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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, June 13, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 115


                            Headlines

* A U S T R I A *

LIBRO AG: Consortium Offers Debt Relief

* B E L G I U M *

LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Ex-Chief Seeks Dismissal of Bankruptcy Filing

* G E R M A N Y *

BROKAT AG: To Revaluate Subsidiaries
DAIMLERCHRYSLER: Kerkorian's Next Move Due Today
DAIMLERCHRYSLER: To Restructure U.S. Truck Unit
DAIMLERCHRYSLER: To Sell $4B MTNs to Investors
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: T-Mobile Okays Reorganization Plans
TERROT STRICKMASCHINEN: Cuts 345 Jobs

* I R E L A N D *

EIRCOM PLC: Confirms Sale to O'Reilly

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

KPN NV: Board to Manage Debt and Strategy Management Role

* S W E D E N *

BOLIDEN LIMITED: Cederborg Steps Down as President
ISMM GROUP: FIFA Issues List for Blatter Probe
SWISSAIR GROUP: Declines to Comment on Liquidation Rumors
SWISSAIR GROUP: Faces Pressure to Pull Out From French Airlines
SWISSAIR GROUP: Plummets on Bankruptcy Rumor

* U N I T E D   K I N G D O M *

BALTIMORE TECHNOLOGIES: Shares Tumble Anew
BREATHE.COM: Affinity Buys Breathe for 1.75MM Pounds
BRITISH TELECOM: To Sell Syntegra for GBP800MM
CAMMELL LAIRD: Buyers Withdraw From Talks
DANKA BUSINESS: Extends Exchange Offer for Subordinated Notes
INDEPENDENT INSURANCE: Suspends Trading
SCOOT.COM: Boulben Resigns as Non-Exec Director


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


LIBRO AG: Consortium Offers Debt Relief
---------------------------------------

A group consisting of the main shareholders and debtor banks of
financially stricken retailer and Internet group Libro AG (R.LIB)
expect to agree on a 60% debt relief to prevent Libro's
bankruptcy.

The group, headed by Bank Austria, said late Friday that an
investment consortium consisting of investment group VCN, Karl-
Michael Millauer and British fund Alchemy Partners is interested
in taking over 51%. Anton Strahlinger, owner of a private
stationary company, wants to buy up to 71%.


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


LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Ex-Chief Seeks Dismissal of Bankruptcy Filing
----------------------------------------------------------------

Former chief executive Gaston Bastiaens of the troubled Belgian
firm Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV has asked to have his
voluntary personal bankruptcy filing dismissed, Reuters reported
on Monday.

Bastiaens is expected to return to Belgium on June 16. He has
been in jail since May 26 for fraud, insider trading, stock
manipulation and accounting violations.

The provisional arrest of Bastiaens, his continued detention in
the United States and his appearance in Belgium will prevent him
from attending his first meeting and performing other obligations
related to his bankruptcy case. It is not also possible for
Bastiaens' Chapter 7 case to be administered while he remains in
Belgium, Reuters added.

Bastiaens filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, claiming
liabilities of $10 million to $50 million and assets of $500,000
to $1 million. He is set to return home before the first meeting
of creditors on June 20.


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


BROKAT AG: To Revaluate Subsidiaries
------------------------------------

Brokat AG will revaluate several subsidiaries and investments in
its financial statement because the revenue prospects of the
national subsidiaries fell short of initial expectations, a
Monday press release from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange said.

The management board of the e-business software company has
determined that the revaluations have resulted in a loss of half
the share capital.

The company further revaluated loans to its national companies in
the USA, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. This measure amounts to
approximately 10.7 million euros. Further depreciations in the
amount of 3.9 million euros result from minority interests that
are also subject to revaluation.


DAIMLERCHRYSLER: Kerkorian's Next Move Due Today
-------------------------------------------------

DaimlerChrysler AG's shareholder American billionaire Kirk
Kerkorian faces a court-imposed deadline today to reply to a
motion to dismiss the $8 billion lawsuit he filed against the
automotive giant through his holding company, Tracinda Corp., Dow
Jones Newswires reported on Monday.

Tracinda filed the suit last autumn when the group's Chrysler
unit disclosed huge losses, saying shareholders were deceived
when Daimler-Benz AG paid 36 billion euros to merge with Chrysler
Corp. in 1998. DaimlerChrysler Chairman Juergen Schrempp said the
deal was never really a merger of equals, but that he always
intended to take over Chrysler and make it a subsidiary.

