/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/011002.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 Tuesday, October 02, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 192 Headlines * B E L G I U M * CITY BIRD: Creditors Back Recovery Plan SABENA SA: Pilots Stage Strike Over Rescue Plan SABENA SA: Receives 210-MM-Euro Capitalization * F R A N C E * MOULINEX SA: Gets Rescue Bid From SEB * G E R M A N Y * BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: Completes 2-BB-Euro Capital Increase EM.TV: Posts First-Half Loss of DM127MM ERNST BRINKMANN: REWE Zentral to Buy Brinkmann Outlets INTERSHOP COMMUNICATIONS: Reduces Sales Projections POPNET INTERNET: Share Price Dives Following Insolvency * I R E L A N D * AER LINGUS: Spanish Bosses Bid to Buy Futura EIRCOM PLC: Valentia Wins to Acquire the Rest of Eircom Shares * I T A L Y * ALITALIA-LINEE: Investor Group to Buy 29% of Alitalia * L A T V I A * LIVANU STIKLS: German Shareholder Buys Livanu for $289,000 * N E T H E R L A N D S * NBBS: Travel Group for Sale for Fl 1 UNITED PAN-EUROPE: Priority Unit Faces Legal Claims * N O R W A Y * KVAERNER ASA: Appoints Jacobsen as New Acting CFO STEPSTONE ASA: Jean-Claude Marchand Resigns From Board * S W E D E N * ADCORE AB: Shares Resume Trading * S W I T Z E R L A N D * SWISSAIR GROUP: Banks Offer Emergency Funds SWISSAIR GROUP: In Talks With Government for Assistance SWISSAIR GROUP: Mulls $5-Per-Ticket Surcharge * U N I T E D K I N G D O M * BOOKHAM TECHNOLOGY: Appoints Steve Abely as CFO BRITISH TELECOM: No to Fixed-Line Network Sale COLT TELECOM: Shares Dive 85% on Growth Concern FEDERAL-MOGUL CORPORATION: Files for Chapter 11 HUNTINGDON LIFE: Revenues Hit 16.9MM Pounds MARCONI PLC: To Replace CSFB and UBS Warburg as Advisers NTL INCORPORATED: Apax Joins Acquisition Bid for NTL Business PANGEA EUROPE: Fiber Optic Network Operator in Receivership ============= B E L G I U M ============= CITY BIRD: Creditors Back Recovery Plan --------------------------------------- Creditors of troubled Belgian charter company City Bird Holding SA have voted to back a recovery plan for the company, Dow Jones Newswires in its September 28 edition said. The approval is essential for the court to grant City Bird and its parent company, City Bird Holding S.A., bankruptcy protection. City Bird's chances of survival remain thin as German travel group Thomas Cook said it no longer plans to take over the company. Thomas Cook's withdrawal was triggered by the impact on the travel business of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. and a 129- million-euro claim by Boeing Co. on the Belgian airline. SABENA SA: Pilots Stage Strike Over Rescue Plan ----------------------------------------------- Sabena pilots have staged a strike on Friday in disagreement over the Belgian flag-carrier's restructuring plan, reported the Wall Street Journal. On Wednesday of last week, Sabena has reached agreement with other unions on a recovery plan that includes 2,000 job cuts, as well as cutting routes and selling aviation-related businesses. The pilots did not participate in the negotiation, stating that the plan will lead to the airline's bankruptcy. "If the recovery plan is implemented it will mean the end of Sabena," pilots representative Geert Vertongen said. According to Sabena spokesman Wilfried Remans, at least nine out of 23 flights were canceled at its Brussels hub early on Friday due to the strike, endangering the future of the airline. Sabena, which reported a loss of 138.9 million euros in the first half of 2001, up 66% from the year-earlier period, continues to suffer from a downturn in passenger traffic because of canceled flights to North America after the September 11 attacks in the United States. SABENA SA: Receives 210-MM-Euro Capitalization ---------------------------------------------- Belgian airline Sabena SA confirmed on Friday it has received 210 million euros, the first tranche of its recapitalization plan, according to Dow Jones Newswires' Friday report, citing company CEO Christoph Mueller. Previously, Sabena said it expected to receive from its shareholders, the Belgian state and troubled Swiss aviation group Swissair, the first tranche of the 430-million-euro recapitalization plan on October 1. Sabena, which has more than $2.28 billion in debt, plans to sell its assets, cancel several European and intercontinental routes, reduce its fleet, and cut about 1,400 jobs to return to profitability by 2005. =========== F R A N C E =========== MOULINEX SA: Gets Rescue Bid From SEB ------------------------------------- Bankrupt home appliance maker Moulinex has received an offer for part of its operations from former rival SEB S.A., BBC News reported on Friday. Financial details were not given. Analysts say SEB's takeover plan is likely to exclude Moulinex's microwave ovens plants. The French court handling Moulinex's bankruptcy had twice postponed the bid deadline to enable SEB to put together a rescue package. Moulinex, which merged with the German company Brandt last year, filed for bankruptcy on September 7 after its main shareholder, Italian group Elettro Finanziaria SpA (El.Fi), withdrew its backing for a 350-million-euro rescue package. The company has only made a profit twice in the past 10 years and its debt levels are estimated to be about 766 million euros. Moulinex became a household name through its kitchen blenders and appliances - the first of which it launched in 1932. It was hit hard by the emerging market crises in Asia and Russia, causing sales to plummet and competitors in Asia to cut prices aggressively. