Poland Shortlists Four Investors for Lotos

Poland shortlisted four potential investors for listed fuel group Lotos and invited them to submit binding offers by November 16, 2011, Treasury Ministry announced in a press statement.

One of the four bidders was included in the short list conditionally, the ministry said.

In order to keep the procedure fully competitive, the names of the shortlisted investors will not be revealed, the statement also read.

Poland is selling a 53.2% stake in Lotos.

Poland is in no rush to sell its stake in Lotos, treating preliminary bids as a means to sound interest and pricing, PM Donald Tusk said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

At the end of May, Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad said that Poland received "many" offers from investors interested in Lotos. An individual close to the transaction had told PAP that Poland received fewer than ten bids on listed refiner Lotos, of which only one comes from a Russian investor.

Poland is unlikely to privatize listed fuel group Lotos by the end of 2011 but, when the process gets going, a potential investor will be expected to announce a tender offer on 100% of Lotos shares but keep the company on the WSE, deputy Treasury Minister Mikolaj Budzanowski told reporters in April.