Intended Offer for Brickworks

Guinness Peat Group PLC
27 September 2000


GPG's intended Offer for Brickworks Ltd (Australia)

The following is the text of an announcement which Guinness Peat Group plc
('GPG') has made in Australia.

'Yesterday we were informed by the Foreign Investment Review Board ('FIRB') that
GPG's application for approval under the Foreign Acquisition and Takeovers Act,
1975 of its takeover offers for Brickworks ('Offer') had been rejected and that
orders had been signed by the Treasury, the effect of which is to prohibit GPG
from proceeding with its Offer. The orders are to take effect on 
20 September 2000.

The rejection of our application to the FIRB appears to be based on the view
that if the Offer is successful, it would lead to a breach of section 57(1) of
the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 which prohibits a foreign person from being
in a position to exercise control of a commercial television broadcasting
licence.  It is suggested that as a result of the Offer, GPG would purportedly
acquire an 'interest' in the NBN television licence held by a subsidiary of
Washington H Soul Pattinson Limited ('Soul Pattinson').

If the Offer succeeded, Brickwork's shareholding in Soul Pattinson would be
reduced from approximately 42% to 3%. GPG does not consider that, as a matter of
law or of fact, it would directly or indirectly be in a position to  exercise
control over NBN if the Offer was successful. GPG considers that the  Treasury
has no proper basis or justification for rejecting our application for approval
of the Offer and accordingly proposes to challenge the Treasurer's  decisions
('Appeal').

However, in light of the orders which have been made and pending the
determination of our Appeal, GPG considers it has no alternative but to allow
the Offer to close on 21 September 2000. We enclose a copy of the notice
required under Section 630(3) of the Corporations Law.

Subject to the successful outcome of the Appeal, GPG intends to proceed with a
renewed bid for Brickworks on terms equivalent to the Offer or on revised terms.

G H Weiss
DIRECTOR'