DaimlerChrysler filed the motion to dismiss the suit last month
with a U.S. District Court in Delaware.

Aside from Schrempp, Chief Financial Officer Manfred Gentz and
Supervisory Board Chairman Hilmar Kopper were also named as
defendants in the suit.


DAIMLERCHRYSLER: To Restructure U.S. Truck Unit
-----------------------------------------------

DaimlerChrysler AG has started creating a restructuring plan for
its troubled U.S. truck arm Freightliner, the Wall Street Journal
reported yesterday.

Othmar Stein, director of global communications at
DaimlerChrysler's commercial vehicle division, would not comment
on the steps to be taken, but acknowledged that job cuts were
possible.

At the end of the first quarter, Freightliner dragged the group's
worldwide operation into a loss of $118.2 million. Company
insiders have said in the past that they expect Freightliner to
post a projected operating loss of between $350 million and $500
million for the year.


DAIMLERCHRYSLER: To Sell $4B MTNs to Investors
----------------------------------------------

DaimlerChrysler North America Holding Corporation plans to sell
up to $4 billion in medium-term notes to individual investors via
lead managers Banc of America Securities LLC and Incapital LLC,
according to Dow Jones Newswires' Monday report.

The introduction of InterNotes makes it easier for retail
customers to directly purchase individual corporate bonds,
Incapital's CEO Tom Ricketts said.

The DaimlerChrysler InterNotes will be continuously offered and
will provide investors with a variety of rates, maturity dates
and interest payment options. The notes are available through co-
agents and Incapital's national broker dealer network, including
A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., Edward
Jones, Fidelity Capital Markets, PaineWebber Incorporated,
Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Salomon Smith
Barney.


DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: T-Mobile Okays Reorganization Plans
-----------------------------------------------------

The supervisory board of Deutsche Telekom AG unit T-Mobile
International AG has approved plans to reorganize the company,
according to AFX News' June 10 report.

T-Mobile has appointed Rene Obermann to head the European
operations, while Bob Stapleton for the U.S. activities, and
chief financial officer Thomas Winkler will be responsible for
Eastern Europe units.

Nikesh Arora will also head the new division called New Business.


TERROT STRICKMASCHINEN: Cuts 345 Jobs
-------------------------------------

Terrot Strickmaschinen GmbH shed 345 jobs following a 50% fall in
the first quarter orders, Die Welt & World Reporter in its June
11 edition said. The textile machine manufacturer, which filed
for bankruptcy in March, appointed Volker Grub as its receiver.

Seventy jobs in the assembly, development and administration
departments at the Stuttgart site was maintained. The rest of the
production was transferred to the Chemnitz factory, where 40 more
jobs were cut.

Terrot has laid up 4 million German mark to cover the cost of
redundancy measures. All employees affected by the cuts will
undergo six-month retraining in the job creation company
Mypegasus.


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


EIRCOM PLC: Confirms Sale to O'Reilly
-------------------------------------

Eircom has reached an agreement with the Valentia consortium on
the principal terms of the proposed bid for the telecom operator,
according to BBC News' Monday report.

The consortium, headed by media magnate Tony O'Reilly and backed
by financier George Soros and Goldman Sachs Group, is offering
Eircom shareholders either an all-cash offer of 1.27 euro a share
or 1.32 euros a share and a three-year warrant valued at seven
European cents a share.

News that Eircom is entering exclusive talks with Valentia is a
blow to other bidders for the company, including Denis O'Brien's
e-Island, US buyout specialists Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and US-
based private equity fund Blackstone Communications Management
Associates. It appears Eircom has ignored their bids.

Valentia has until June 25, 2001 to finalize the terms of the
offer.


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


KPN NV: Board to Manage Debt and Strategy Management Role
---------------------------------------------------------

Two supervisory board members of telecom company KPN NV will take
on formal roles in managing KPN's debt and corporate
partnerships, according to the Monday edition of Dow Jones
Newswires.

Ton Risseeuw, a former Getronics NV chairman, will become
chairman of the supervisory board's Strategy Committee to advise
on partnerships and mergers. Dudley Eustace, former chief
financial officer at Philips, will become chairman of the
supervisory board's Audit Committee to advise on debt reduction
and disposals.

Shares of KPN have been under pressure as the company struggles
to reduce its 23.3 billion euro debt.


