/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010411.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, April 11, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 71 Headlines * B E L G I U M * LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: New CFO to Remain a Mystery LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Visteon Completes Purchase of Tech Unit * G E R M A N Y * TELDAFAX AG: Jumps to 33% on Funding Hopes * I R E L A N D * EIRCOM PLC: To Trim More Staff and Assets TUSKAR RESOURCES: Moves to Finalize Delisting * N E T H E R L A N D S * LETSBUYIT.COM: Achieves Order Volume of More Than 1 Million Euro * R O M A N I A * DAEWOO MOTORS: Chief Visits Romania Facility SIDEX: LNM Bid Enters Final Stage XEROX ROMANIA: Delays Filing of Financial Result * R U S S I A * NTV: Putin Calls for Solution to Dispute * S W E D E N * ICON MEDIALAB: To Raise 150 Million Swedish Krona From Stake Sale * S W I T Z E R L A N D * CARRIER1 INTERNATIONAL: Appoints Richardson As Managing Director ISL WORLDWIDE: Bankruptcy Might Harm Football Clubs * U N I T E D K I N G D O M * DANKA BUSINESS: To Sell Division for $290 Million EASIER.CO.UK: Posts Loss of 8.4 Million Pounds GLOBAL TELESYSTEMS: Bondholders Save Internet Traffic Carrier MARKS & SPENCER: Court Suspends Job Cuts Plan MARKS & SPENCER: Willing to Continue Dialogue After Court Ruling RAILTRACK GROUP: CAA Boss Tipped to Chair Rail Network Operator RONSON PLC: Posts 1.6 Million-Pound Pre-Tax Loss for 2000 ============= B E L G I U M ============= LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: New CFO to Remain a Mystery ---------------------------------------------- Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV is seeking court approval of an employment agreement with a new chief financial officer, Dow Jones in its April 9 report said. L&H will not publicly disclose the identity of the new executive until after the bankruptcy- court approves the agreement, as the current employment of the executive would be jeopardized. The mystery executive will be responsible for the bankruptcy cases, internal audit, control, accounting and reporting, as well as reports required by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The CFO will make $265,000 a year in base salary and be entitled to participate in L&H's management objective plan. LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Visteon Completes Purchase of Tech Unit ---------------------------------------------------------- Visteon Corporation announced on Monday that it has purchased C- REC(TM) and SDX speech recognition technology from L&H Holdings USA, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V., PR Newswire reported. This purchase enables Visteon to strengthen its position in automotive voice recognition technology, and also allows the company to enter non-automotive markets such as cellular phones, PDAs and smart phones. To focus on the development and commercialization of these new markets, Visteon will form a yet-to-be-named subsidiary that will be headquartered in Boston, Mass., with an additional office to be located in Bristol, U.K. Approximately 30 research/development and application engineers will concentrate on the advancement of speech interface in automotive and non- automotive applications. Concentrating on using voice technology as an enabler, the new company will develop leading-edge speech solutions that will enable faster-to- market delivery of new and innovative products in the areas of navigation, communication, entertainment, in-vehicle computing and audio systems. "This acquisition strengthens Visteon's position as a leader in automotive voice technology," Visteon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Pestillo said, "and provides us with opportunities in high-growth, non- automotive markets." Use of speech interface in automotive devices eliminates the need to manually control many dashboard level instruments, fostering a safer operating environment by allowing drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= TELDAFAX AG: Jumps to 33% on Funding Hopes ------------------------------------------ Shares in telecom operator TelDaFax soared on Monday to 33.33% on hopes it will soon resume services and get a capital injection, according to Reuters' report. Speculative investors and daytraders piled into the stock after the company said it was in talks with Deutsche Telekom to have its network access restored as soon as this week. Deutsche Telekom cut off TelDaFax after the call-by-call operator failed to pay its 98 million-mark debt. On Friday, U.S. communications provider World Access Inc. said that its creditors had approved a funding plan to allow its subsidiary meet its obligations. ============= I R E L A N D ============= EIRCOM PLC: To Trim More Staff and Assets ----------------------------------------- Irish phone company Eircom Plc said it would axe 320 jobs at its multimedia and U.K. units and scale down its non-performing assets, Dow Jones reported yesterday. Eircom Chief Executive Alfie Kane and his management team indicated they would exit Internet software and content development investments and restructure its multimedia units to stem losses. It would remain focused on selling Eircom's mobile unit, Eircell, to mobile phone company Vodafone PLC next month in an all-stock deal valued at 3.8 billion euros, plus the assumption of 250 million euros in debt. The announced redundancy includes about 80 staff in London, 40 jobs in Northern Ireland, and 200 of the 530 people employed in its multimedia activities. TUSKAR RESOURCES: Moves to Finalize Delisting ----------------------------------------------------- Tuskar Resources has taken the final step towards the cancellation of its listing from Irish Stock Exchange, according to the Irish Times' Saturday report. Dealings in the company have been suspended since January. Tuskar ran into cash-flow problems as a result of a dispute with its Nigerian partners earlier this year. Its problems became evident in January when Tuskar said it would wind down its operations because it could not generate the revenue to pay its expenses. ===================== N E T H E R L A N D S ===================== LETSBUYIT.COM: Achieves Order Volume of More Than 1 Million Euro ---------------------------------------------------------------- Following comprehensive restructuring measures, LetsBuyIt.com achieved an order volume of more than 1 million euro in March, with an average order value of 150 euro, Frankfurt Stock Exchange in its Monday's Press Release said. Considering the current limited product range and marketing activities, LetsBuyIt.com management sees this development as a sign of the strength of the brand name LetsBuyIt.com as well as its customer loyalty. The Company plans to expand its product range in April and to intensify its marketing activities starting in May 2001. ============= R O M A N I A ============= DAEWOO MOTORS: Chief Visits Romania Facility -------------------------------------------- Daewoo Motors president Jong Dae Lee visited the company's Craiova-based production facility late last month to inspect the local Daewoo plant and discuss with its management and unions, Bucharest Business Week on Monday reported. He said that a prospective takeover by General Motors included the Korean carmaker's production units in Eastern Europe. SIDEX: LNM Bid Enters Final Stage --------------------------------- Negotiations for the sell-off of Romania's largest steel mill Sidex with LNM Group are expected to last beyond the June deadline, Bucharest Business Week reported on Monday. The Authority for Privatization and State Asset Management will lay down some conditions during the talks. First, the investor should not reduce production levels below 4.2 to 4.5 million ton of steel per year. Second, it should not perform layoffs. Furthermore, the new owner would have to maintain Sidex's horizontal businesses. LNM Group, the sixth largest steel producer in the world, has a production capacity of about 23 million ton and net annual sales of over US$6 billion. XEROX ROMANIA: Delays Filing of Financial Result ------------------------------------------------ Expected official annual report for Xerox Romania was controversially delayed last week as internal auditor KPMG refused to approve the company's worldwide financial statements, according to Bucharest Business Week in its April 9 edition. Country general manager Valeriu Nistor blamed KPMG in the delay of filing the financial results. He said that KPMG did not find the results provided by the company sufficient so they asked for a full review, without announcing the company's management in advance. As reported earlier, Xerox is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its accounting practices. =========== R U S S I A =========== NTV: Putin Calls for Solution to Dispute ---------------------------------------- President Vladimir Putin wants the dispute over the NTV private network settled so as not to lose the network and the professional journalist team, according to Itar-Tass' Monday report, citing Soviet ex-president Mikhail Gorbachev. NTV's fierce standoff with Gazprom-Media has come to a draw after the gas company's media branch ousted NTV's board and installed allies to run the network. Employees at the television station have refused to recognize the new managers. =========== S W E D E N =========== ICON MEDIALAB: To Raise 150 Million Swedish Krona From Stake Sale ----------------------------------------------------------------- IconMedialab in its Monday's press release announced that the Board of Directors has carried out a directed placement of 12,850,400 