/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010831.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

            Friday, August 31, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 171


                            Headlines

* B E L G I U M *

BRIDGE INFORMATION: Judge Delays Dow Jones' Buy
KORTRIJKSE TEXTIELMAATSCHAPPIJ: Applies for Insolvency
LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Units File Chapter 11

* C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C *

INVESTICNI A POSTOVNI: Czechs Agree to Bank Bailout

* F R A N C E *

SOFRER: Court Puts Company in Receivership

* G E R M A N Y *

BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: Needs Time to Restructure
BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: Police Stage Six Raids Amid Bank Probe
BANKHAUS PARTIN: Starts Insolvency Proceedings
HERLITZ AG: Loss Widens to 31MM Euros
INFOMATEC AG: Will Cease Operations Today
KINOWELT MEDIEN: Delays Half-Yearly Figures
MET@BOX AG: Wants 1MM Euros From Investors
PIXELPARK AG: Sales Continue to Decline

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

KPN NV: Gives in to Belgacom Demands
PHARMING GROUP: Genzyme Wants to Take Over Parts of Dutch Firm

* N O R W A Y *

XCELERA: Investment Company Risks Bankruptcy

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

SULZER MEDICA: Judge Grants Preliminary Approval for Settlement

* U N I T E D   K I N G D O M *

ATLANTIC TELECOM: Pretax Losses Widen to 27.5MM Pounds
CLAIMS DIRECT: Founders Resign
CLAIMS DIRECT: Founders Set to Sell Share to Ware-Lane
CLAIMS DIRECT: Investors Angry Over Founders' Decision
CORUS GROUP: Board Member Briet Resigns
EQUITABLE LIFE: Rules Out Board Seat for Policyholder
FUTURE NETWORK: Appoints Bowman as New Finance Director
MARKS & SPENCER: Launches Joint Venture With Desmond


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


BRIDGE INFORMATION: Judge Delays Dow Jones' Buy
-----------------------------------------------

Bankruptcy judge David McDonald has postponed until Friday a
request by Bridge Information Systems Inc. to approve the sale of
some of its news contracts to Dow Jones & Co.

The Wednesday edition of Dow Jones Newswires said that Bridge
attorney Greg Willard told the judge that the two sides are still
trying to resolve a remaining contract.

Dow Jones director of corporate communications Vickee Adams also
declined to comment on the delay.

Dow Jones and Bridge announced earlier this month that Dow Jones
Newswires would pay $6.5 million for Bridge's equities,
commodities and energy news contracts.

Bridge filed for bankruptcy in February.


KORTRIJKSE TEXTIELMAATSCHAPPIJ: Applies for Insolvency
------------------------------------------------------

About 115 workers will lose their jobs as Kortrijkse
Textielmaatschappij (KTM), Belgium's last independent cotton
spinning-mill, has applied for insolvency, the Financial Times
reported on Wednesday.

KTM, which specialized in producing yarns for the carpet,
furniture and domestic textile industries, said it is unable to
get over a series of crisis and restructuring programs.

DVE, a private partner of KTM, went out of business last year due
to the insolvency of its main customer, carpet manufacturer Louis
De Poortere. It still owed money to KTM, which is consequently an
indirect victim of the LDP insolvency.


LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Units File Chapter 11
----------------------------------------

Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV, according to Dow Jones
Newswires' Wednesday report, has on Tuesday filed a Chapter 11
reorganization plan and related disclosure statement with the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

The bankrupt speech recognition software company filed the plan
jointly with wholly owned bankrupt units Dictaphone Corp. and L&H
Holdings USA Inc.

The proposed plan provides for the reorganization of Dictaphone
through a debt for equity exchange, while all the assets of L&H
and L&H Holdings will be transferred into two new entities that
will sell or dispose of the assets for the benefit of each
company's creditors or other stakeholders.

