/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010124.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 Wednesday, January 24, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 17 Headlines F I N L A N D F-SECURE: Fourth Quarter Loss Widens G E R M A N Y ADAM OPEL: Denies GM Plans to Sell or Float Opel EM.TV: Morgan Grenfell Mulls Legal Action Against EM.TV T-ONLINE AG: Analysts Forecast T-Online Loss in 4th Quarter 2000 UTIMACO SAFEWAY: Reports Narrowed Loss to 1.7 Million Euros H U N G A R Y SYNERGON RT: Posts Ft 700 Million Loss in 2000 I R E L A N D TUSKAR RESOURCES: Directors Leave Tuskar N E T H E R L A N D S LETSBUYIT.COM: Manages to Stay Afloat LETSBUYIT.COM: Primus-Online to Buy LetsBuyIt Parts P O L A N D DAEWOO FSO: Chief Asserts FSO Will not be Dissolved R U S S I A MEDIA-MOST: Putin Sets Turner Deal into Doubt U N I T E D K I N G D O M CORUS: In Talks with Banks to Simplify Group Debt CORUS: May Pay Clean-up Cost ECCLE RIGGS: Liquidation Proceedings EQUITABLE LIFE: Aegon to Bid for Life Assurer HUNTINGDON LIFE: Secures Long Term Refinancing HUNTINGDON LIFE: Inks Deal with Backers to Avoid Closure MANNINGHAN ENVIRONMENTAL: Liquidation Proceedings STEPSTONE: Creates 40 U.K. Jobs at Online Job Site SUMITOMO TRUST: To Liquidate London Unit TONY & SONS: Liquidation Proceedings VIEW-TEC SERVICES: Liquidation Proceedings ============= F I N L A N D ============= F-SECURE: Fourth Quarter Loss Widens ------------------------------------- Data security group F-Secure said on Friday that its losses in the fourth quarter of 2000 were worse-than-expected because of weak sales in the U.S., Reuters said on Friday. According to Chief Executive Risto Siilasmaa, big clients in the United States that set a ban on investments at the end of December have contributed to a loss of 3.2 to 3.7 million euros. "Because of that, some bigger encryption sales have been put off and that had a direct impact on the top line and also similarly on the bottom line," Siilasmaa added. The U.S. market accounts for some 45 percent of F-Secure's net sales, although that share had decreased in the fourth quarter. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= ADAM OPEL: Denies GM Plans to Sell or Float Opel ------------------------------------------------- Loss-making carmaker Adam Opel AG denied a Friday report in German daily Die Welt that its U.S. parent General Motors may sell or place Opel's plants in Ruesselsheim, Bochum und Eisenach on the stock exchange, Reuters reported. "Opel is the center of our European activities. Any speculation that General Motors wants to sell Opel or float it on the stock exchange is inappropriate and without substance," said General Motors Europe President Michael Burns. In 2000, Opel posted an operating loss of 982 million marks compared with a loss of 275 million marks in 1999. Opel Chief Executive Robert Hendry, who plans to resign in March, blamed the declining German market, effects of a weak euro and product deficiency for the poor results. EM.TV: Morgan Grenfell Mulls Legal Action Against EM.TV -------------------------------------------------------- Asset management company Morgan Grenfell Private Equity on Monday said it may take legal action against EM.TV after a nose-dive in its share price forced the Deutsche Bank subsidiary to incur a book loss, Handelsblatt reported. In 2000, EM.TV acquired a 50 percent stake in SLEC from Morgan Grenfell, which held a 12.5 percent stake in the group, and U.S. investment bank Hellman & Friedman, which owned 37.5 percent. EM.TV financed the acquisition in cash and shares. However, Morgan Grenfell would appear to have lost out on the deal, after EM.TV stock dropped when the group hit financial difficulties late last year, Handelsblatt added. T-ONLINE AG: Analysts Forecast T-Online Loss in 4th Quarter 2000 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Internet service provider T-Online AG is expected to report a deeper operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2000, as indicated by a Reuters poll of analysts' forecasts on Monday. The earnings were said to have weakened due to its shift in offering customers a flat rate. Analysts also say the company is burdened by problems at its Club Internet unit in France, which is struggling to gain market share. UTIMACO SAFEWAY: Reports Narrowed Loss to 1.7 Million Euros ----------------------------------------------------------- Security software company Utimaco Safeware AG said its loss before interest and taxes narrowed to 1.7 million euros in the second quarter of fiscal 2001, as reported by Handelsblatt in its January 22 edition. This was compared to a loss before interest and taxes of 4.1 million euros a year earlier. Utimaco said it expects to fulfill business expectations in the second half of fiscal 2001, enabling it to break even this year. Utimaco Safeware has not paid any dividends during the last 12 months or in the previous five fiscal years. ============= H U N G A R Y ============= SYNERGON RT: Posts Ft 700 Million Loss in 2000 ---------------------------------------------- Computer services company Synergon Rt posted a Ft 700 million loss for 2000, compared with a Ft 665 million profit in 1999, Hungary AM reported on Monday. The loss has been blamed on reorganization costs and lower-than- expected fourth-quarter sales. ============= I R E L A N D ============= TUSKAR RESOURCES: Directors Leave Tuskar ----------------------------------------- The directors of Tuskar Resources Plc, an oil and gas exploration and development company, have resigned from the board of the Company, Reuters said in its January 22 edition. According to Kase Lawal, Howard Wolf and Sir Derek