/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/001218.mbx T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R E U R O P E Monday, December 18, 2000, Vol. 1, No. 157 Headlines B E L G I U M LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Belgian Group to Act on Behalf of Shareholders C Z E C H R E P U B L I C PRECHEZA: Prague Stock Exchange to Delist Shares as of Dec. 20 VELAMOS: Faces Financial Crisis E S T O N I A EESTI RAUDTEE: Goes into Privatization F R A N C E SIMONE MAHLER: Sothys to Acquire Cosmetics Company UBI SOFT: Slides on Poor H1 Results G E R M A N Y COMPUTEC MEDIA: Posts Pretax Loss of DM6.8 Million Knoll Pharmaceutical: Abbott Buys for $6.9 Billion I T A L Y FREEDOMLAND: Netfraternity to Buy Troubled Internet Provider P O L A N D DAEWOO-FSO: Fights for Polish Market Despite Woes POLSKA TELEFONIA: Reports a Nine-Month Net Loss of Zl.105.9 mln S P A I N ALTADIS: Reaches Restructuring Deal with Union U K R A I N E CHERNOBYL: To Shut Down Despite Appeal U N I T E D K I N G D O M BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: Liquidation Proceedings CARNFAST LTD: Liquidation Proceedings DERBY PLANT: Liquidation Proceedings DOLPHIN TELECOM: To be Rescued by TIW Funding EQUITABLE LIFE: Call for FSA to Compensate Investors EQUITABLE LIFE: FSA Calls for Insurance Company Transparency EQUITABLE LIFE: Seeks to Revive Plan for a Sale F GRANGE: Liquidation Proceedings FUTURE INTEGRATED: Faces Financial Crisis GLEN OFFSHORE: Liquidation Proceedings GILTPEAK LTD: Liquidation Proceedings GLENRAY LTD: Liquidation Proceedings ICFI CORPORATE: Liquidation Proceedings JT AUTO: Liquidation Proceedings PROTHERICS: Posts Interim Pre-Tax Loss of 5.22 Million Pounds RAILCARE: Babcock to Cut 250 Jobs SEAGRAM: Allied to Pay 345 Million Pounds SQUARELOGIC LTD: Liquidation Proceedings VAUXHALL: Workers Stage Solidarity Walkouts VAUXHALL: Chairman to Meet Head of Union WILLIAM BAIRD: VC Firm Buys M&S Supplier ============= B E L G I U M ============= LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Belgian Group to Act on Behalf of Shareholders ----------------------------------------------------------------- A Belgian consumer advocacy group said it would take legal action on behalf of members who are also shareholders in Lernout & Hauspie in order to seek damages from the troubled speech technology firm, Reuters noted last week. Consumer group Test Achats said: "The objective of the action is not to attack the company Lernout & Hauspie, but to question the responsibility of the directors and independent auditors of the company." A spokesman for Test Achats said the group had not spoken with Belgian shareholder consultancy group Deminor, which represents about 1,000 L&H shareholders about working together. Test Achats declined to say what level of damages it would seek. =========================== C Z E C H R E P U B L I C ============================ PRECHEZA: Prague Stock Exchange to Delist Shares as of Dec. 20 -------------------------------------------------------------- Shares in the chemical firm Precheza will be removed from the free market of the Prague Stock Exchange (BCPP) as of Dec. 20 due to the cancellation of public trading in Precheza shares at the firm's general meeting, BCPP informed CTK last week. A total of 156 shares and participation certificates are now traded on the bourse, five of which are traded in the main market, 63 in the parallel market and 88 in the free market. At the end of 1999 the bourse registered a total of 195 shares and participation certificates, while in 1998 the figure stood at 304. VELAMOS: Faces Financial Crisis -------------------------------- Bicycle manufacturer Velamos has been struggling with high debts and a lack of finance for production for some time. The firm is endangered by bankruptcy, Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin reported last week. In 1998 it saw a loss of about CEK 20 million while in 1997 the loss amounted to CEK 147.6 million. In 1998 the firm generated proceeds of about CEK 350 million and made approximately 100,000 bicycles, about 90 percent of which were exported to Western Europe, primarily Germany and the Netherlands. ============= E S T O N I A ============= EESTI RAUDTEE: Goes into Privatization -------------------------------------- Supervisory council of the Estonian Privatization Agency awarded the privatization of 66 percent of shares in Eesti Raudtee (Estonian Railway) to Rail Estonia, with the Baltic Rail Service bid in second place, BNS & Euromoney reported last week. Transport and Communications Minister Toivo Jurgenson said there were clear strategic investors in the Rail Estonia bid. Adviser to the privatization Vaino Sarnet explained that Rail Estonia's bid is acceptable also if only one of the three strategic investors takes part in the final bid. Rail Estonia made the highest bid of 1,715 million kroons (USD 96 mln) for the 66 percent of shares in Estonian Railway. Baltic Rail Service was ready to pay one billion kroons for the majority holding in Estonian Railway, while the bid of the third participant in the tender, a consortium of Estonian businessmen and the Swedish