A hearing to consider approval of the Lernout & Hauspie
companies' disclosure statement, which is a summary of the
proposed plan, is scheduled on September 25 in Camden, New
Jersey. Objections to the disclosure statement are due September
21.

Under the plan, $400 million of Dictaphone's pre-petition debt
would be converted into Dictaphone new common stock and warrants
on the date the plan takes effect. The debt-for-equity swap will
create a stronger balance sheet for the reorganized unit.

As reported, L&H lost nearly $10 billion in market value last
year amid an accounting scandal.

In November L&H, Dictaphone and Holdings filed for Chapter 11 in
Delaware, listing consolidated assets of $2.37 billion, short
term debts of $255.3 million and long term debts of $234.3
million.


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


INVESTICNI A POSTOVNI: Czechs Agree to Bank Bailout
--------------------------------------------------

The Czech government agreed on Wednesday to a Kc46-billion-
bailout of Investicni a Postovni Banka, which collapsed in June 2000, from
Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka (CSOB), the Financial Times
reported on Wednesday.

CSOB will assess the value of a further Kc127 billion of loans
and other gray assets and can transfer them to the state within a
year, during which time it will charge interest and a management fee.
It will also extend to the state a Kc100 billion lending facility
to fund the purchase of IPB's assets.

The annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the
restructuring would cost the government Kc400 billion, or 21% of
the gross domestic product, of which only 5 percentage points had
been paid by the end of last year.

FT added that JP Morgan will assess the price that IPB
shareholders will receive for the enterprise sale.


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


SOFRER: Court Puts Company in Receivership
------------------------------------------

The Nanterre commercial court in France has put Sofrer, the
French group that specializes in maintaining mobile phone
masts, into receivership with a six month observation
period, the Wednesday edition of the Financial Times said.

The stay of execution temporarily relieved the group's 1,000
employees.

Sofrer had been hit by the telecommunications crisis but
management made assurances that its new owner, British group
SpectraSite Transco, was committed to financing the company until
the second half of 2002.

SpectraSite Transco has recently ordered its French unit declare
itself insolvent.


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


BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: Needs Time to Restructure
--------------------------------------------------

Bankgesellschaft Berlin, Germany's tenth-largest banking group,
will need at least two to three years before it can start to
issue dividends, Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday, citing
chairman Wolfgang Rupf.

The bank's restructuring program, which the supervisory board
approved in mid-August, would secure the group's future as long
as it was rigorously implemented. However, implementation would
take between three and five years.

Rupf added that the medium-term goal was to reduce costs as a
proportion of earnings from 71% in 2000 to 65%.

The debt-ridden banking group has posted a net loss of 1.6
billion euros for 2000 and is in dire need of 2 billion euros in
fresh capital. Refer to http://bankrupt.com/misc/bgb.pdffor
details.


BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: Police Stage Six Raids Amid Bank Probe
---------------------------------------------------------------

The German police has staged six raids in Berlin as well as in
Nuremberg, Holzminden and Schleiden-Olef, and seized a sizeable
amount of evidence as the Berlin prosecutor steps up its probe
into the ex-managers of Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG, the troubled
government-owned bank, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

The prosecutor did not say whether it raided homes or offices of
the managers, or offices of Bank Berlin or its subsidiaries.

Earlier this year, Bankgesellschaft Berlin said it would sue
unidentified managers if any evidence of fraud emerges.


BANKHAUS PARTIN: Starts Insolvency Proceedings
----------------------------------------------

The Crailsheim district court in Germany has opened insolvency
proceedings regarding the assets of German bank Bankhaus Partin
GmbH & Co KGaA, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in its Monday
edition said, citing German banking watchdog Bundesaufsichtsamt
fuer das Kreditwesen (BAKred).


HERLITZ AG: Loss Widens to 31MM Euros
-------------------------------------

Herlitz AG, one of the leading manufacturers of office products
in Europe, has posted a net loss of 31 million euros in the first
half of this year, compared with a 21-million-euro loss last
year, as high material costs and the strong dollar negatively
affected its results, Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.