Alun-Jones, it is in the best interest of the company for the board to be restructured to allow a consolidated effort for resolving the current operational and financial difficulties. Sunil Pathak, the company's former non-executive director, immediately becomes an executive director. Both Pathak and Managing Director Gene Manson will concentrate on plans to continue the corporate goal, including protecting shareholders' interests. At the end of 2000, Tuskar had negative working capital. Its current liabilities were 23.70 million euros while total current assets were only 5.19 million euros. ===================== N E T H E R L A N D S ===================== LETSBUYIT.COM: Manages to Stay Afloat -------------------------------------- Struggling Internet retailer Letsbuyit.com raised 2.5 million euros ($2.32 million) of the 4 million ($3.73 million) it needs by Thursday afternoon to avoid bankruptcy, according to Reuters on Monday. However, the company still needs to find a further 30 million euros ($28 million) by March 14 to satisfy its short-term liquidity needs. A court ruling on Friday gives the debt-laden e-tailer until today to come up with four million euros in funding or bank guarantees, following a petition for bankruptcy by Letsbuyit's own debt moratorium administrators. LETSBUYIT.COM: Primus-Online to Buy LetsBuyIt Parts ---------------------------------------------------- According to Primus Online chief executive Thomas Schulte- Hurmann, online retailer Primus-Online Handel und Dienstleistung AG is in talks to buy Letsbuyit.com's German domain site, international domains and its customer base, and is willing to pay DM750,000 for the business, Handelsblatt said on Sunday. Primus isn't interested in buying Letsbuyit as a whole as it is doubtful about what can be salvaged, Schulte-Hurmann said. Apart from the domains and the customer base, "the rest is a bubble of marketing and everybody knows it," he added. Letsbuyit.com, which operates in 14 countries, generates over 80 percent of its sales in Germany, the U.K. and the Nordic countries. The company's troubles have been blamed on mismanagement and a lack of buying power. =========== P O L A N D =========== DAEWOO FSO: Chief Asserts FSO Will not be Dissolved ---------------------------------------------------- According to Daewoo Motor president Lee Jong-Dae, subsidiary Polish FSO will not be dissolved despite its ranking as the Korean carmaker's most troubled unit, according to Poland AM's January 22 edition. The best solution for Daewoo-FSO would be an acquisition by General Motors. Those negotiations are expected to start in February, the Daewoo chief added. However, the report says the European Commission would not agree to a transaction that would make GM so strong on the Polish market. Some analysts expressed hopes that Hyundai will take over FSO. =========== R U S S I A =========== MEDIA-MOST: Putin Sets Turner Deal into Doubt ---------------------------------------------- Media-Most has announced a $300 million agreement with American media mogul Ted Turner, but Turner's 25 percent purchase of Media-Most is uncertain on the unlikely support of President Vladimir Putin, according to Monday's Wall Street Journal. Media-Most finance chief Christopher Renaud has expressed satisfaction with Turner's investment but is also concerned about Putin's role. The Russian government has had a long-standing dispute with Media-Most founder Vladimir Gusinsky over free press issues and business practices. In response to the possible deal, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov's adviser Alexei Volin said that agreeing to Turner's proposals would be an example of state protectionism and a violation of the principles of free competition. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== CORUS: In Talks with Banks to Simplify Group Debt -------------------------------------------------- Steel giant Corus is in advanced talks with its bankers ABN AMRO and Dresdner Bank to simplify its 1.7 billion pounds ($2.48 billion) of group debt to increase its financial flexibility before restructuring, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Corus is expected to announce further job losses at its U.K. steel business, with up to 7,000 redundancies among its 33,000 U.K. workforce. Renegotiating the debt structure could help Corus pay for the job cuts, the FT added. The group's sales have been affected by the strength of the sterling against the euro. CORUS: May Pay Clean-up Cost ----------------------------- Ministers may force Corus to pay for cleaning up the Llanwern steel works if the company decides to cut as many as 6,000 steel jobs in Britain, the Guardian Unlimited reported in its January 22 edition. Some ministers, including Labour MP Alan Howarth, believe that the threat to put some closure costs onto the company might force the Anglo-Dutch group to rethink the layoffs. Closing the plants will raise associated bills of clearing the heavy metal, clinker and toxic waste, which would normally be borne by the state. The legal propriety of trying to force a company to pay for the clean-up costs of an abandoned site is uncertain, but it is a measure of the desperation of the Labor government over the closure threat. One minister said, "It would work on the principle of the polluter pays. If Corus were landed with a 400 million pounds cost, their figures might change. It would stop the argument that relative costs of closing a company are lower in Britain than elsewhere." Last year, Corus shed 4,500 jobs, thereby reducing its total workforce to 33,000, citing the strong pound and tough trading conditions in the industry. The company is widely expected to