state railway, was 865 million kroons. At present, 90 percent in Rail Estonia belongs to the international consultancy Kingsley Group, with 5 percent provided by CSX Corporation, a major US railway firm, and another 5 percent by Rail America, another US railway firm. Representatives of Rail Estonia said they had filed to the privatization agency all the necessary documents to show the company is holding serious talks on bringing in Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway is interested in Estonian Railway, BNS noted. =========== F R A N C E =========== SIMONE MAHLER: Sothys to Acquire Cosmetics Company --------------------------------------------------- The Bordeaux commercial court has accepted a plan by Paris-based Sothys, which produces cosmetics at Meyssac (Correze), to acquire cosmetics company Simone Mahler, which has been in receivership since late 1999. The FFr 6.13m (EUR 934,510) acquisition proposal will involve 20 redundancies, but Sothys will take on 46 Simone Mahler staff. The acquired company's Bordeaux-based production facilities will be transferred to Correze, Les Echos reported last week. UBI SOFT: Slides on Poor H1 Results ----------------------------------- French Ubi Soft, the computer games maker, reported a near halving of net profits in the first half of its 2000/01 financial year and a worse-than-expected operating loss, Reuters reported last week. Ubi Soft said net profit fell 46.7 percent to 1.6 million euros in the six months to end-September and operating income plunged to a negative 5.3 million euros from a positive result of 6.6 million euros in the year-ago period. The company blamed one-off costs and high investments for the slide in earnings, as well as the impact on sales of its games from the switch to new gaming consoles, Reuters said. Wright Investors' Service noted that there are no dividends in more recent quarter and last 12 months. As of March 2000, the company's long-term debt was 41.83 million Euro and total liabilities were 116.35 million Euro. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= COMPUTEC MEDIA: Posts Pretax Loss of DM6.8 Million --------------------------------------------------- Computec Media AG, a Compact disc and on-line game publisher has posted a fiscal 2000 pretax loss of DM6.8 million. It reported a DM45.2 million operating loss in the U.S. on its discontinued operations under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Handelsblatt reported last week. Knoll Pharmaceutical: Abbott Buys for $6.9 Billion -------------------------------------------------- Abbott Laboratories has won the bid for Knoll Pharmaceutical Co., a unit of German chemical giant BASF AG. News Now noted last week that Abbott will pay $6.9 billion for Knoll. Abbott beat out rival U.S. drugs firm Eli Lilly & Co. Eli Lilly -- previously tipped as the frontrunner for the unit -- had abandoned buyout negotiations, according to News Now. Abbott, based in Abbott Park, Ill., declined to comment. BASF AG could not be reached for comment. A spokesman declined to comment on speculation about Knoll. BASF had valued Knoll at 14 billion to 16 billion German marks ($6.4 billion to $7.3 billion). Banking sources said last month BASF was looking to sell Knoll for $6 billion and had appointed Wasserstein Perella Securities to auction the business. Knoll is viewed by analysts as undersized, with a global market share of just 0.7 percent. ========= I T A L Y ========= FREEDOMLAND: Netfraternity to Buy Troubled Internet Provider ------------------------------------------------------------- Italian Internet services company Netfraternity said it plans to make an offer to acquire Internet-via-TV provider Freedomland, ending weeks of speculation about buyers for the troubled company. Reuters noted last week that Freedomland said it had not received any offer. Freedomland is not aware of this proposed project, it said without elaborating further. Freedomland's shares have collapsed on the Nuovo Mercato in the wake of an announcement in October that the company is being investigated for alleged false accounting. =========== P O L A N D =========== DAEWOO-FSO: Fights for Polish Market Despite Woes ------------------------------------------------- Polish Daewoo-FSO, the bankrupt Korean car maker's largest foreign subsidiary, pledged to fight to keep its market share in Poland and increase sales, even while it trims jobs. Creditor banks are negotiating the sale of Daewoo Motor to General Motors, but some officials from Daewoo-FSO and the Warsaw government are lobbying to sell the Polish unit to another car firm because GM is a competitor in Poland. Daewoo-FSO Chief Executive Officer Sung Koog Yeo said plans to boost sales were crucial for maintaining the value of the firm, Reuters reported last week. The company would prefer that investor not be GM. It would be unhealthy from the point of view of competition on the Polish market if we were taken over by GM, said a Daewoo official. Daewoo-FSO Development Director Maciej Motelski confirmed the firm was implementing a tough restructuring program, which would involve some lay-offs among the Warsaw-based plant's 