BRE will acquire a 50% stake in Austrian factoring company Intermarket

Bank Rozwoju Eksportu (BRE) has acquired a 50% plus stake in the largest Austrian factoring enterprise Intermarket Factoring Bank AG (IFB). This acquisition is in accordance with the revenue diversification plan of BRE. It will allow the bank to enter new markets in Cental and Eastern Europe," said BRE president Wojciech Kostrzewa. Acquiring the Austrian firm is the first such large investment of BRE in a foreign company. IFB has a 50% share in the Austrian market and in 1999 had revenues of euro 7.2 million with a turnover of euro 1.5 billion. It provides banking services to 1,500 companies throughout Central Europe. Since 1995, IFB has been operating in Poland through Polfactor in which it has a 49% stake. BRE also has a 49% stake in Polfactor. Polfactor has a 24% market share in Poland and provides services to small companies. It has an annual turnover of just under euro 4 million. "Polish companies undervalue factoring services," says Kostrzewa. (Prawo i Gospodarka, page 1, 9) M.M. CS First Boston International Equity invests in Polish tiles manufacturer The Treasury has sold its 30% stake in Poland's largest tiles manufacturer Opoczno S.A. to financial investor CS First Boston International Equity Partners (CSFB IEP). President of the management of Opoczno Slawomir Frackowiak says Opoczno and its new partner are planning to debut on the stock exchange in the near future. CSFB IEP paid $22.8 million for its stake, which is the amount Opoczno spent in order to raise capital. In the near future, Opoczno will concentrate on restructuring. (Parkiet, page 5) A.Z.