===========
S W E D E N
===========


BOLIDEN LIMITED: Cederborg Steps Down as President
--------------------------------------------------

Boliden Limited president Thomas Cederborg said that he would
resign as an officer and director of the mining group after the
completion of the equity and debt refinancing initiatives
announced by the company on May.

As soon as Boliden's lenders approve the refinancing and
restructuring proposal presented on May, Cederborg will proceed
with the rights and common share offerings that are fully secured
by standby and guarantee commitments. When these initiatives are
completed, he will step down and give the board adequate time to
find a new chief executive officer to lead Boliden.

Boliden has also reelected its current board of directors on
Monday at its annual meeting in Canada. Alex Balogh did not stand
for reelection.


=====================
S W I T Z E R L A N D
=====================


ISMM GROUP: FIFA Issues List for Blatter Probe
----------------------------------------------

Vice-president Lennart Johansson of world football's governing
body FIFA (International Football Association Federation) has
issued a list of questions, which challenge FIFA president Sepp
Blatter over transparency issues in the bankruptcy of marketing
partner ISMM-ISL, according to AFX News' Monday report.

The questions focus on when FIFA became aware that ISMM-ISL, who
had deals worth up to a billion dollars with FIFA, was in danger
of bankruptcy, how it was decided to cancel the world club
championship in Spain this July, and raise a range of potentially
explosive issues.

Johansson also sent Blatter a letter to accompany the list of
questions.


SWISSAIR GROUP: Declines to Comment on Liquidation Rumors
---------------------------------------------------------

Swissair Group AG has declined to comment on rumors that it might
file for voluntary liquidation, according to AFX News' Monday
report.

The rumors were based on Swiss Sunday paper Sonntagszeitung. It
reported that Swissair capital might already have fallen below
the critical level of 438 million Swiss franc.

The Wall Street Journal had also speculated about a possible
bankruptcy.


SWISSAIR GROUP: Faces Pressure to Pull Out From French Airlines
---------------------------------------------------------------

Troubled aviation group Swissair is facing a mounting pressure to
offload its loss-making French operations as shares fell a
further 7% on Friday, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Swissair managers have admitted that no serious bidders have
emerged for their unprofitable AOM and Air Liberte units, which
incurred losses of some 480 million Swiss francs this year.

Meanwhile, the French government has increased the pressure on
Swissair and French partner Marine-Wendel to bail out the French
airlines.

Swissair has also been forced to negotiate a 1 billion Swiss
francs credit line from a consortium of banks as it struggles
under debts of 6.5 billion Swiss francs.


SWISSAIR GROUP: Plummets on Bankruptcy Rumor
--------------------------------------------

Shares in Swissair lost as much as 13.5% during Monday's trading
on rumors that the company could be heading for bankruptcy,
according to BBC News' Monday edition. An airline spokesman
denied the bankruptcy rumors.

The rumors were sparked by the Financial Times' newspaper report
that said the airline is facing a mounting bill to offload its
controlling stakes in the French group AOM-Air Liberte and sister
airline Air Littoral.

The Swiss group has been in deep financial trouble and is in the
process of replacing its board members.



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


BALTIMORE TECHNOLOGIES: Shares Tumble Anew
------------------------------------------

Shares in Internet security specialist Baltimore Technologies
tumbled 19% to 46 sterling pounds on the London stock exchange on
Monday, following a 5% fall last week, according to the Irish
Independent in its June 12 edition.

The share sell-off makes Baltimore increasingly attractive as a
takeover candidate. Sector rival Verisign or US security group
Checkpoint are likely to be interested.

In May, Baltimore announced losses of 17.2 million sterling
pounds for the quarter and said that it would cut 250 jobs to
stem widening losses.


BREATHE.COM: Affinity Buys Breathe for 1.75MM Pounds
----------------------------------------------------

Affinity Internet Holdings on Monday agreed to buy UK's fourth
Internet service provider Breathe.com from retail chain Great
Universal Stores for 1.75 million pounds, according to BBC News'
Monday report. The issue of 533,537 shares at 3.28 pounds will
settle the deal.

The sale comes amid an excess of dot.coms in the UK and tumbling
prices for Web assets. Several ISPs are up for sale, including
Virgin and NTL's Virgin.net and British Telecom and United
Business Media's LineOne.