5,500 workforce and thousands of workers at smaller subsidiaries. Negotiations with trade unions are underway. He confirmed that the firm would suffer a loss this year, but declined details. POLSKA TELEFONIA: Reports a Nine-Month Net Loss of Zl.105.9 mln --------------------------------------------------------------- The supervisory board of Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), one of Poland's three cell phone groups, dismissed the company's Chief Financial Officer Stanislaw Majewski due to his unsatisfactory performance, Reuters reported last week. The supervisory board authorized Boguslaw Kulakowski, the CEO, to assume responsibility for all financial activities until the new director is appointed, Elektrim, which controls the mobile operator. PTC suffered a net loss of zl. 105.9 million on sales of 982.6 million in the January-September period of this year. Shares in Elektrim, suffered sharp losses, later denied by the firm, that the conglomerate owes as much as one billion zlotys ($228 million) in back taxes. ========= S P A I N ========= ALTADIS: Reaches Restructuring Deal with Union ---------------------------------------------- Altadis, the French-Spanish tobacco group said last week it had signed a restructuring agreement with its labor unions under which nearly 1,700 workers would take retirement or early retirement, Reuters reported last week. One of the world's largest tobacco companies said it would make provisions of 300 million euros ($264 million) for the restructuring plan, which also involves closing eight factories and opening two new ones in Spain. The restructuring became necessary after Tabacalera of Spain and Seita of France announced a merger plan in October 1999 to create Altadis, the world's fourth largest tobacco firm. Wright Investors' Service noted that at the end of 1999, Altadis S.A. had negative working capital, as current liabilities were 5.06 billion Euros while total current assets were only 4.23 billion Euro. ============= U K R A I N E ============= CHERNOBYL: To Shut Down Despite Appeal -------------------------------------- Chernobyl is due to close despite last-minute efforts by parliament to keep the notorious nuclear power station open, AP reported last week. Politicians, supported by plant workers, adopted a communist-sponsored resolution urging the government to postpone the shutdown of Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986, until April. But President Leonid Kuchma went ahead on Thursday with preparations to close the power plant in a ceremony to be broadcast live on television, dismissing the politicians' step as political games. But the closure will be purely symbolic because the last operating reactor, number three, was effectively shut down last week. It was later fired up again to minimum output levels for the ceremony, but he reactor will not be linked to the national grid. Kuchma, who will give the command from Kiev, said: "For the entire world, Chernobyl stands as negative symbol that should have no place upon the earth. "I want to re-affirm once again that we've taken the only right decision, from all points of view and first of all moral." Earlier, Kuchma took foreign dignitaries including the prime ministers of Russia, Belarus and Georgia on a tour of the ill-fated plant. About 6,000 jobs will go when the plant is shut down completely at around midnight (2400 GMT), though some workers will stay on. For years, Ukraine resisted international calls to close Chernobyl, saying it could not do without the electricity and demanding foreign aid in return. Kuchma pledged to close the plant during a visit by U.S. President Bill Clinton earlier this year. The European Commission last week approved a $585 million loan to help Ukraine build two new reactors to generate electricity, AP noted. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: Liquidation Proceedings ---------------------------------------------- Company Name: Business Opportunity West Ltd Previous Name: Spectrum Newspapers (London) Ltd Company No: 3256239 Com. Business: Publishing/Advertising Appointed on: 07/11/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Philip G Byrne IPno: 5583 Firm Name: Byrne Associates Address: St Kilian House 38 Whiteladies Road Clifton City Postcode: Bristol BS8 2LG CARNFAST LTD: Liquidation Proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Carnfast Ltd Company No: 2749286 Com. Business: Textile Producers Appointed on: 08/11/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Matthew C Bowker IPno: 8106 Firm Name: Jacksons Jolliffe Cork Address: 33 George Street City Postcode: Wakefield WF1 1LX DERBY PLANT: Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------- Company Name: Derby Plant Hire (Birkenhead) Ltd Previous Name: Derby Contractors Ltd Company No: 1173870 Com. Business: Plant Hire Operators Appointed on: 07/11/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Robert M Rutherford IPno: 6852 Firm Name: Parkin S Booth & Co Address: 44 Old Hall Street City Postcode: Liverpool L3 9EB DOLPHIN TELECOM: To be Rescued by TIW Funding --------------------------------------------- Dolphin Telecom, the