BRIERLEY BIDS 4.35 DOLLARS/SHARE FOR PROGRESSIVE
<Brierley Investments Ltd> (BIL)
launched a full takeover bid for the supermarket group
<Progressive Enterprises Ltd> at 4.35 dlrs a share.
    BIL said in a statement the offer is conditional on minimum
acceptances totalling 30 mln shares, just under 25 pct of the
120.4 mln Progressive shares on issue.
    Progressive is currently involved in a proposed merger with
<Rainbow Corp Ltd>. Rainbow earlier this week raised its stake
in Progressive to 52 pct. BIL opposes the Rainbow merger and
analysts say BIL needs a 25 pct stake in Progressive to prevent
it occurring.
    The merger involves shareholders in Progressive and Rainbow
both receiving shares in a new company <Astral Pacific Corp
Ltd> on a one-for-one exchange basis.
    The BIL bid is higher than the 4.20 dlrs BIL said it would
offer when it first announced on Monday it would make a full
bid for Progressive, and it follows much public debate between
BIL and Rainbow.
    BIL Chief Executive Paul Collins said last week that he
opposes the Rainbow/Progressive merger because BIL sees
Progressive shares as being worth twice as much as Rainbow's.
BIL has not disclosed how many Progressive shares it holds.
    Rainbow has said the merger is soundly based. Chairman
Allan Hawkins said last week that BIL's actions were aimed only
at dirsrupting the merger and were not in the interests of
Progressive shareholders.
    Both Rainbow's and Progressive's boards have approved the
merger proposal. It has also been approved by the Commerce
Commission, but BIL's bid is still subject to the Commission's
scrutiny.
    Progressive shares ended at 4.35 dlrs, Rainbow at 3.42 and
BIL at 4.17 at the close of New Zealand Stock Exchange trading
today.
 REUTER
