Estonia's LHV, Lithuania's Razfin buy Snoras Leasing

Photo: SCANPIX

The Estonian financial group LHV and the Lithuanian company Razfin have signed an agreement to acquire Snoras Leasing from the bankrupt's estate of the collapsed Lithuanian bank Snoras, Snoras spokesman Tomas Vaisvila told BNS.

The deal, which is the first major transaction in the asset sale of Snoras, the Lithuanian commercial bank that went bankrupt in November 2011, was worth 74 million litas or 21.4 million euros.

According to the press release, the deal is expected to be closed by the end of July following regulatory approval and implementation of other terms of the deal.

"We are happy to have chosen a reliable and transparent investor for Snoro Lizingas. The share purchase agreement, which we signed with LHV and Razfin, is a very important step towards the completion of Snoras Leasing's sale process. This sale represents a good outcome for the creditors of the bank," the press release quoted Neil Cooper, Snoras' bankruptcy administrator, as saying.

Under the terms of the transaction LHV would obtain 50 percent plus one share in Snoras Leasing.

The size of the loan portfolio of Snoras Leasing is approximately 20 million euros and the company offers instalment finance, consumer loans and leasing in Lithuania.

The loan portfolio of Snoras Leasing will be financed in the future by LHV Pank.

"We've been looking for opportunities for expansion in the Baltics for long, on the condition that the partners are reliable and the business is of reasonable size," the CEO of LHV Pank, Erki Kilu, said.

He said the loan portfolio of Snoras Leasing equaled six percent of the balance sheet value of LHV Pank and was exactly the right size to start with.

Razfin is an investment company based on Lithuanian capital that belongs to twelve Lithuanian investors. The biggest stakes are held by the Rakauskas family, owner of the Senukai DIY chain, and Zabolis Partners, led by Alvydas Zabolis.

Kilu said that Zabolis previously led the largest Lithuanian securities brokerage, through which LHV has had positive contact with him over many years. "We believe that together with local partners we can transform Snoras Leasing into a company offering substantive competition to other leasing companies in Lithuania," he said.

Of the other assets of Snoras, Finasta bank is expected to be sold in the near future, and a 34 percent stake in the media group Lietuvos Rytas next.

Employing a workforce of more than 170, LHV has offices in Tallinn, Tartu, Riga, Vilnius and Helsinki. Banking services of LHV are used by approximately 50,000 clients and pension funds of LHV have over 110,000 clients.