radio network operator for emergency vehicles and delivery fleets, is on course to receive new funding of around 125m pounds early next year, The Independent reported last week. Based in Basingstoke, with around a quarter of a million users across Britain, Dolphin is likely to receive the funding through a rights issue launched by Telesystem International Wireless, the Canadian group that holds an 81.5 percent stake. TIW, controlled by the Montreal businessman Charles Sirois, is to raise between $225m (155m pounds) and $350m, a portion of which is to be earmarked for Dolphin. A source said: "We expect Dolphin will be announcing its funding and development plans for 2001 before Christmas." Speculation had mounted that Dolphin could become a victim of the credit crunch affecting telecoms startups. Last month, Dolphin said it would require 125m pounds in funding to continue to build its UK and European businesses, The Independent noted. EQUITABLE LIFE: Call for FSA to Compensate Investors ----------------------------------------------------- The Equitable Life crisis deepened when the Liberal Democrats accused the financial services authority of failing to protect consumers and raised the issue of possible compensation to policyholders who have lost out, The Times reported last week. As worried Equitable customers continued to flood the insurer with calls, Dr Vincent Cable MP, the Liberal Democrat shadow trade and industry secretary, said there seems to be evidence of serious regulatory negligence on the part of the FSA which needs to be investigated. Howard Davies, the FSA chairman, last week defended the watchdog's handling of the crisis, saying it had acted appropriately. Equitable has left many policyholders worried and confused after warning up to 1m of them that they can expect lower investment returns in future, and will be hit with a 10 percent penalty if they transfer their funds to another provider. On Friday Equitable closed its doors to new business and announced it was changing its investment strategy after failing to find a buyer, The Times noted. EQUITABLE LIFE: FSA Calls for Insurance Company Transparency ------------------------------------------------------------ The financial services authority is considering proposals to force insurance companies to release more information about their financial position to prevent a repeat of Equitable Life's shutdown. Money Unlimited noted that Equitable discovered a 7.5bn pounds black hole in its accounts last week and was forced to close its doors to new business after failing to find a buyer. The FSA says it recognizes the difference in the detailed information that insurance companies must reveal for statutory regulatory purposes, in the past in the form of filings to the Department of Trade and Industry, and the more limited information displayed in their annual reports accounts. A spokeswoman for the FSA said: "At the moment there is only limited correspondence between annual reports and the regulatory returns. The regulator warns policyholders against making hasty decisions and asks them to take detailed notes of any conversations with financial advisers when deciding whether to move their policies to another provider. Some financial advisers are thought to be prepared to waive their fees when discussing the Equitable situation. Equitable is trying to sell off parts of its business after the decision to close its doors to new business. Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, which advised Equitable on its failed sale, is said to be re-approaching some of the 15 bidders who originally expressed an interested in the entire company. EQUITABLE LIFE: Seeks to Revive Plan for a Sale ----------------------------------------------- Equitable Life is seeking to revive plans to sell itself and has confirmed it is likely to institute a boardroom shake-up. Chris Headdon, the managing director of Equitable Life, said the company was considering a plan to sell its sales force, headquarters and asset management operation to a third party. Mr Headdon also confirmed that the board is likely to be slimmed down. It is probable that any buyer would be offered a stand- alone contract to manage Equitable's with-profits fund. The sale, which could fetch up to 600 million pounds, would provide a welcome cash injection to the fund. But the proposals would mean policyholders would still be stuck with the 1.5 billion pounds bill for paying out on guaranteed annuity rate policies imposed by the House of Lords. Equitable insisted it had already had expressions of interest in the plan. Prudential is known to be keen on the Equitable sales force and other companies which were part of the 15 initially expressing interest in Equitable are thought likely to enter the fray, The Times reported. F GRANGE: Liquidation Proceedings ---------------------------------- Company Name: F Grange & Son Ltd Com. Business: Motor Vehicles/Petrol Sales Appointed on: 07/11/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: C C MacMillan IPno: 6000 Firm Name: BDO Stoy Hayward Address: 3rd Floor Peter House St Peter's Square City Postcode: Manchester M1 5AB FUTURE