Rest of Best: BRE Bank bids for its remaining shares

Polish corporate BRE Bank bid Thursday for all the shares it does not yet own in retail credit firm Best at zl.7.75 each, or 76% above the stock's closing price on Wednesday. The bank, which is half-owned by Germany's Commerzbank, wants to buy the remaining stake of 10.24%, or just under 0.4 million shares, in the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE)-listed company, despite its serious troubles; Best recorded losses of some zl.75.6 million last year, while its shares have lost three- quarters of their value since last year's high. The move is seen as a part of BRE's strategy to expand into the lucrative retail sector, including the creation of the first Internet bank in Poland last year, as well as the takeover of troubled regional Bank Czestochowa. BRE and Best officials also revealed their restructuring plans, under which the company will focus on installment and car credits and reduce staff by some 20%. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8; Prawo i Gospodarka, pp. 1, 7; Reuters) M.K.