/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010131.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 31, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 22


                            Headlines


B E L G I U M

LERNOUT & HAUSPIE:  Changes Legal Representation
LERNOUT & HAUSPIE:  Court Grants Extension for Crucial Meeting
REAL SOFTWARE:  Hageman Steps Down as CEO
SABENA AIRLINES:  Massive Losses Endanger Sabena's Future


C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C

GLOBOPOLIS:  Looks for Last-minute Bailout


G E R M A N Y

ADAM OPEL:  Chief Reveals Resignation Intentions
EM.TV:  Kirch Prepares to Rescue Rival
INTERSHOP COMMUNICATIONS:  To Report Wider Fourth Quarter Loss


P O L A N D

DAEWOO-FSO:  Chief Denies Future Dissolution of Daewoo Motor Unit


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

C&A:  Street Retailer Closes Shop on January 27
CORUS:  Unions Fear for 8,000 Jobs
EQUITABLE LIFE: In Talks with European Insurer
HUNTINGDON LIFE:  US Bank Linked to Clinton, Bush Administrations
MILLENIUM DOME:  Deal to Sell Dome May Collapse

MILLENIUM DOME:  Ex-chief Wants to Buy Dome
OSMETECH PLC:  Posts Pre-tax Loss of 2.12 Million Pounds
PIERRE VICTOIRE: Chain Hits New Trouble as Receivers Arrive
SCOTIA HOLDINGS:  Administrators Appointed as Scotia Collapses
WORTHING TECHNICAL:  Korea Daewoo to Sell Asset to TWR


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


LERNOUT & HAUSPIE:  Changes Legal Representation
------------------------------------------------
Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV, which is operating under
bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Belgium, has severed ties
with law firm Loeff Claeys Verbeke, according to Dow Jones in its
January 28 edition.

Loeff Claeys Verbeke, along with law firm Bryan Cave LLP and
accountants Arthur Andersen LLP, detailed in a November 20 report
that L&H may have improperly recorded as much as $277 million of
its revenue from 1998 to mid-2000.

Attorney Kathleen Lemmens of Loeff Claeys Verbeke said that L&H's
new chief executive, Philippe Bodson, decided to change law firms
because he wants to change direction with a new management,
directors and new consultants. Bodson was named to head L&H on
January 16.

L&H was not available for comment on the change in U.S. legal
representation.


LERNOUT & HAUSPIE:  Court Grants Extension for Crucial Meeting
--------------------------------------------------------------
BUSINESS WIRE, January 29, 2001

Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV, a world leader in speech
and language technology, products and services, today announced
that the Ieper Commercial Court of Belgium has granted an
extension of its March 1, 2001, deadline to hold an extraordinary
shareholders' meeting. The Company will now have until May 1,
2001, to hold the meeting.

Philippe Bodson, L&H's President and Chief Executive Officer
said, "We welcome the court's ruling, which will enable L&H to
comply with SEC regulations concerning shareholder meetings."


REAL SOFTWARE:  Hageman Steps Down as CEO
-----------------------------------------
Real Software's co-founder Rudy Hageman has resigned as chief
executive and managing director, Reuters reported on January 29.
Theo Dilissen, who joined the company as deputy chief executive
more than a year ago, will replace Hageman.

Hageman, who owns about 30 percent of the company, remains as
chairman of the board of directors. He reportedly hired Dilissen
in December 1999 with the intent of making him CEO one day.

Local news reports have said Hageman faced internal pressure to
resign, while analysts and fund managers have fretted about the
company's delay in deciding what to do with its money-draining
U.S. operations.


SABENA AIRLINES:  Massive Losses Endanger Sabena's Future
---------------------------------------------------------
Sabena Belgian World Airlines faces an uncertain future as losses
have skyrocketed in the last few months, draining the ailing
carrier's financial resources, according to the January 27
edition of AviationNow.

The carrier is expected to report losses for 2000 estimated at
nearly 200 million euros ($190 million). As cash reserves
plummeted to less than 25 percent of the company's capital,
financial problems in the last few weeks have exceeded Chapter
11-like limits.

Sabena's owners, the Belgian government and SairGroup, are set to
meet on February 8 to decide whether to cease operations or
proceed with a recovery plan to address the carrier's financial
situation.

Belgian minister Rik Daems, in charge of state enterprises,
agreed last week to inject $90 million in Sabena, while SAirGroup
would provide an additional $142.5 million.

However, in the next few years, Sabena could need even more
capital to restructure in order to eventually restore
profitability. The envisioned bailout funding prompted harsh
criticism from European competitors such as Lufthansa German
Airlines.


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

GLOBOPOLIS:  Looks for Last-minute Bailout
------------------------------------------
With their investors' decision to freeze financing, Globopolis,
which operates an online travel and leisure guide, has until
today to find an investor. Otherwise they will have to shut down
operations completely, the Prague Business Journal said in its
January 29 edition.

