/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010125.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

             Thursday, January 25, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 18


                            Headlines


B E L G I U M

LERNOUT & HAUSPIE:  Agrees to $60 Million of DIP Financing
LERNOUT & HAUSPIE:  Shareholders to Litigate KPMG


C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C

GLOBOPOLIS:  Opts to Shut Down; Lays Off Staff


G E R M A N Y

CEOTRONICS AG:  Posts Loss of 1 Million Euros


H U N G A R Y

MALEV AIRLINES:  Ailing Airline Blocks Hungary's Bid to Join EU


I R E L A N D

NUA:  Reudces Workforce by One-third
TUSKAR RESOURCES:  Brovig Calls on Court to Liquidate Oil Minnow


N E T H E R L A N D S

LETSBUYIT.COM:  Shares Fall as Lock-up Period Expires


R U S S I A

NTV:  Court Freezes 19 Percent Stake in NTV Shares
NTV:  Putin Okays Turner's Acquisition Bid


S P A I N

DEMASIADO.COM:  EresMas Acquires Demasiado.com


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

43 DOVER:  Liquidation Proceedings
CORUS:  Minister Pleads to Save Jobs
EQUITABLE LIFE:  AMP may Bid for Life Insurer
EUROTUNNEL:  End of Duty-free Affects Eurotunnel
FASTRACK GROUP:  Delivery Firm Seeks Receivers

GLOBAL MEDIA:  Liquidation Proceedings
IRON TRADES:  Bank Stops Asbestos Victims' Compensation Checks
METROCAB:  Suppliers Bid to Save Taxi Builder
MULTISTRUCT (NORTH WEST) :  Liquidation Proceedings
SPEECH DESIGN:  Liquidation Proceedings

VAUXHALL:  Workers Stage Days Off Protest


=============
B E L G I U M
=============

LERNOUT & HAUSPIE:  Agrees to $60 Million of DIP Financing
----------------------------------------------------------
Speech technology company Lernout & Hauspie has an agreement for
$60 million of debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing with Cerberus
Capital Management LP and Gabriel Capital Group, a move that will
temporarily ease the liquidity concerns of the troubled L&H,
according to a Tuesday report by Reuters.

In an emergency motion filed with the bankruptcy court late on
Tuesday, L&H said it would seek approval of the DIP financing at
a hearing in New Jersey today. The agreement will expire unless
it is approved.

The $20 million term and $40 million revolving credit is to
provide working capital for ordinary business operations. It will
also be used to pay off a $20 million bridge financing agreement
with General Electric Capital Corp.

Earlier last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission and
Belgian authorities began investigations into fraud allegations
that were related to the company's earnings statements since
1998.

With the credit agreement, L&H has to pay a $232,000 commitment
fee plus a $200,000 term closing fee, up to $200,000 in expenses,
an $800,000 revolver fee, a $25,000 monthly monitoring fee, and
$10,000 monthly administration fee.


LERNOUT & HAUSPIE:  Shareholders to Litigate KPMG
-------------------------------------------------
The shareholders of speech-recognition software maker Lernout &
Hauspie are preparing a class action suit against the company's
auditors KPMG, saying the firm should have spotted problems with
L&H's accounting practices when it conducted its audit, according
to the January 22 edition of AccountancyAge.com.

KPMG refused to comment on the matter until it receives a copy of
the complaint.

L&H is currently being investigated by the U.S. Securities &
Exchange Commission after an independent audit raised questions
about the company's sales figures from its Korean operations.

Earlier this month, a Belgian court awarded the company
bankruptcy, while it faces insolvency proceedings. A commercial
court granted the concordaat (Judicial Composition) putting
Lernout & Hauspie under a six-month observation period. This
allows the company to implement its recovery plan.


===========================
C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C
===========================

GLOBOPOLIS:  Opts to Shut Down; Lays Off Staff
----------------------------------------------
Entertainment portal Globopolis last week opted to shut down,
leaving most of the 120-member staff throughout the region
without jobs, as reported in the Monday edition of Prague
Business Journal.

According to founder Scott Rogers, the company is not filing for
bankruptcy, but rather scaling back its operations in Prague,
Budapest, Warsaw, Ljubljana, Bratislava, Vienna and Berlin.

Rogers and others in the company put the blame on the drumbeat of
failures in the industry and Advent International's sudden change
of heart, which had pledged an investment of $6 million to the
company less than eight months ago.


