Crédit Agricole seals purchase of Lukas Group, leading provider of consumer credit in Poland, from Enterprise Investors
Warsaw, 7 February 2001 — On February 6, 2001, Crédit Agricole signed an agreement to acquire a 75% stake in Lukas SA, the leading consumer credit provider in Poland. The transaction size is approximately $262.5 million, valuing Lukas Group at $350 million. The selling shareholders are Polish Private Equity Funds I & II, managed by Enterprise Investors, and two individuals. The transaction is the largest ever completed in Central and Eastern Europe involving a private equity fund. Mariusz Łukasiewicz, founder of Lukas Group, will remain a minority shareholder of Lukas. The transaction is subject to the usual regulatory approvals.
Through this transaction Crédit Agricole continues to develop its European dimension by establishing itself in one of the most dynamic countries of Central and Eastern Europe. It also allows Sofinco, Crédit Agricole’s consumer finance subsidiary, to add Poland to its European network.
Credit Suisse First Boston advised Polish Private Equity Funds I & II and the two private individuals on the sale side of this transaction, while Crédit Agricole was advised by Rothschild.
Lukas Group consists of Lukas SA and its subsidiary Lukas Bank. Following rapid development, the Group reached its current share of approximately 25% of the Polish consumer credit market through a multi-channel distribution strategy using advanced technologies such as e-banking and a call center. Lukas succeeded also in developing partnerships with leading retail groups, and operates through a network of 30,000 retail outlets in Poland. Lukas Bank is a modern, rapidly growing retail bank with a nationwide network of nearly 100 branches. Lukas Group has 1,700 employees and its total assets at the end of 2000 reached €550 million.
With 16 million customers, a nationwide network of around 8,000 branches, and equity of €26.3 billion in June 2000, Crédit Agricole is the largest bank in France and among the world’s ten largest banks. Its activities include retail banking, life and non-life insurance, private banking, and asset management. Its subsidiary, Crédit Agricole Indosuez, specializes in global commercial and investment banking.
“The acquisition of Lukas immediately gives Crédit Agricole a leading position in Central and Eastern Europe’s largest market and allows it to envisage robust development in the region with the help of a quality management team. In line with the logic of its earlier investments abroad, Crédit Agricole will emphasize partnerships with other entities of the Crédit Agricole Group,” commented Gilles Gramat, managing director of Crédit Agricole in charge of international development.
Dariusz Prończuk, president of Lukas and a partner at Enterprise Investors, emphasized the following aspects of the deal: “This transaction concludes over three years of fruitful co-operation between Enterprise Investors and Lukas Group together with its management. During this period the combination of strategic advice and funding from Enterprise Investors and the managerial qualities of Lukas allowed the company to significantly grow its scope of activities and shareholder value. The transaction with Crédit Agricole provides an opportunity for this talented group of people to consolidate growth and expand the product offering. It gives Lukas’s management and employees the means to meet their ambitions and open up to the international arena.”
Enterprise Investors has been active in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe since 1990. The four funds managed by Enterprise Investors – the Polish Enterprise Fund, Polish Private Equity Funds I & II and the Polish–American Enterprise Fund – have invested almost $600 million in 78 companies representing different sectors of economy. EI funds have exited 37 investments. EI plans to invest up to $300 million of its newly raised fund, Polish Enterprise Fund IV, within the next four years.