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         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, February 14, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 32


                            Headlines


F R A N C E

GROUPE BULL:  Sells CP8 Card Unit to Schlumberger


G E R M A N Y

BRINKMANN:  Administrator to Report Brinkmann Future in March
EM.TV:  Rescue Deal Remains Uncertain


I R E L A N D

EIRCOM PLC:  eIsland and Eircom in Secret Talks


I T A L Y

ALITALIA:  New CEO to Brief Board on Plans


R U S S I A

NTV:  Mulls New Bid to Keep Independence


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

ADURONET LTD:  Fails to Get Funding
EQUITABLE LIFE:  FSA Refuses to Intervene in Dispute
LASTMINUTE.COM:  Widens Loss to 15.4 Million Pounds in 2000
MILLENNIUM DOME:  Legacy Bid Nears Collapse
MILLENNIUM DOME:  Legacy Finds New Bid Partner
SEMA:  EDS May Enter Sema Bid
SEMA:  Schlumberger Set to Gain Control of Sema


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F R A N C E
===========

GROUPE BULL:  Sells CP8 Card Unit to Schlumberger
-------------------------------------------------
Financially troubled Groupe Bull said on Friday it had signed an
agreement to sell its CP8 smart card unit to Schlumberger Ltd.
for 350 million euros ($325 million), according to the February
11 edition of Reuters.

The sale will give Bull a much-needed cash injection as it
undergoes a wide-scale restructuring. The computer group said it
had an expected loss of more than 100 million euros in 2000 and
that its cash and debt situation will worsen. As of December
1999, the company's long-term debt was 153.00 million euros and
total liabilities of 1.90 billion euros.

Bull, which produces and distributes a wide range of electronic
data processing systems and provides related services such as
personal, professional, customer and systems integration
services, said that Schlumberger would also pay it a percentage
of royalties on CP8 patents to a total of 17.5 million euros.

Schlumberger is a tech services specialist spanning the oil and
gas, utility, semiconductor testing, smart card and network, and
Internet industries.


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

BRINKMANN:  Administrator to Report Brinkmann Future in March
-------------------------------------------------------------
The insolvency administrator of Brinkmann, which owes DM69
million to banks and has supplier liabilities of DM200 million,
will prepare a report on the state of the company by the end of
March 2001, the World Reporter said in its February 9 edition.

Burckhardt Reimer said there were a considerable number of
companies interested in buying Brinkmann, or parts of it.

Electrical retailer Brinkmann has been making losses for some
time. A DM30 million loss was posted last year. The insolvency
was blamed on the company's rapid expansion in the last ten
years.


EM.TV:  Rescue Deal Remains Uncertain
-------------------------------------
The future of troubled media group EM.TV & Merchandising remained
uncertain on Friday amid conflicting reports about whether
Formula One partner and racing mogul Bernie Ecclestone would back
a proposed rescue deal, according to Reuters on Sunday.

A source familiar with the talks has denied a Wall Street Journal
report that Ecclestone could stop EM.TV selling nearly half of
its stake in Formula One holding company SLEC to media giant
Kirch Group, and that the mogul was not opposed to Kirch buying
the 49 percent stake.

According to industry sources, chief executive Kloiber of Tele-
Muenchen Gruppe (TMG), which is 45 percent owned by EM.TV, has
been supporting a third consortium for the bailout of EM.TV. The
consortium included TMG, German bank WestLB and a group of French
bankers, with Morgan Grenfell Private Equity as a minor partner.

The alliance, in its preliminary stage, proposed to inject funds
into EM.TV to get it back on its feet without selling the SLEC
stake.


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

EIRCOM PLC:  eIsland and Eircom in Secret Talks
-----------------------------------------------
Secret talks between eIsland chiefs and Eircom's top negotiators
have been going on for nearly a month in Dublin, the Sunday
Independent said in its February 11 edition.

On the eIsland side were chairman Denis O'Brien, former senior
executives Brenda O'Keeffe and Paul Connolly. Leading the Eircom
team were chairman Ray MacSharry, chief executive Alfie Kane and
new finance director Peter Lynch.

Sources close to eIsland have revealed that Eircom
representatives have proposed that Denis O'Brien's group should
bid for the entire Eircom business and not just the fixed-line
business, with the result of a complete sale of the company.
Eircom sources, however, rejected any suggestion that they
advocated a full bid.

The eIsland consortium left the meeting promising to buy the
remainder of Eircom, including the multimedia business, the
Golden Pages and the subsidiaries.

Both groups are expected to reach an agreement this weekend.


=========
I T A L Y
=========

ALITALIA:  New CEO to Brief Board on Plans
------------------------------------------
Alitalia's newly appointed chief executive officer Francesco
Mengozzi will brief the company's board within seven to 10 days
on its plans for international alliances, Reuters said on Friday.

Mengozzi said he would speak with everyone on how talks are going
and to ask the board which path to follow, but nothing has been
decided yet.

His first job will be to seek an alliance, possibly with Air
France, Swissair owner SAir Group or KLM Royal Dutch Airlines,
for the loss-making airline.

Mengozzi, who was chief financial officer of state railways
company Ferrovie dello Stato, took over Domenico Cempella. He is
now faced with tough challenge of finding Alitalia an
international alliance partner, a deal which analysts say is
essential for Alitalia's future.


