Finasta Bank is planned to be closed within several months," Aurelija Mažintienė, the committee's chairwoman and the acting head of the state-owned Deposit Insurance Fund, told BNS.
Discussions are also underway with the state postal company Lietuvos Paštas (Lithuanian Post) on the sale of Snoras' kiosks, Mažintienė said.
"It is planned to sell around 220 Snoras kiosks. I cannot comment on the price until the final terms and conditions of the sale are agreed. I can only say that the deal is coming to a successful close," she said.
Further operations of Snoras' branches in Lithuania are currently being actively analyzed, the chairwoman said.
Before the collapse, Snoras had the largest retail banking network in Lithuania with more than 250 branches and customer service outlets, including the kiosks, and over 300 ATMs. Analysts have said that the kiosks alone could fetch around 7 million litas (EUR 2m).
Analysts have said that the Finasta Group could be sold for 26 million to 30 million litas.
The media have reported that Alvydas Zabolis, managing partner at the private equity and investment banking group Zabolis Partners, is a member of one of the two consortia seeking to purchase Finasta. According to media reports, the UK-based merchant bank Omada Capital has offered around 10 million euros for the Finasta Group.
Finasta's management team was also seen as a serious buyer, but they did not have enough money. The Russian business paper Kommersant reported in early April that two Russian banks, Investtorgbank and M2M Private Bank, were interested in Finasta.