Sales of the Berlin-based company also declined 5% to 193 million
euros as a result of the weak economic climate.

Herlitz did not say when it expected to return to profit.

Chairman Werner Eisenhardt has been pursuing a rigorous
restructuring course. The number of employees has been reduced by
1,200 to 3,063 since January last year. Loss-generating foreign
subsidiaries have been either restructured or closed down.


INFOMATEC AG: Will Cease Operations Today
---------------------------------------

Insolvent German software company Infomatec Integrated
Information Systems AG will end its operations today, B6rsen
Zeitung in its August 25 edition reported, citing insolvency
lawyer Christian Plail.

The AGM scheduled for this date has been called off. Figures for
the second quarter will not be published.

In a report dated July 25, the Troubled Company Reporter Europe
said that the insolvency trustee of Infomatec and three of its
subsidiaries sold the interactive television operations to a
private investor from the United Arabic Emirates.

In return, the company will receive royalties on license revenues
through December 31, 2004. The investor also committed himself to
establish a new German company that will take over all the
required employees.


KINOWELT MEDIEN: Delays Half-Yearly Figures
-------------------------------------------

German media company Kinowelt Medien AG has postponed its
publication of half-yearly figures from August 27 to August 31
due to a change of supervisory board, the Financial Times
Deutschland in its August 24 edition said.

Kinowelt Medien, plagued by financial problems, disclosed it
would close its art film distribution company Arthaus as part of
the company's restructuring. Its subsidiary, Brameier Fanworld AG,
filed for insolvency in July to discontinue further financial
investment in the company's heavy loss-generating operations.

Early this month, CFO Eduard Unzeitig resigned amid growing
pressure to find a partner to alleviate the company's debt
burden.


MET@BOX AG: Wants 1MM Euros From Investors
------------------------------------------

Insolvent set-top box maker Metabox has asked for 1 million euros
from its investors to keep the company afloat until its October 15
general meeting, the Financial Times Marketwatch in its Monday
edition said.

"We have a good feeling that we can get the company outfitted
with money again," Chief Executive Officer Michael Heckeroth
said.

The company hopes to use its film rights as collateral.

Metabox's woes began in autumn after it released overly exuberant
details of orders that never materialized. The company suffered
further indignities when prosecutors searched the company's
offices and executives' homes for evidence of insider trading.


PIXELPARK AG: Sales Continue to Decline
----------------------------------------

Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday that sales of German multimedia
service provider Pixelpark AG fell to 23.5 million euros in the second
quarter of 2001.  During the same period last year, the company brought
in 27.6 million euros.  The company's operating loss also deepened to
20.2 million euros, a substantial increase over last year's 0.2 million
euros.

Second-quarter results included costs of 1.5 million euros for
the group's restructuring program.


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


KPN NV: Gives in to Belgacom Demands
------------------------------------

Dutch telecommunications operator Royal KPN NV has agreed to the
demands of Belgacom SA in the proposed merger, Dow Jones
Newswires reported on Wednesday.

KPN has agreed that Belgium, which owned Belgacom, should have
the leading voice on the executive committee and KPN's valuation
should be based on its share price. The Belgian government had
previously  proposed a merger of equals.

KPN is looking for a merger with the Belgian company as a way to
help reduce its 23.2-billion-euro debt load.


PHARMING GROUP: Genzyme Wants to Take Over Parts of Dutch Firm
--------------------------------------------------------------

U.S. biotechnology company Genzyme wants to take over parts of
the patent position and a factory from Dutch biotechnology
company Pharming, which is under suspension of payment.

According to the Wednesday edition of the Financial Times,
Genzyme wants to continue production, and the U.S. company
gave financial guarantees to achieve this last week.

Earlier, the District Court in The Hague, in Netherlands,granted parent
company Pharming Group N.V. a receivership status.  The commercial
court of Turnhout city in Belgium has also granted suspension of payment
to Pharming in the Belgian town of Geel.