INTEGRATED: Faces Financial Crisis ------------------------------------------- Future Integrated Telephony shares fell 34p to 95p last week, compared with a 12-month high of 12 pounds, after the company gave warning that annual losses would be higher than expected. The company has been adversely affected by the collapse of Independent Energy Holdings (IEH), the electricity generator and supplier that was brought to billing errors. These errors, and the subsequent sale of IEH's business, have caused a severe delay in remitting revenues to its suppliers, including Future Integrated. Future Integrated said these problems, which had been first highlighted in October, had continued, resulting in a knock-on effect on other customers. The company has not made a profit since floating on the stock market in 1996. Losses were 3.3 million pounds in the last financial year, The Times reported last week. GLEN OFFSHORE: Liquidation Proceedings --------------------------------------- Company Name: Glen Offshore Engineering Ltd Company No: SC Appointed on: 08/11/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: Michael J Reid IPno: 7327 Firm Name: Meston Reid & Co Address: 12 Carden Place City Postcode: Aberdeen AB10 1UR GILTPEAK LTD: Liquidation Proceedings -------------------------------------- Company Name: Giltpeak Ltd Company No: 2524827 Com. Business: Investment Co Appointed on: 07/11/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Mark R Fry IPno: 8588 Firm Name: Begbies Traynor Address: The Old Exchange 234 Southchurch Road City Postcode: Southend-on-Sea SS1 2EG GLENRAY LTD: Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------- Company Name: Glengray Ltd Company No: SC Appointed on: 07/11/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors Liquidators: Michael J Reid IPno: 7327 Firm Name: Meston Reid & Co Address: 12 Carden Place City Postcode: Aberdeen AB10 1UR ICFI CORPORATE: Liquidation Proceedings ---------------------------------------- Company Name: ICFI Corporate Securities Fund Plc Company No: IR Appointed on: 08/11/00 Type: Members Appointed by: Members Liquidators: David Hargaden IPno: Firm Name: Hargaden Moor Address: Grand Canal House 1 Upper Grand Canal Street City Postcode: Dublin 4 JT AUTO: Liquidation Proceedings --------------------------------- Company Name: JT Auto Electrical Ltd Company No: 2623605 Com. Business: Auto Electrical Repairs Appointed on: 07/11/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Gordon Craig IPno: 7983 Firm Name: Begbies Traynor Address: 1 Winckley Court Chapel Street City Postcode: Preston PR1 8BU PROTHERICS: Posts Interim Pre-Tax Loss of 5.22 Million Pounds -------------------------------------------------------------- The Times noted last week that Protherics (pharmaceuticals) posted interim pre-tax losses of 5.22 million pounds. Again there is no dividend. Wright Investors' Service noted earlier this month that Protherics Plc (formerly Proteus International Plc) was formed on the 15th September 1999 from the merger of Proteus International Plc and Therapeutic Antibodies Inc. The group develops and applies computer aided molecular modeling and immunotherapeutic techniques to enable the group to design and synthesize lead compounds for development as therapeutics in conjunction with pharmaceutical industry partners in the United Kingdom. As of March 2000, the company's long term debt was 858,000 pounds and total liabilities were 5.31 million pounds. RAILCARE: Babcock to Cut 250 Jobs --------------------------------- Babcock International Group Plc, the British engineering services firm, said it was making 250 workers redundant out of 900 at Railcare, its loss-making joint venture that maintains and refurbishes trains. Babcock owns 60 percent of Railcare with German engineering giant Siemens AG's 40 percent. Babcock said that Railcare had been losing money for over 12 months and it had no alternative to the job losses in order to return the business to profit in the market conditions, Reuters reported last week. Babcock said talks with workers and unions would begin immediately. Around 200 redundancies will be made at Wolverton, near Milton Keynes, 80 km (50 miles) northwest of London. The balance will be at Springburn, Glasgow, where there is an ongoing redundancy program. Babcock had outperformed the engineering sector by 44 percent so far this year. SEAGRAM: Allied to Pay 345 Million Pounds ----------------------------------------- Allied Domecq, the spirits group, said it had agreed to pay 575m euros (345m pounds) for the Mumm and Perrier-Jouet champagne labels, The Independent reported last week. The company also defended its decision not to bid in the auction of the wine and spirits business of Seagram, which is expected to fetch $8bn (5.5bn pounds). Analysts saw the Seagram sale as opportunity for Allied to narrow the gap between its own business and that of Diageo, the market leader. Diageo's joint bid with Pernod-Ricard, is seen as the front-runner in the auction for Seagram's assets. Industry observers believe a deal could be sealed. Brown-Forman and Bacardi have also tabled a joint offer. As he unveiled the debt-free