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

NTV:  Mulls New Bid to Keep Independence
----------------------------------------
Independent television station NTV last week said it would
seriously consider an offer by media tycoon Boris Berezovsky to
invest $50 million into the embattled company even though he has
lost control of his own television station to the state, Reuters
reported February 9.

According to NTV General Director Yevgeny Kiselyov, he has
certain reservations about the investment deal following the
failure of Berezovsky's previous idea.

During the fall, Berezovsky was made to keep his ORT television
station free from state control by setting up a panel of Russia's
cultural and scientific elite who would hold shares in a trust.


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

ADURONET LTD:  Fails to Get Funding
-----------------------------------
Telecommunications service provider AduroNet Ltd. went into
provisional liquidation on Thursday after failing to get further
funding, Reuters said in its February 9 report.

At the end of 2000, AduroNet owes about $1.36 million to U.S.-
based CoSine Communications Inc.


EQUITABLE LIFE:  FSA Refuses to Intervene in Dispute
----------------------------------------------------
The chief City watchdog Financial Services Authority (FSA), who
met the representatives of Equitable Life and its buyer Halifax,
has refused to intervene in a dispute between the two groups, The
Times said yesterday.

According to an FSA spokeswoman, it was a constructive discussion
about some of the issues the members' groups are concerned about.

Equitable has sent letters yesterday to its 650,000 policyholders
to explain the sale to Halifax and to outline proposals for a
payment of up to 1.5 billion pounds to those with pension
guarantees.

Representatives of the Equitable Life Members Action Group
refused to comment on the discussion with the FSA.


LASTMINUTE.COM:  Widens Loss to 15.4 Million Pounds in 2000
-----------------------------------------------------------
Online retailer Lastminute.com Plc said on Monday that its
quarterly loss more than doubled to 15.4 million pounds in the
last three months of 2000, according to The Times yesterday.

The company, which has long-term debt of 6.03 million pounds and
total liabilities of 45.74 million pounds as of September 2000,
also announced an alliance with Thomas Cook that could bring more
customers to its Web site. Chief executive Brent Hoberman added
that Lastminute.com was looking at adding a cinema ticket booking
service to its products.

Lastminute.com provides last minute opportunities and
reservations including airline tickets, hotel rooms, package
holidays, entertainment tickets, restaurant reservations, gifts
and auctions and specialty services.


MILLENNIUM DOME:  Legacy Bid Nears Collapse
-------------------------------------------
Legacy consortium, lined up to take over the Millennium Dome,
looked close to collapse on Monday night, according to The Times
yesterday.

Based on a February 2 letter leaked from John Walker, director of
the team scrutinizing the bid for the Government, Legacy
consortium's business plan still had not met all the requirements
of its preferred bidder status. This has raised questions over
not only its finances, but also the lack of guaranteed tenants
for its proposed high-technology business park.

Robert Bourne and Richard Barrett, who are heading the bid, are
thought to have promised to double capital spending at the Dome
to 50 million pounds, depending on new backers being found.

On Monday, it was confirmed that Quintain and Grosvenor Estates,
owned by the Duke of Westminster, have withdrawn from talks about
joining the consortium. Lend Lease and developer Sir Stuart
Lipton, a senior government adviser on architecture, also walked
out.


MILLENNIUM DOME:  Legacy Finds New Bid Partner
----------------------------------------------
Legacy Plc, the government's preferred candidate to run the
failed Millennium Dome tourist attraction, said on Monday that it
had found a partner for its bid.

"We have entered into a partnership with a major UK property
development company. We are expecting to announce the new partner
shortly," a Legacy spokesman told Reuters on Monday.

Also on Monday, the consortium, including a firm run by the Duke
of Westminster, withdrew as a bid partner.

However, Legacy shrugged off the setback, announcing it was set
to reveal a new partner in its bid to run the beleaguered Dome,
according to Reuters.


SEMA:  EDS May Enter Sema Bid
-----------------------------
The world's biggest computer services company EDS may offer more
than three billion pounds ($4.33 billion) for troubled
information technology company Sema Plc, the Observer newspaper
said on Saturday.

Sema, worth around 2.9 billion pounds, has confirmed it is in
talks with various parties and banking sources. Possible bidders
for the integration systems and telecom billing software company
include Cap Gemini and Logica.

Sema provides computer programming, systems integration,
outsourcing, software consultancy, information technology
services and specialist software products.

As of December 1999, the company's long-term debt was 22.30
million pounds and total liabilities were 512.40 million pounds.


SEMA:  Schlumberger Set to Gain Control of Sema
-----------------------------------------------
After announcing a 3.6 billion pounds ($5.2 billion), agreed all-
cash offer for Sema, oilfield services to smart cards company
Schlumberger of the U.S. on Monday looked set to gain control of
the Anglo-French IT services group, the Financial Times said.

According to Schlumberger Chief Executive Euan Baird, $3 billion
of the money needed for the purchase would come from cash
reserves and $2 billion would be borrowed.

The Sema move, intended to boost its technology credentials, is
Schlumberger's second technology acquisition in less than a week.
On Friday, it announced the acquisition of Groupe Bull's
smartcard division for $325 million.

Sema has lost investors' confidence following two profit warnings
related to its $4.7 billion acquisition of telecom software
company LHS.



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.

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