"From February 1, if there is no money, it's dead," according to
marketing and sales director Chip Schenck.

Globopolis was born on the fame of the Globe Cafe and Bookstore
that American Scott Rogers founded in 1993. Given the likely
death of Globopolis, the cafe and bookstore will be the likely
survivor.


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

ADAM OPEL:  Chief Reveals Resignation Intentions
------------------------------------------------
Chairman Robert Hendry of Adam Opel AG has announced that his
intention to step down is based on his desire to divert the
public's attention away from Opel's internal disputes, rather
towards its automobile products.

In December, reports said board members Klaus Franz and Thomas
Kiebe believed Hendry would soon resign.

Carl-Peter Forster, who has been on the Bayerische Motoren Werke
AG board, is expected to be appointed the new Opel chairman.


EM.TV:  Kirch Prepares to Rescue Rival
--------------------------------------
Media company Kirch Group is preparing to improve its December 4
rescue plan for debt-ridden rival EM.TV & Merchandising, the
Financial Times said on Monday.

The Times said that Kirch will this week offer to exercise an
option held by EM.TV to buy 25 percent of SLEC, the foundation
that manages the rights to Formula One motor racing events, owned
by Bernie Ecclestone.

Ecclestone could force EM.TV to buy the stake in May, but the
heavily indebted group would be unable the raise the $1 billion
needed.


INTERSHOP COMMUNICATIONS:  To Report Wider Fourth Quarter Loss
--------------------------------------------------------------
Intershop Communications AG was expected to report a sharply
wider loss by 30 to 40 percent per share for the fourth quarter
on January 25, according to an average of forecasts from eight
analysts polled by Reuters. The business software specialist
expected a net loss of 30 to 32 million euros.

This company has paid no dividends during the last 12 months.


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P O L A N D
===========

DAEWOO-FSO:  Chief Denies Future Dissolution of Daewoo Motor Unit
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In a report dated January 29, Warsaw Business said that Daewoo
Motor's president has denied any future dissolution of Daewoo-
FSO. He said that the best solution for the Polish subsidiary
would be for General Motors to acquire it, where negotiations are
expected to begin in February.

However, the European Commission may not agree to the deal as it
would yield too much of the Polish market to General Motors.


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

C&A:  Street Retailer Closes Shop on January 27
-----------------------------------------------
After operating for nearly 80 years in the UK, high street
retailer C&A closed its 109 British stores on January 27 due to
falling sales and the loss of 4,800 jobs, BBC News reported. The
closure announcement was made in June when the company had racked
up 250 million pounds of losses in the UK over the past five
years.

The remaining stock will be taken to the Southampton, Bradford,
Hounslow and Lewisham stores, which are expected to remain open
until the end of April.

The C&A chain, which was founded by Dutch brothers Clemens and
August Brenninkmeijer in 1922, has 577 stores in 12 European
countries. It became a trademark for economy with its school
blouses and sensible shoes.


CORUS:  Unions Fear for 8,000 Jobs
----------------------------------
After yielding to pressures from City investors, unions fear that
Corus will announce 8,000 job cuts this week, The Times reported
in its Monday edition. Cuts of about 6,000 were expected after a
decision to pull back from the closure of the Llanwern plant in
South Wales.

Apart from Llanwern, the cuts are likely to involve the shutdown
of at least two small plants and large cuts in production across
the Teesside and Scunthorpe facilities.

The prospect of more redundancies has angered politicians. They
have accused Corus of sacrificing a large part of the industry to
satisfy short-term investor concerns. Some have seen the cuts as
part of a strategy by Corus to reduce its UK workforce to 20,000
from its current level of 33,000.

In 1999, Corus was formed from the merger of British Steel and
the Dutch group Hoogovens. The Dutch company has suffered no job
losses or production cutbacks since the merger, while the UK
operation last year had 5,000 job cuts.


EQUITABLE LIFE: In Talks with European Insurer
----------------------------------------------
After the collapse of talks with Australian financial services
group AMP, Equitable Life is in talks with a European insurer
over a rescue to purchase the asset management business, system
and sales force, The Times said yesterday. The bidder's identity
was not disclosed.

Equitable's sales force is also understood to have received
offers from companies seeking to recruit staff.

Insurers, such as CGNU and Prudential, appear to have ruled
themselves out of the Equitable sale process. Swiss Life or Swiss
Re could be realistic bidders.


HUNTINGDON LIFE:  US Bank Linked to Clinton, Bush Administrations
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Stephens Inc., the U.S. bank that rescued drug-testing company
Huntingdon Life Sciences from collapse last week, has links to
both the Bush and Clinton administrations, according to the
Financial Times in its January 28 report. It is well known in the
U.S. as a major power in politics for decades, at the national
level and in Arkansas, where the company is based.