Pharming must find a solution before the end of the month or it will face
insolvency.


===========
N O R W A Y
===========


XCELERA: Investment Company Risks Bankruptcy
--------------------------------------------

The Norwegian-Swedish financier Alexander Vik and his investment
company Xcelera have come into more rough weather amidst doubt
over whether the company can continue trading through the financial year
2001, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Xcelera has received a blow after the New York Observer published a
very critical article on August 13 titled, 'How CEO Alex Vic sucked $400
million by selling Xcelera'.

Following the article, Vik warned shareholders of Xcelera against
newspaper articles about the company, saying that several
articles were fake, inaccurate and unfounded.


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


SULZER MEDICA: Judge Grants Preliminary Approval for Settlement
-----------------------------------------------------------------

A U.S. judge in Ohio has given Sulzer Medica, Europe's biggest
orthopaedics company, preliminary approval to resolve its
class-action suits and stave off bankruptcy, the Financial Times
reported yesterday.

The lawsuits concern 4,500 people who were given faulty artificial
hips.

Sulzer Medica has offered $780 million to resolve the cases, with
those affected standing to gain cash and shares in the company
worth up to $97,500.

Until the settlement is finally approved, Sulzer Medica faces
exposure to over 1,000 pending claims.


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


ATLANTIC TELECOM: Pretax Losses Widen to 27.5MM Pounds
------------------------------------------------------

Pretax losses of Atlantic Telecom has widened from 21.3 million
pounds a year ago to 27.5 million pounds, while its turnover
nearly doubled to 20.1 million pounds from 10.5 million pounds
during the corresponding quarter last year, according to Business
A.M. yesterday.

Atlantic has reported a narrowing in its negative earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for the three months
ended June 30 to 12.5 million pounds, less than the 12.7 million
pounds posted a year ago.

Chairman Graham Duncan said the company's priority is to maintain
a tight control over costs, in an effort to achieve positive
EBITDA.

A group of bondholders, who claim to represent more than 25% of
Atlantic Telecom's bonds, has earlier called on the company to
seek a voluntary winding up and stem its cash burn because they
are concerned about the company's ability to meet future debt
payments.


CLAIMS DIRECT: Founders Resign
-------------------------------------

Claims Direct founders Anthony Sullman and Colin Poole, who
launched a 10p-a-share takeover bid for Claims Direct in June,
have resigned as directors of the personal injury specialist
after investor Simon Ware-Lane agreed to buy part of their stake
and signaled he planned to merge the company with Claimline,
another UK personal injury specialist, the Daily Telegraph
reported yesterday.

The founders, having made 60 million pounds when Claims Direct
was floated, now plan to enter into new business ventures in a
completely new field.

Meanwhile, private investor Simon Ware-Lane has agreed to buy 49
million shares in the group from Barker Securities, the vehicle
set up by Poole and Sullman, bringing his overall holding to
29.77%, or 57.75 million shares.

"I am very pleased that negotiations have reached a successful
conclusion," Ware-Lane said.


CLAIMS DIRECT: Founders Set to Sell Share to Ware-Lane
------------------------------------------------------

Claims Direct founders Tony Sullman and Colin Poole, who
attempted to buy back the company for 10p a share in July, have
finally agreed to sell a large tranche of their shares in the
personal injury company to entrepreneur Simon Ware-Lane.

According to a report from the Independent News yesterday, the
founders will receive 16p a share, or 7.8 million pounds, for 25%
of the business under the deal with Ware-Lane.

Under the agreement, the price for a further 35% in the company
could go much higher than 16p, to a maximum of 120p a share.

The agreement will anger other shareholders, who have lost more
than 95% of the value of their holding in Claims Direct since it
floated at 180p last July.

Claims Direct is struggling amid negative publicity surrounding
the size of payouts to successful claimants. These were sharply
reduced by the cost of insurance premiums for policies taken out
against the expense of making claims.