shares, generating approximately 150 million Swedish krona in cash to the company. Through the directed placement, Red Valley/Fidessa Asset Management will increase its ownership stake in IconMedialab to close to 20% of the outstanding shares after the placement. Other participants in the placement include the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) and individuals closely related to the company, including Board members such as Björn Nordstrand, Jesper Jos Olsson and Henrik Vilselius, as well as Pier Carlo Falotti, who is nominated to join the Board, and Rens Buchwaldt, Interim CEO and President of the Company. The subscription price for the issue has been set at 11.71 Swedish krona per share, and all investors participating in the issue have agreed to a 90 day lock-up period on the shares. The issue is subject to shareholder approval, for which the Board of Directors will call for an extra general meeting to take place on April 27, 2001, the same date as IconMedialab's Annual General Meeting. Commenting on the placement, Chairman of the Board Björn Nordstrand stated, "I am very happy that the Board and CEO are expressing their belief in the long-term potential of the company by participating in this placement. The Board is also very pleased to have Fidessa Asset Management take an important stake in the company and broaden the institutional investor base of IconMedialab." The company will publish the notice for the April 27th extra general meeting today. ===================== S W I T Z E R L A N D ===================== CARRIER1 INTERNATIONAL: Appoints Richardson As Managing Director ---------------------------------------------------------------- Carrier1 International S.A., a leading European provider of end- to-end Internet, voice, bandwidth, data center and access solutions to large users of communication services, announced on Monday the appointment of Gavin Richardson as its Managing Director for the United Kingdom and Ireland, Business Wire reported. Gavin is replacing Phil Poulter, who has accepted a position of CEO at Data True, a billing service provider in the UK. Gavin Richardson joins Carrier1 from Concert where he was Sales Vice President, Commercial Operations. Prior to Concert, Gavin worked within BT's Multi-National Sales & Service division leading global account teams servicing major corporations. "Carrier1 is rapidly strengthening its sales organization and Gavin brings great leadership and invaluable experience to our UK and Ireland sales organization," Carrier1 President and CEO Stig Johansson said. Carrier1's network coverage in the United Kingdom includes 1,150 km of fiber between Liverpool and London, connecting, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Birmingham, Bristol and Cambridge. In February 2001, Carrier1 purchased broadband capacity which overlays this national network and extends further north to Glasgow. This transaction provides Carrier1 with 48 points of presence in the U.K., allowing it to manage its growing Internet business on net and closer to traffic origination points. ISL WORLDWIDE: Bankruptcy Might Harm Football Clubs ------------------------------------------------- The bankruptcy claimed by ISMM (International Sport Media & Marketing), controller of ISL Worldwide, could harm two major Brazilian football clubs, the South American Business Information in its April 9 edition said. ISL has a 15 years contract with Rio de Janeiro state's football club Flamengo, which foresees total investments of US$850 million. The contract with Rio Grande do Sul's Gremio foresees R$20 million to R$25 million per year. Initial investment designated for Gremio was estimated at US$30 million and US$80 million to Flamengo. With US$630 million in liabilities, ISMM will sign an agreement with the insurance company AIG (Vivendi), pension fund Advance and sports marketing agency Dentsui to restructure its debts. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== DANKA BUSINESS: To Sell Division for $290 Million ------------------------------------------------- Danka Business Systems PLC announced on Monday a definitive agreement to sell its outsourcing division Danka Services International (DSI) to Pitney Bowes Inc., a global provider of integrated mail and document management solutions, for $290 million in cash, Business Wire reported. "I am delighted that we've been able to reach an agreement that benefits all parties," Danka's Chief Executive Officer P. Lang Lowrey said. "Pitney Bowes will provide a strong platform for the development of DSI's business. In addition, we've achieved our financial goal for the sale, which will enable us to move forward in completing our restructuring plan. We are optimistic that our shareholders and senior lenders will view this agreement as positively as we do." Completion of the proposed sale is