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: Completes 2-BB-Euro Capital Increase ------------------------------------------------------------- Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG said on Friday that a total of 781.25 million new shares were subscribed at a price of 2.56 euro from September 11 to 27, 2001. This equates to a capital increase of 2 billion euros. After the capital increase, the State of Berlin will have 80.95% of Bankgesellschaft Berlin (formerly 56.62%), Nord/LB with 10.85% (formerly 20.00%), Parion with 2.27% (formerly 7.50%) and free float of 5.93% (formerly 15.89%). Bankgesellchaft expects to trade its new shares on the Berlin, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf stock exchanges on October 11. EM.TV: Posts First-Half Loss of DM127MM --------------------------------------- EM.TV & Merchandising AG, according to the Friday edition of the Wall Street Journal, reported a posted a first-half pretax loss of loss of 127 million marks as costs relating to the Formula One financing and high restructuring costs burdened the German media company's results. In the second quarter, the company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to 250 million marks from 158 million marks in the first quarter. Chairman Werner Klatten said that EM.TV's remaining 17% stake in holding SLEC, which owns the Formula One car-racing circuit, could no longer be considered a core holding, adding that its 45% stake in Tele Muenchen Group is up for sale in order to secure liquidity. Several hundred investors have filed suits for damages against EM.TV after complaints of mismanagement that led to a plunging share price and a loss of 2.7 billion marks last year. ERNST BRINKMANN: REWE Zentral to Buy Brinkmann Outlets ------------------------------------------------------ German retail group REWE Zentral AG & Co OHG will acquire eleven of the 32 retail branches of insolvent Hamburg-based consumer electronics retail chain Ernst Brinkmann KG this month, the September 27 edition of Die Welt & World Reporter said. Ernst Brinkmann is being broken up piecemeal following the failure to sell the German retailer as a single unit. Electronic Partner, another German consumer electronics chain, plans to take over another six of Brinkmann's branches, while four face closure. Workforce will be reduced from 4,200 to 2,900 as part of the group's disruption. INTERSHOP COMMUNICATIONS: Reduces Sales Projections --------------------------------------------------- The 2001 sales of German Internet-commerce software maker Intershop Communications AG will be about 80 million euros ($72.8 million), a reduction of about half of its expectations as reported earlier this year. According to Bloomberg on Sunday, sales were less than expected in the quarter because of the world economic slowdown and low corporate spending on information technology. Bloomberg added that the company plans to cut 25% of its workforce, or about 260 jobs, to help meet a goal of break-even cash flow in the last quarter. The Hamburg-based company, which has 43 million euros in cash, may run out of cash within six months if it continues to lose money. It disclosed in August a second-quarter loss of 28.3 million euros. POPNET INTERNET: Share Price Dives Following Insolvency ------------------------------------------------------- Share price of Hamburg-based Internet company PopNet Internet AG dropped by more than 60% at the start of trading on Thursday, following the company's application for insolvency a day earlier, according to the September 28 edition of Die Welt & World Reporter. The company's major shareholder Commerzbank recently refused to extend Popnet's credit line. PopNet, set up in 1995 by the Marcinowski twin brothers Edmund and Werner, Guenther Schiele and Thomas Spar, recently posted an EBITDA loss of approximately 3.942 billion euros, and an EBIT loss of approximately 6.750 billion euros for the first half of 2001. The company mushroomed from around 160 employees in 1999 to more than 600 in 2000, with German offices in Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin, and foreign offices in Kiev, Minsk and Toronto. For more information, contact Kathrin Heider, Head of Investor Relations, at telephone +49-(0)40-27827-149, fax +49-(0)40-27827- 228 or email at k.heider@popnet.de ============= I R E L A N D ============= AER LINGUS: Spanish Bosses Bid to Buy Futura -------------------------------------------- Futura International Airways' Spanish management has offered to buy the charter airline from its Irish parent, Aer Lingus, the Sunday Times reported. Aer Lingus will face considerable pressure to sell Futura to generate cash and offset losses of up to 170 million pounds over the next two years. At a meeting last week, the board has agreed cuts of 25% across its operations and to reduce its 7,000 staff by a quarter as part of the drastic plans to cut costs at the ailing airline. Employees were also told a 5.5% pay increase due on October 1 would not be paid. Aer Lingus is looking for 200 million to 300 million pounds in state aid to save it from potential bankruptcy. EIRCOM PLC: Valentia Wins to Acquire the Rest of Eircom Shares -------------------------------------------------------------- Valentia Telecommunications, chaired by Sir Anthony O'Reilly, has won enough acceptances from investors holding 84.61% of Eircom's capital to allow it to declare its 2.36-billion-pound bid for the former State telecoms company unconditional, the Irish Times reported on Saturday. This effectively means the company can compulsorily acquire the remaining shares. Under takeover rules, Valentia can move to compulsory acquisition of remaining Eircom shares once it hits the 80% mark. "The next stage is to obtain the outstanding regulatory clearances and for the offer to become wholly unconditional," O'Reilly said. Valentia's offer exceeded a rival bid by the eIsland group, led by Esat Telecom founder Denis O'Brien. ========= I T A L Y ========= ALITALIA-LINEE: Investor Group to Buy 29% of Alitalia ----------------------------------------------------- Chairman Paolo Sinigaglia of regional Italian airline Alpi Eagles and other investors plan to buy about 29% of Alitalia SpA as soon as the Italian government gives the go-ahead to privatize the flagship carrier, the September 28 edition of Dow Jones Newswires said. Sinigaglia added he had a group of seven to 10 investors that would subscribe privately to a capital increase necessary to purchase a stake in Alitalia. Alitalia last week unveiled plans to cut 2,500 jobs, sell eight aircrafts, freeze orders and stop flights on some routes to cut losses in the wake of the September 11 hijackings in the United States. Gilberto Benetton, whose family holding company has an 18% stake in Alpi Eagles, has said he is not interested in Alitalia. =========== L A T V I A =========== LIVANU STIKLS: German Shareholder Buys Livanu for $289,000 ---------------------------------------------------------- Livanu Stikls' shareholder Herner Glas of Germany has bought the insolvent Latvian glassmaking company at an auction for 180,000 lats ($289,000), the September 26 edition of The Baltic Times & World Reporter said. The money raised at the auction will be paid to Livanu Stikls' creditor, Baltijas Tranzitu Bank. Under the sale provisions, Herner Glas has to maintain existing production facilities and jobs, to sign employment contracts with company staff and to invest 200,000 lats in the company within three months. According to administrator Forums Audits, Livanu Stikls had liabilities in excess of 1 million lats when it was declared insolvent in November 2000. The company's decline was partly due to the purchase of a much-needed glass-melting furnace. Fluctuations in the value of the euro and the German mark also contributed to the decline. Livanu Stikls has been producing glassware for several decades in Poland and Turkey, but none in Germany. ===================== N E T H E R L A N D S ===================== NBBS: Travel Group for Sale for Fl 1 ------------------------------------ Dutch travel organization NBBS, which is on the brink of insolvency, is for sale for Fl 1, the September 27 edition of Het Financieele Dagblad & World Reporter said. The takeover price amounts to Fl 15 million, including debts and obligations. The company has filed for suspension of payment after banker ING cut off the money supply. However, The Hague court rejected the request for suspension of payment. Travel Unie could still rescue the company through a takeover, the report added. It will decide on October 18. UNITED PAN-EUROPE: Priority Unit Faces Legal Claims --------------------------------------------------- Priority Telecom NV, the business telecom unit of Dutch cable company United Pan-Europe Communications NV, is facing legal claims for as much as 400,000 euros from shareholders of a U.S.