CLAIMS DIRECT: Investors Angry Over Founders' Decision
-----------------------------------------------------

Investors have criticized the decision by Claims Direct founders
to sell their stake to private investor Simon Ware-Lane at a much
higher price, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Founders Tony Sullman and Colin Poole, who two weeks ago took
control of the troubled personal injury specialist with a bid of
10p a share, have agreed to sell their stake at prices of between
16p and 120p a share.

Ware-Lane has taken control of a first tranche from Sullman and
Poole for which he will pay a deferred price of 16p a share if
the shares reach that level in the next 18 months.

This will take his stake to 29.77%, below the level that would
trigger a bid for the rest of the shares. He also has an option
to buy the rest of the founders' stake over three years at
between 30p and 120p.


CORUS GROUP: Board Member Briet Resigns
---------------------------------------

Anglo-Dutch steel company Corus said that board member Frans-
Willem Briet had resigned for personal reasons, according to the
Wednesday edition of Dow Jones Newswires.

No further details were disclosed.

Corus lost 1.35 billion pounds in the 15 months through the end of
last year because of declining orders from U.K. manufacturers, the
pound's strength against the euro and costs to eliminate jobs.

About 1,300 workers have already been laid off.  The rest are
scheduled to leave by 2003.


EQUITABLE LIFE: Rules Out Board Seat for Policyholder
-----------------------------------------------------

Equitable Life has ruled out to bring a policyholder
representative to its board until after the publication of its
proposed compromise deal by mid- September, the Wednesday edition
of the Financial Times said.

The decision by the troubled life assurer will probably anger
policyholders, many of whom are keen to have formal
representation at board level.

Equitable had earlier decided to delay the appointment because it
wanted to focus all its efforts to finalize a much-needed
compromise deal to stabilize its troubled finances.

Equitable is currently working with groups on a compromise and
has agreed to defer any decisions on additions to the board until
after the agreement has been sent out.


FUTURE NETWORK: Appoints Bowman as New Finance Director
-------------------------------------------------------

After a five-month search for a finance director, consumer
magazine publisher Future Network has appointed Scottish Radio
Holdings' John Bowman to the position, the Financial Times
reported on Wednesday.

Future, a victim of the crash in Internet valuations, is looking
at ways to refinance and reduce its 60-million-pound debt.

According to chief operating officer Colin Morrison, debt has
remained a major agenda item, but said the company had no further
update on refinancing options.

Earlier this month, the company said it could sell more assets,
consider an equity or capital injection, or dispose the business
altogether following the collapse of takeover talks with an
unknown trade buyer.

Future has been hit this year by accounting irregularities at its
French subsidiary and a series of profits warnings that saw its
share price lose about 90% of its value.


MARKS & SPENCER: Launches Joint Venture With Desmond
----------------------------------------------------

Marks & Spencer will overhaul its children's wear operations to
form a joint venture with its Irish supplier Desmond & Sons, the
Independent News reported yesterday.

Under the terms of the deal, the new venture will take sole
control for the design and supply clothing patterns and prototype
garments in-house, and then contract the manufacturing to Marks &
Spencer's existing childrenswear manufacturers, which accounts
for 10% of the retailer's clothing sales.

M&S will inject 4.5 million pounds into the new subsidiary
company while Desmonds will invest 1.5 million pounds.

The new system, which will result in 60 job losses at M&S, will
reduce overlaps and enable the struggling UK retailer to get
products to market quicker. It may also reduce the prices of
children's clothing at M&S.

The new company will employ around 220 staff of which 120 will be
based in Northern Ireland and 80 at a new head office in London.
The rest will be located outside the UK.

Marks & Spencer is in negotiations with a number of bidders for
the sale of its British outlets. It previously announced plans
to close its 38 stores in mainland Europe and sell its American
subsidiary's clothing chain, Brooks Brothers, and Kings supermarket
chain for about 500 million pounds.

                                  ***********

       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. Lourdes Reyes, 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.


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