Mobile phone entrepreneur Martin Dawes controlled Breathe.com,
which collapsed in December with losses of about 50 million
pounds. It went into administration after hitting financial
problems. Unaudited management figures for the first three months
of the year show the business making a loss of 1.7 million
pounds.

Affinity provides branded Internet access, telecommunications and
online entertainment in the UK, and is now expanding into
Australia, Africa and wider Europe. The company made a pretax
loss of 6.629 million pounds in the first three months of the
year.


BRITISH TELECOM: To Sell Syntegra for GBP800MM
----------------------------------------------

British Telecommunications PLC is in early talks to sell
information technology services unit Syntegra for GBP700 million
to GBP800 million to reduce debt, Dow Jones Newswires reported on
Monday.

The source declined to identify potential buyers and refused to
comment on earlier reports. Analysts and fund managers believe
likely bidders are Unite Kingdom's Logica PLC, France's Cap
Gemini Ernst & Young and Atos Origin, and America's Electronic
Data Systems Corp.

The Syntegra sale is part of BT's restructuring to reduce its
GBP28 billion debt mountain, amassed by expanding overseas and
buying licenses to operate third-generation mobile networks in
Europe.

Other parts of the restructuring included the sale of GBP7.25
billion in assets, including Yell in the U.K. and operations in
Spain, Japan, and Malaysia. The company is also in the middle of
marketing a GBP5.9 billion rights issue to investors.


CAMMELL LAIRD: Buyers Withdraw From Talks
-----------------------------------------

Talks to salvage shipbuilder Cammell Laird have collapsed after
venture capital business Alchemy and private ship repair company
A&P withdrew from negotiations on Monday, the June 12 edition of
The Times said.

Alchemy offered to buy A&P from Royal Bank Private Equity for 1
pound ahead of paying close to 10 million pounds for Cammell.
RBPE scoffed at the nominal offer for the company and suggested
that 20% of all future profits from Cammell and A&P business
would make a more reasonable price. Alchemy did not agree and
called off the deal.

The talks were perhaps the last chance for the remaining 1,040
workers at Cammell Laird's yards in Birkenhead and Tyneside, who
now face redundancy.


DANKA BUSINESS: Extends Exchange Offer for Subordinated Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------

Danka Business Systems PLC has extended its pending exchange
offer for its outstanding $200 million of 6.75% convertible
subordinated notes due 2002 (CUSIP Nos. G2652NAA7, 236277AA7, and
236277AB5) to June 22, 2001, Business Wire reported on Monday.

Under the amended offer, noteholders can choose to exchange their
old 6.75% subordinated notes for cash, new zero coupon senior
subordinated notes or new 10% subordinated notes.

Holders who choose cash will receive $400 in cash for each $1,000
in principal amount of old 6.75% notes. The cash option is
limited to $24 million of proceeds. Accordingly, Danka will
purchase no more than a total of $60 million in principal amount
of old notes for cash.

Danka Business, one of the world's largest suppliers of office
copiers and printers, also said it has reached an agreement with
the Steering Committee of its existing consortium of banks
regarding the principal terms of a new credit facility to
refinance Danka's existing bank debt.


INDEPENDENT INSURANCE: Suspends Trading
---------------------------------------

Trading in Independent Insurance shares has been suspended amid
concern over alleged reinsurance arrangements that were put in
place to stem huge losses, the Times reported yesterday.

The company said it had launched a thorough investigation into
the arrangements. It requested the suspension of its shares after
they collapsed to 81«p on Friday in the wake of a profit warning
issued in February. The company was demoted from the FTSE 250
index.

Independent's financial adviser HSBC and stockbroker Collins
Stewart are handling the institutional placing. It is understood
that a fresh slate of non-executive directors has been prepared
to meet demands from investors.

Investors JP Morgan, Fleming Asset Management, Merrill Lynch and
Schroder Salomon Smith Barney are believed to be ready to support
the capital raising.


SCOOT.COM: Boulben Resigns as Non-Exec Director
-----------------------------------------------

Vivendi Universal SA representative Frank Boulbe has resigned
from Scoot.com PLC as non-executive director with immediate
effect, according to Dow Jones Newswires' Monday report.

The move follows last week's announcement that Vivendi ended
talks about a possible takeover of Scoot.com at 15 pence a share.

Vivendi holds a 22.4% stake in Scoot.com.

                                 ************

       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 Ma. Cristina D. Pernites, Editors.

Copyright 2001.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

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