=============
G E R M A N Y
=============

CEOTRONICS AG:  Posts Loss of 1 Million Euros
---------------------------------------------
Despite sales growth, headset manufacturer CeoTronics AG on
Monday reported a loss of 1.097 million euros for the first six
months of fiscal 2001, ending May 2001, Handelsblatt said in its
January 22 edition.

The company attributes the first-half loss to high component
prices, integration expenses following the acquisition of U.S.-
based DTC Data Technology Corp.'s audio division, research and
development costs and preparatory costs.

CeoTronics' main products are wired or wireless headsets
combining noise protection and communications devices for noisy
workplaces.


=============
H U N G A R Y
=============

MALEV AIRLINES:  Ailing Airline Blocks Hungary's Bid to Join EU
---------------------------------------------------------------
Loss-making Hungarian national airline Malev is a major problem
for the country as it seeks to join the European Union, according
to Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday. The government's
subsidy of Malev would contravene strict EU competition rules,
Reuters said in its January 23 edition.

"There is one issue for which it is difficult to find an answer.
This is aviation. The EU aviation market is a free market. If
there were free competition, it (Malev) would disappear," Orban
said on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Hungary's privatization agency APV postponed
indefinitely the planned privatization of Malev after a tender
for a stake in the company failed to attract any bids.


=============
I R E L A N D
=============

NUA:  Reudces Workforce by One-third
------------------------------------
Internet consultancy firm Nua said it is shedding more than a
third of its workforce, with 23 its 60 employees scheduled to
leave the firm, Doras reported in its January 23 edition.

According to chief executive Gerry McGovern, the overall
technology environment has become volatile and unpredictable,
with most investors reluctant to spend their money.


TUSKAR RESOURCES:  Brovig Calls on Court to Liquidate Oil Minnow
----------------------------------------------------------------
Brovig Offshore said it has petitioned Dublin's high court to
liquidate oil minnow Tuskar Resources and was considering all
justifiable methods to recover some $8 million, Lloyd's List
International reported on Monday.

The Brovig motion accompanies the firm's unilateral cancellation
of a five-year production contract with Tuskar on Nigeria's Obe
field, where production stopped in mid-December.

Tuskar is believed to have sunk some $20 million in the field.
Most of the sum is still owed to creditors, a reported $10
million to Allied Energy alone.

Tuskar has about 16,000 shareholders, many of whom are reported
to be small British and Irish investors.


=====================
N E T H E R L A N D S
=====================

LETSBUYIT.COM:  Shares Fall as Lock-up Period Expires
-----------------------------------------------------
The shares in Internet retailer LetsBuyIt.com have fallen as much
as 50 percent to a record low as the firm's original shareholders
dumped stock following the expiry of a lock-up period, Reuters
said on Tuesday.

According to SdK, the German small shareholders lobby group, the
lock-up period for LetsBuyIt's original shareholders expired on
January 21.

The debt-ridden e-tailer was granted a short stay of execution at
an Amsterdam bankruptcy hearing, where Letsbuyit's management has
until January 24 to find 4 million euros (US$3.72 million) in
funding or bank guarantees.

Sources close to rescue talks said that Letsbuyit would need to
find an additional US$28 million within two weeks to avoid forced
liquidation.


===========
R U S S I A
===========

NTV:  Court Freezes 19 Percent Stake in NTV Shares
--------------------------------------------------
A Moscow court issued a temporary order on Monday freezing a 19
percent stake in the country's only private television network
NTV, according to Agence France-Presse.

The decision means that the shares cannot be traded until the
court rules on an ownership dispute between Gazprom, NTV's
largest shareholder and creditor, and its parent company, Media-
MOST, which currently owes $262 million to Gazprom.

The court hearing on the dispute has been scheduled for February
14. Should Gazprom win the 19 percent stake, it would become
majority owner of NTV.

In response, Media-MOST announced that it was still pushing ahead
to sell a minority stake of NTV to U.S. media mogul Ted Turner,
founder of CNN. The sale was strongly opposed by Gazprom, which
wants to decide NTV's future owners.


NTV:  Putin Okays Turner's Acquisition Bid
------------------------------------------
According to the pro-Putin Unity party's parliamentary leader
Boris Gryzlov, President Vladimir Putin welcomes the idea of
CNN's Ted Turner purchase of a stake in the country's leading
independent television station NTV, Allnews.ru said on Tuesday.