champagne purchase, Philip Bowman, Allied's chief executive, said a full bid for the 250 brands in Seagram's drinks cabinet "would not have been in the best interest of shareholders". He said the board had taken the decision in the light of the Mumm and Perrier-Jouet opportunity, and Allied's earlier agreements to distribute Stolichnaya vodka in the US, and to acquire Seagram's Captain Morgan rum through an alliance with Destileria Serralles, its Puerto Rican producer. The latter deal is being disputed by Seagram, which does not accept Destileria Serralles's claim to have first right of refusal on the brand. There is also a wrangle in Russia over the ownership of Stolichnaya, causing some analysts to question the firmness of Allied's expansion strategy. SQUARELOGIC LTD: Liquidation Proceedings ----------------------------------------- Company Name: Squarelogic Ltd Company No: 2036163 Com. Business: Motor Factors Appointed on: 07/11/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Martin D Pickard IPno: 6833 Firm Name: Mazars Neville Russell Address: 1 Telford Way City Postcode: Luton LU1 1HT VAUXHALL: Workers Stage Solidarity Walkouts ------------------------------------------- Workers at Vauxhall car plants are holding unofficial walkouts in support of colleagues set to lose their jobs because of a shock decision to end car production at Luton, Ananova reported last week. Production at the company's Ellesmere Port factory in Cheshire has been hit as employees downed tools in a gesture of solidarity. Workers at a huge Vauxhall warehouse in Luton have also walked out. Police have been called to the plant as workers lay siege to the head office, forcing chairman Nick Reilly to try to explain the decision. The fresh action was launched ahead of a meeting between union leaders and Mr Reilly in London. The unions have pledged to fight the decision to end production of the Vectra model at Luton, warning that up to 10,000 jobs could eventually be lost because of the effect on firms which supply the plant with goods and services. Transport and General Workers Union general secretary Bill Morris says he is demanding to know from Vauxhall why it is closing a plant which has been assumed to be viable. VAUXHALL: Chairman to Meet Head of Union ---------------------------------------- Bill Morris, head of the Transport and General Workers Union, will meet Vauxhall chairman Nick Reilly in a bid to reverse the decision to axe 2,200 jobs at the company's Luton plant. Mr Morris also says he is willing to fly out to the General Motors headquarters in Detroit if it helps save the jobs, Ananova reported last week. His meeting with Mr Reilly is due to take place at the Luton plant, which was the scene of an angry demonstration by 350 workers. A TGWU spokesman said: "We will be asking the company to justify their decision - to show the unviability of the Luton plant." The union has described the decision as "indefensible" and suspects Luton was targeted because it is easier to lay workers off in the UK than the rest of Europe. WILLIAM BAIRD: VC Firm Buys M&S Supplier ----------------------------------------- A venture capital firm is to fund a management buy-out at troubled textile firm William Baird, BBC News reported last week. Baird has suffered in recent years as retailers such as Marks & Spencer have switched to cheaper suppliers in Asia or Eastern Europe The retailers have been forced to cut costs as High Street clothing prices have tumbled in the face of growing competition and more bargain conscious shoppers. The buy-out deal at 75p per share values the company at nearly 88m pounds ($129m). Last month, Baird announced that it was to sell its formal menswear brands to a management team for 19 million pounds. The company said last week that its womenswear business continued to perform well, but menswear had been more difficult. Baird lost the last of its lucrative M&S business at the end of last year. It was forced to close about 15 factories and lay off some 4,000 workers, the end of a 30-year relationship with the retailer. The textile firm then sued M&S for breach of contract, a legal battle which is still in progress. The company said it had been carefully considering its options against this background and it had concluded that the management takeover was the best solution. Last year Baird reported a pre-tax loss of 91.7m pounds, compared with a profit of 25.9m pounds in 1998. S U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N Troubled Company Reporter -- Europe is a daily newsletter co- published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Trenton, NJ USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, DC USA. Lexy Mueller, Mercy Villacastin and Cristina Pernites Editors. Copyright 2000. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2754. This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the publishers. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. The TCR Europe subscription rate is $575 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are $25 each. For subscription information, contact Christopher Beard at 301/951-6400. * * * End of Transmission * * *