BNP May Buy Lone Star’s IKB Stake

U.S. investor,Lone Star可能将part of German bank,IKB, toBNP Paribas,Reutersreports, citingDaily Die Welt. The investor is still looking for a buyer for the rest of the rescued lender. Lone Star is selling IKB as funding guarantees expire in 2012 and it may prove difficult to refinance the lender without state aid.

The investor is expected to sell only IKB’s corporate loans business, which caters to small to medium-sized businesses. The company may be required to keep IKB’s portfolio of risky assets, including U.S. mortgage-liked securities and European peripheral states’ sovereign debt. After bailing out IKB, Germany offloaded the bank to Lone Star for €137 million but still provides €9.5 billion in guarantees for the lender.

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