Commerzbank snaps up low price shares in BRE Bank

German Commerzbank has managed to cheaply acquire an almost 20% stake of BRE Bank increasing its share in the Polish bank to 70%. According to analysts, BRE will have to accelerate building and upgrading its market position, or else it may be taken over by stronger players, particularly if the consolidation of the banking sector on the German market gains speed. Commerzbank offered the lowest possible price of zł. 88.98 per share. Poor Q3 results, as well as the announcement of a new share issue, triggered a drop in BRE's share price on the Warsaw bourse. "This aroused investors interest," said Dariusz Górski, an analyst with ING Securities. "Commerzbank seems to have taken advantage of this. It certainly did not overpay," he added. The net profit of the BRE Bank group amounted to zł. 66.1 million after three quarters of 2003. (Puls Biznesu, p. 5) A.Z.