Stephens Inc. and the Stephens family have strong links with Bill
Clinton, who was a governor of Arkansas. Moreover, the family's
legendary patriarch Jackson Stephens has helped President Bush's
family's oil ventures.

Recently, Stephens has been in the public eye for more
controversial reasons. Company officials have been charged in
connection with alleged irregularities with municipal bond
underwriting.

Connections between the Clinton and Stephens families have been
of interest to investigators in the Whitewater inquiry into
business dealings under the Clinton administration.

HLS managing director Brian Cass said that the Stephens family
has been a wonderful supporter of the company for a long time.
"We are delighted they have agreed to become our lenders," Cass
added.


MILLENIUM DOME:  Deal to Sell Dome May Collapse
-----------------------------------------------
Ministers are running out of patience and are preparing to drop
the Legacy consortium bidding to buy the Millennium Dome as
Legacy has failed to secure a single company to let space in the
troubled Greenwich site, The Times in said in its January 30
report.

Minister in charge Lord Falconer of Thoroton was under pressure
to hold talks with four or five property companies that have
expressed interest in redeveloping the land.

Earlier reports say that the consortium had struck a deal with
the Open University this month to move into its dot-com venture
park. A similar deal had been done with American computer giant
Sun Microsystems in November, showcasing computer hardware. Sun
denies knowing of such deal.

Lord Falconer, who failed to impose a negotiation deadline with
Legacy, is expected to try to resolve the controversy with the
developer by the end of next month when the auction of the Dome's
contents begins.


MILLENIUM DOME:  Ex-chief Wants to Buy Dome
-------------------------------------------
The former chief executive of the New Millennium Experience
Company, Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, has told the BBC on January 25 he
is ready to buy Millennium Dome and turn it into a major
entertainment venue if the present 125 million pounds bid by the
Legacy consortium falls through.

He is one of a number of potential bidders with a chance if the
government fails to reach an agreement with Legacy by the middle
of next month. The Dome Experience bid combines concert promoter
Harvey Goldsmith and his business partner Paul Stansfield, the
chief executive of Pilton.

With the support from the Ministry of Sound, Gerbeau wants to
keep some of the present attractions, but turn the central arena
into a concert venue by night.

"We'll convince Madonna to do a concert with a lot of Internet
interaction," he told the BBC. "The next day we will have Lennox
Lewis fighting again Tyson."


OSMETECH PLC:  Posts Pre-tax Loss of 2.12 Million Pounds
--------------------------------------------------------
Osmetech Plc, formerly AromaScan Plc, recorded an interim pre-tax
loss of 2.12 million pounds and has not paid any dividends during
the previous 12 months, The Times reported in its January 30
edition.

Osmetech is involved in the development and design of aroma
characterization technology & sensor technology. The company's
detection & measuring systems are used for environmental
monitoring, manufacturing & quality control as well in medical
diagnostics.


PIERRE VICTOIRE: Chain Hits New Trouble as Receivers Arrive
-----------------------------------------------------------
Restaurant chain Pierre Victoire was placed into administrative
receivership for the second time, according to the January 27
edition of The Daily Telegraph. Its restaurants in Bath and
Cambridge were closed down because of a build-up of rent arrears.

"We need to look at the operation and see if it can operate
profitably and see if there is any interest in the brand or the
outlets," receiver Graham Martin said.

Pierre Victoire is the trading name for a company called Voila!,
which bought the chain out of receivership in 1998. It is now
partly a franchise-based operation.

In the early 1990s, the chain had over 90 restaurants. Increasing
competition from rivals, such as Pizza Express and Cafe Rouge,
have dented its market share.


SCOTIA HOLDINGS:  Administrators Appointed as Scotia Collapses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Three joint administrators were appointed from Ernst & Young on
Monday to shelter Scotia Holdings from its creditors and to seek
refinancing, The Times reported in its January 30 edition.

According to Tom Burton, one of the joint administrators, one of
the administration's benefits will be to place a ring-fence
around existing creditors so cash is available to keep the
company going. He added that he hoped to raise new money for the
company rather than sell its assets.

Scotia became the first quoted UK biotechnolgy company to
collapse into administration after its key cancer drug failed to
win approval from US and European regulators. It is also set to
pay about 2.2 million pounds in interest due in the next few
weeks on a 50 million pounds convertible bond.


WORTHING TECHNICAL:  Korea Daewoo to Sell Asset to TWR
------------------------------------------------------
South Korea's Daewoo Motor Co. is in talks to sell its Worthing
Technical Centre in Britain to TWR, the Maeil Business Newspaper
reported on Tuesday, citing an unidentified Daewoo Motor source.

According to a Daewoo official, both parties still have to
discuss price, the method of sale and the timing.

Daewoo, which took over Worthing Technical Centre in 1994 from
International Automotive Design, employs about 500 workers.



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
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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.


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