It was reported on Saturday that Turner and his partners intended
to invest at least $300 million into NTV television to keep its
independence from the state. That is if the company will not be
closed and the state will not interfere in NTV's activity.

To recall, a Turner attorney who negotiated with the presidential
administration, got a refusal last week on political guarantees
in the NTV deal.


=========
S P A I N
=========

DEMASIADO.COM:  EresMas Acquires Demasiado.com
----------------------------------------------
EresMas has acquired the domain name Demasiado.com, which has
gone bankrupt due to its lack of profitability, the Expansion &
World Reporter said in its January 19 edition. The purchase
amount was not disclosed.

EresMas has reached an agreement with Demasiado.com's owner I-
Network Holding, to guarantee the email and personal web page
services for those users registered within the virtual community.

Demasiado.com's losses total around three million euros.


===========================
U N I T E D   K I N G D O M
===========================

43 DOVER:  Liquidation Proceedings
----------------------------------
Company Name:   43 Dover Street (UK) Ltd
Previous Name:   Robt Jones Investment (UK) Ltd
Company No:   2253908
Com. Business:   Investment Co
Appointed on:   22/12/00
Type:   Members
Appointed by:   Members
Liquidators:   Adrian R Stanway  
IPno: 2665  Ian C Oakley Smith  2000
Firm Name:   PricewaterhouseCoopers
Address:   Plumtree Court
City Postcode:   London  EC4A 4HT


CORUS:  Minister Pleads to Save Jobs
------------------------------------
After several failed talks, minister Rhodri Morgan made a plea on
Tuesday aimed at saving several thousand jobs in Wales and
northern England that steel firm Corus plans to cut, the Guardian
Unlimited reported in its January 24 edition.

The first minister said that his meeting with Corus chairman Sir
Brian Moffat had not been very fruitful. He also promised to
continue lobbying until the announcement is made.


EQUITABLE LIFE:  AMP may Bid for Life Insurer
---------------------------------------------
Financial services group AMP could bid for troubled life
insurance mutual Equitable Life, said to be worth 300 million
pounds ($790 million), according to the Sydney Morning Herald on
Tuesday, citing the Financial Times.

The Times reported over the weekend that AMP was a potential
purchaser. An AMP spokesman failed to rule out the acquisition.

Last year, Equitable's business was hampered by a decision by the
House of Lords that the company acted unlawfully in the way it
had dealt with about 90,000 "guaranteed annuity rate"
policyholders. The decision has foreshadowed a liability of 1.5
billion pounds to these policyholders, prompting Equitable to put
itself up for sale and stop writing new business.

Aside from AMP, GE Capital has also expressed an interest in
Equitable's sales force, asset management business and
administration operations, while Dutch insurer Aegon is the
front-runner and is negotiating for the purchase of these assets.


EUROTUNNEL:  End of Duty-free Affects Eurotunnel
------------------------------------------------
Eurotunnel, which provides a direct rail link between the United
Kingdom and Mainland Europe, on Tuesday reported a 5 percent fall
in operating revenue in 2000 because of the abolition of duty-
free sales, where the number of cars taken through the tunnel
fell 15 percent to 3.3 million.

In yesterday's edition of The Times, chairman Patrick Ponsolle
said that the company expected these areas to compensate fully
for the decline in retail sales in 2001.

At the end of 1999, Eurotunnel Plc had a negative working
capital. Its current liabilities were 340.09 million pounds while
total current assets were only 308.49 million pounds.


FASTRACK GROUP:  Delivery Firm Seeks Receivers
----------------------------------------------
Following the fall of the company's shares to 35 percent, British
parcel delivery firm Fastrack Group Plc said on Tuesday it had
asked its bankers to appoint an administrative receiver,
according to January 23 Reuters report.

"Administrative receivers have now been appointed to the
company," Fastrack added. "They are presently considering the
options available and will make a further announcement at the
earliest practicable opportunity."


GLOBAL MEDIA:  Liquidation Proceedings
--------------------------------------
Company Name:   Global Media Technology Ltd
Company No:   3818522
Com. Business:   Magazine Publishers
Appointed on:   22/12/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors
Liquidators:   Philip G Byrne  
IPno: 5583    
Firm Name:   Byrne Associates
Address:   St Kilian House  38 Whiteladies Road  Clifton
City Postcode:   Bristol  BS8 2LG


IRON TRADES:  Bank Stops Asbestos Victims' Compensation Checks
--------------------------------------------------------------
PR NEWSWIRE, January 23

Checks that were to be paid to victims of the killer dust
asbestos have been stopped by a bank in the wake of the collapse
of one the largest employer liability insurance companies.