cut at least as many positions this year. ECCLE RIGGS: Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------- Company Name: Eccle Riggs Manor Hotel & Leisure Ltd Company No: 3254990 Com. Business: Hotel Appointed on: 20/12/00 Type: Members Appointed by: Members Liquidators: David M Walker IPno: 3606 Firm Name: BKR Haines Watts Address: Park House Park Square West City Postcode: Leeds LS1 2PS EQUITABLE LIFE: Aegon to Bid for Life Assurer ---------------------------------------------- Aegon U.K. is close to launching a bid for troubled life assurer Equitable Life, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. In the proposed deal, Aegon would take over Equitable's sales force, 26 billion stg life fund, asset management business and administration operations. Aegon negotiators are confident they can reach an agreement, while Equitable Life said it would not make an announcement before next month. HUNTINGDON LIFE: Secures Long Term Refinancing ----------------------------------------------- BUSINESS WIRE, January 22 Huntingdon Life Sciences Group Plc announced that it has secured a refinancing of its existing bank facility until June 30, 2006. The Company announced that Royal Bank of Scotland will no longer be part of the bank syndicate and that this long term financing has come from foreign investors. In addition, the Company announced that it has received a commitment for an additional Working Capital Facility from foreign investors sufficient to meet its working capital requirements. Andrew Baker, Huntingdon's Executive Chairman, said, "We are pleased to put to rest the question of our Company's financial viability. Agreement has been reached with our foreign investors to provide additional working capital availability sufficient for the company's needs. The company is now confident of its financial stability and prospects for growth. Baker added, "We would like to express our appreciation for the support of all who helped us reach the satisfactory outcome, and we have been touched by the many letters of support from the public and the support of MPs and the British media." Brian Cass, Huntingdon's Managing Director, said, "It gives us great satisfaction to see that the British public recognizes the important scientific work that we do here at Huntingdon. My colleagues and I would like to thank all of our friends who have stood up against the extremists to defend the importance of our work to the health and safety of everyone who relies on the benefits of new and existing medicines." HUNTINGDON LIFE: Inks Deal with Backers to Avoid Closure --------------------------------------------------------- Huntingdon Life Sciences, Britain's oldest drug-testing firm, told Reuters on Saturday that it had reached a deal with foreign backers to save it from closure. The identity of the backers was not disclosed. To recall, the company had been given until midnight on Friday to repay a 22.6 million pound ($33.33 million) loan to Royal Bank of Scotland and two unnamed American banks or negotiate an extension. MANNINGHAN ENVIRONMENTAL: Liquidation Proceedings -------------------------------------------------- Company Name: Manningham Environmental Ltd Previous Name: Manningham Engineering Ltd Company No: 3137363 Com. Business: Asbestos Isulators Appointed on: 20/12/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Mark J Orton IPno: 8846 Allan W Graham 8719 Firm Name: KPMG Address: St Nicholas House Park Row City Postcode: Nottingham NG1 6FQ STEPSTONE: Creates 40 U.K. Jobs at Online Job Site --------------------------------------------------- Stepstone has created 40 new potential clients for its Internet recruitment site by sacking 16 production staff and 24 members of its British sales force as it restructures its operations, Reuters said in its January 22 edition. As part of the company's restructuring, 24 jobs were also going in sales, while its temporary offices in Birmingham and Milton Keynes would close. As of December 1999, the company's long-term debt was NOK 2.10 million and total liabilities were NOK 161.98 million. SUMITOMO TRUST: To Liquidate London Unit ----------------------------------------- As part of its strategy to focus resources on pension trusts, Japan's Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co. Ltd. said on Monday it would liquidate its wholly owned subsidiary in London by the end of March, Agence France-Presse reported. Under the agreement, the assets will be handed over to parent Sumitomo Trust's branch office in London. A spokesman, however, held out little hope that the employees who will be laid off can find jobs elsewhere in the group. Set up in 1981, the subsidiary, Sumitomo Trust International Plc., specializes in underwriting and selling eurobonds and has 46 employees. TONY & SONS: Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------- Company Name: Tony & Sons Ltd Company No: 3033155 Com. Business: Wholesale Jewellery Appointed on: 20/12/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Robert W Keating IPno: 7703 Firm Name: R W Keating & Co Address: 20 Winmarleigh Street City Postcode: Warrington WA1 1JY VIEW-TEC SERVICES: Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- Company Name: View-Tec Services Ltd Company No: 3574591 Com. Business: IT Service Provider Appointed on: 20/12/00 Type: Creditors Appointed by: Creditors and Members Liquidators: Richard A Segal IPno: 2685 Firm Name: A Segal & Co Address: Albert Chambers 221-223 Chingford Mount Road City Postcode: London E4 8LP 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, Salve M. Mordeno and Cristina Pernites, Editors. Copyright 2001. 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 * * *