contingent upon the approval of Danka shareholders, and a circular containing the notice convening the necessary extraordinary general meeting will be sent to shareholders soon. EASIER.CO.UK: Posts Loss of 8.4 Million Pounds ---------------------------------------------- Defunct Internet estate agent easier.co.uk unveiled in its full- year listed results that the dot com disaster had lost 75% of the cash raised from its February 2000 flotation in just 10 months, This Is London in its April 9 edition reported. The company lost 8.4 million pounds in the year to 31 December against the 11.2 million pounds it raised from a placing of 8 million shares last February, including advertising and promotional expenditure of 6.6 million pounds. Easier, which ceased trading on late February after deciding its business plan was unworkable, said that it was trying to find a reverse takeover deal for the company's listing but may also consider winding up the business. GLOBAL TELESYSTEMS: Bondholders Save Internet Traffic Carrier ------------------------------------------------------------- Global TeleSystems (GTS), one of Europe's biggest carriers of internet traffic, has escaped crippling debts after bondholders agreed to give up claims to $500 million (350 million pounds) in exchange for a 90% stake in GTS Business Services, according to The Sunday Times' report. GTS, which was forced to undertake a radical restructuring after defaulting on its bond payments, has also raised $125 million from the sale of Golden Telecom. GTS believes it will shortly be able to produce positive cashflows after cutting staff by nearly 500 to 1,100, and selling its fast-growing Internet and voice telephony business in central Europe. MARKS & SPENCER: Court Suspends Job Cuts Plan --------------------------------------------- The Paris high court has ordered the suspension of Marks & Spencer PLC's plan to close its 18 directly owned outlets in France, BBC News in its April 9 edition said. The decision follows a legal challenge by the CGT, FO, SYCOPA and CFDT unions, which represents 1,700 staff in the stores involved, claiming that the retailer broke European laws by not consulting its workers over any restructuring. M&S claims it followed the correct procedures under European law by informing workers of the planned store closures half an hour before it made an announcement to the stock exchange. It maintained that the company has only announced its intention to close the 18 stores and insisted there was still a remote possibility that the stores could remain open. An M&S spokeswoman said that the retailer is considering an appeal against the court's decision. MARKS & SPENCER: Willing to Continue Dialogue After Court Ruling ---------------------------------------------------------------- Marks & Spencer PLC is willing to continue dialogue with personnel representatives following French court's ruling in favor of a suspension of the retailer's plan to close 18 outlets in France, according to an AFX report on Tuesday. The court decision supported the claim by the CGT, FO, SYCOPA and CFDT unions that the company's plan to close all its stores contravened labor law, which requires notification and consultation of workers over any restructuring program. RAILTRACK GROUP: CAA Boss Tipped to Chair Rail Network Operator --------------------------------------------------------------- Head of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Sir Malcolm Field is the latest name to be tipped as Railtrack chairman, according to The Sunday Times report. Railtrack chief executive Steve Marshall refused to comment on the candidate. Field, a former chief executive of WH Smith, will step down as CAA chairman next month. Businessman Sir John Parker, who was tipped to take over as Railtrack's new chairman in March, has withdrawn at the last minute. The ill-health of Parker's wife prevented him from joining the company. RONSON PLC: Posts 1.6 Million-Pound Pre-Tax Loss for 2000 --------------------------------------------------------- Ronson Plc has slipped back into the red, with a 1.6 million- pound pre-tax loss for 2000, against a 616,000-pound profit in the previous year, according to The Times yesterday. The losses incurred include the full write-off of the company's e-business program that was launched in January 2000. Over the past two years, the cigarette lighter distributor has undertaken a restructuring by divesting itself of its license agreement for Pierre Cardin costume jewelry, to concentrate on its core lighter business. Ronson not only operates in the UK and Poland, but also sells in the Asian market. Its turnover for the 12 months dropped to 7.2 million pounds from 10.4 million pounds a year ago. 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. Kimberly MacAdam, 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 * * *