Just one week after Thompsons Solicitors warned that the tens of
thousands of suffers of asbestos-related disease waiting for
their compensation payments could be hit by Iron Trades Holdings
Ltd going into liquidation, a bank has stopped thousands of
pounds worth of checks issued by Iron Trades to the law firm.

The action confirms the speculation that asbestos victims who
have waited years to be compensated for being poisoned by their
employers will now suffer further in the wake of the financial
collapse of the insurance firm.

Thompsons, the largest specialist personal injury and trade union
law firm, was able to honor the first five checks stopped by the
NatWest Bank by paying the clients out of its own funds.

But to continue to do so will be impossible.

Tom Jones a partner with Thompsons Solicitors called for urgent
action by the insurance industry to ensure that compensation
payments are made immediately to the victims of asbestos.

He said the government should intervene if the insurers did not
act.

"The insurance industry, which was happy to take the premiums
when times were good must now pay out to these men poisoned by
the industries paying those premiums.

Anything else will question the whole basis of insurance.

If the industry does not take action then the government must
intervene to ensure that thousands of people, many of whom are
dying, are not left waiting for compensation for their suffering
while the future of Iron Trades is dealt with by the liquidators.

Any delay in compensating these men will be a double tragedy.

"There is a need for the insurance industry to get its act
together to protect asbestos victims when their members default
on their obligations.

We will be pressing the government to look into events leading to
the Iron Trades collapse." Walter Cash, a former pipe fitter at
British Steel Llanwern, received his compensation check for
#20,000 last week, paid by Thompsons.

The firm's financial department subsequently discovered that the
cheque paid to the law firm by Iron Trades had been stopped.

"I'm one of the lucky ones," Cash of Newport, South Wales said.

"My lawyers were able to make arrangements to meet the check that
bounced.

But they and other solicitors firms cannot keep doing that so
what happens to the other victims waiting for their money?

"I am so angry that we can be treated in this way by a financial
institution. It is time that insurers and politicians saw the
real human lives behind their figures."


METROCAB:  Suppliers Bid to Save Taxi Builder
---------------------------------------------
Parts suppliers to taxi builders Metrocab, including Lathe Trays,
were said to be close to reaching a takeover deal with
administrators running the company through a consortium,
Birmingham Post reported on Monday.

"We have had a number of meetings during the last two weeks and
there is a great feeling that Metrocab should continue and we are
trying to facilitate that," managing director Paul Cumming of
Lathe Trays said. "The company has a very good reputation for its
products and the parties involved in the takeover talks are
enthusiastic about its future."

The suppliers believe their rescue plan would succeed and are
also willing to take an interest in Metrocab. Lathe Trays would
be one of the bigger shareholders but the percentage of the
holding would not be large.


MULTISTRUCT (NORTH WEST) :  Liquidation Proceedings
---------------------------------------------------
Company Name:   Multistruct (North West) Ltd
Company No:   3712658
Com. Business:   General Builders
Appointed on:   22/12/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   P B Wood  
IPno: 5396    
Firm Name:   Barringtons
Address:   Richmond House  570-572 Etruria Road
City Postcode:   Newcastle  ST5 0SU


SPEECH DESIGN:  Liquidation Proceedings
---------------------------------------
Company Name:   Speech Design (UK) Ltd
Company No:   3138612
Com. Business:   Supply Speech Design Telephone Equi
Appointed on:   22/12/00
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Alex Kachani  
IPno: 5780    
Firm Name:   Crawfords
Address:   Stanton House  41 Blackfriars Road  Salford
City Postcode:   Manchester  M3 7DB


VAUXHALL:  Workers Stage Days Off Protest
-----------------------------------------
Workers at carmaker Vauxhall's two factories, Luton and Ellesmere
Port, staged a stay-at-home protest as part of a Europe-wide day
of action against plans for Luton's closure and employee layoffs
by Vauxhall's parent General Motors, according to The Times
yesterday.

Vauxhall is likely to lose about 13 million pounds in the lost
production of about 1,300 vehicles.



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
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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
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