In brief: Brau Union permit; JC Decaux and AMS; poor bank results

The Interior Ministry (MSWiA) has granted Austrian brewing group Brau Union permission to acquire a majority stake in Browary Warszawskie. Brau Union will reportedly pay zl.165 million for the Warsaw brewery. (Rzeczpospolita, May 5-6, p.B3) ... French group JC Decaux has confirmed that it is backing out of its bid for a stake in Art Marketing Syndicate (AMS), Poland's largest outdoor advertising firm. JC Decaux earlier called a public bid for 24.99% of shares in AMS, but minority shareholders only offered the French investor 3%. (Rzeczpospolita, May 5-6, p.B3) ... Six out of the seven publicly traded banks that have already published their first quarter results have seen their net profits drop in comparison to the same period of last year. The exception is Bank Slaski, which saw its net profits increase from zl.42.8 million to zl.55.9 million. (Prawo i Gospodarka, May 5-6, p.8) T.J.