- based company it acquired last year in an all-stock deal, Dow Jones Newswires on September 28 reported. The shareholders are reportedly unhappy with what they received for their shares in Priority's 6.50-euro-a-share initial public offering. UPC is incurring large losses as it invests heavily to offer new services, such as high-speed Internet access, via the cable lines it owns throughout Europe. The company estimates that it has enough cash and equivalents to last through early 2004. =========== N O R W A Y =========== KVAERNER ASA: Appoints Jacobsen as New Acting CFO ------------------------------------------------- Kvaerner, the troubled Anglo-Norwegian engineering and construction Group, announced on Friday that it has appointed Finn Berg Jacobsen as its new acting Chief Financial Officer for six to nine months, replacing John M Charlton, who decided to resign for personal reasons. Finn Berg Jacobsen has a distinguished career in finance and audit. He spent more than thirty years with international auditing and consulting firm Arthur Andersen, has been a member of the Board of the Norwegian Financial Analysts Association and Chairman of the Norwegian Financial Accounting Board. Kvaerner has annual revenues in excess of US$6 billion, with some 5,000 permanent staff located in almost 35 countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Its gross debt in September has reached NKr9.5 billion after repayment of a loan to Den norske Bank related to the Stena Don rig. STEPSTONE ASA: Jean-Claude Marchand Resigns From Board ------------------------------------------------------ StepStone ASA on September 21 said that Jean-Claude Marchand has resigned as a director of the online recruitment company following his appointment at the Swiss publishing group Edipresse. According to Marchand, his resignation was made to avoid any possible conflict of interest that might arise between StepStone and Edipresse. StepStone, which advertises thousands of jobs in 17 countries, reported a widening second-quarter loss in July. The company also plans to seek additional sources of financing. =========== S W E D E N =========== ADCORE AB: Shares Resume Trading -------------------------------- Shares in beleaguered Swedish Internet and information technology consultant Adcore AB have resumed trading after they were suspended on Wednesday afternoon on the Stockholm stock exchange, the September 28 edition of Dow Jones Newswires said. The report added that shareholders have authorized the company's board to decide on a new directed share issue of around 165 million Swedish krona at an issue price of 0.40 Swedish krona. Adcore recorded losses of 1.9 billion Swedish kronor (see http://bankrupt.com/misc/adcore1.pdffor the company's financial report) in the first half of 2001. ===================== S W I T Z E R L A N D ===================== SWISSAIR GROUP: Banks Offer Emergency Funds ------------------------------------------- Switzerland's two biggest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse Group, have agreed to provide Swissair Group with emergency funds, the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday. A banking source said the aid was around 1 billion Swiss francs, though Swissair had claimed it needed several billion Swiss francs to keep flying. Swissair posted a record loss of 2.9 billion Swiss francs last year. At the end of June, the Swiss aviation group had only 555 million Swiss francs in shareholder funds, with debts of 17 billion Swiss francs. Swissair recently announced a fundamental restructuring of its airline and related activities, including cutting at least 3,000 jobs, grounding a quarter of its long-haul fleet, and combining its main airline division with 70%-owned subsidiary Crossair. SWISSAIR GROUP: In Talks With Government for Assistance ------------------------------------------------------- Ailing flag carrier Swissair is in talks with the Swiss government to seek for possible aid as it needs several billion of Swiss francs to survive, according to Reuters' Sunday report, citing spokesman Rainer Meier. Meier further declined to comment on reports in two Swiss Sunday papers saying the company is on the brink of bankruptcy after its banks refused urgently needed funds. Last month's suicide attacks in the United States have prompted adverse effects on Swissair. SWISSAIR GROUP: Mulls $5-Per-Ticket Surcharge --------------------------------------------- Swissair Group AG and Crossair AG, according to the September 28 edition of Dow Jones Newswires, are considering charging an added fee of $5 per ticket to cover the costs of heightened security in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks in the U.S. "We are considering this step, but don't know when it'll be implemented," Swissair spokesman Jean-Claude Donzel said. Swissair Group, the most heavily indebted of all of the European airlines, is desperately seeking a cash injection of 3 billion Swiss francs through a public/private sector rescue plan. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== BOOKHAM TECHNOLOGY: Appoints Steve Abely as CFO ----------------------------------------------- Bookham Technology plc, U.K.'s leading manufacturer of silicon integrated optical components, on September 27 said that Steve Abely has joined the company as chief financial officer. Abely has over 20 years' experience in senior financial positions in various US technology companies. He has been CFO of private broadband access equipment provider Arescom Technology and President of component supplier StorMedia, where he negotiated acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and managed divestitures. Bookham Technology in August said its second-quarter loss widened to 44.6 million pounds, or 35 pence a share, from 8.2 million pounds, or 7p, in the year-ago period. It further cut 30% of its employees to 720 employees in July. BRITISH TELECOM: No to Fixed-Line Network Sale ---------------------------------------------- Leading communications carrier British Telecommunications Plc has no plans of selling its fixed-line network, Bloomberg in its Sunday edition said. According to spokeswoman Andrea Paradine, a report in the Observer that Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale will raise an offer for the network by 39% is purely speculative. The company's debt has been cut to 17.5 billion pounds, so it is not in a desperate situation to sell anything, she added. BT has been disposing some of its assets, such as its yellow- pages division, in an attempt to lessen debt and find profit. It foresees a net debt of 15 billion to 17 billion pounds by the end of March 2002, down from 27.9 billion earlier this year. COLT TELECOM: Shares Dive 85% on Growth Concern ----------------------------------------------- Shares of cash-strapped Colt Telecom Group Plc have slumped 85% in the past three months to their lowest in more than four years on concern about revenue growth at the U.K. providers of data services to businesses, the September 28 edition of Bloomberg said. Colt dropped from the FT-SE 100 index of leading U.K. companies in September and is one of the worst performing stocks this quarter on the FT-SE 350 Telecommunication Services index. "We're not uncomfortable with market expectations. Growth rates obviously are generally slower than they were a year ago but clearly what's driving that growth is existing customers giving us more business and winning new customers," Colt spokesman John Doherty said in an interview. Bloomberg further reported that Colt would need to further raise 500 to 600 million pounds before the end of 2002, by which time its 1.3 billion in cash will have run out (see http://bankrupt.com/misc/colttelecom.pdffor Colt Telecom's second-quarter results). FEDERAL-MOGUL CORPORATION: Files for Chapter 11 ----------------------------------------------- Michigan-based Federal-Mogul Corporation announced yesterday that to separate its asbestos liabilities from its true operating potential, the company and its United States subsidiaries have voluntarily filed for financial restructuring under Chapter 11 of the U.S Bankruptcy Code in Wilmington, Delaware. In addition, Federal-Mogul subsidiaries in the United Kingdom have filed jointly for Chapter 11 and Administration under the U.K. Insolvency Act of 1986 at the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, in London, England. No company subsidiaries outside of the United States and the United Kingdom are included in these filings. The filings enable Federal-Mogul to develop a plan to resolve its asbestos liabilities. During these restructuring proceedings, Federal-Mogul will continue business operations without interruption, and with the full support of its major customers and suppliers. HUNTINGDON LIFE: Revenues Hit 16.9MM Pounds ------------------------------------------- Revenues of Huntingdon Life Sciences have leaped 16.9 million pounds in the April-to-June quarter, BBC News reported on Friday. According to HLS executive chairman Andrew Baker, the revenue rise was insufficient to prevent the company from reporting a loss of 2.4 million pounds for the first half of the year, compared with a 500,000 pounds loss over the same period in 2000. HLS admitted its trouble in winning new backers against a backdrop of high-profile demonstrations and harassment from animal rights activists had hit the business. A protest-hit refinancing drive from clients and state action has succeeded to protect the controversial drugs testing company and its workers. HLS revealed in July that it was relying on the government for banking facilities. Many Huntingdon brokers, including Barclays, TD Waterhouse and Pershing, have stopped trading or holding the shares after being targeted by protesters. MARCONI PLC: To Replace CSFB and UBS Warburg as Advisers -------------------------------------------------------- Marconi PLC intends to replace investment banks CSFB and UBS Warburg as its financial advisers, following the collapse of its share price, the Sunday Business reported. The two banks advised on the 4.5-billion-sterling acquisitions of Fore Systems in 1999 and 2.2 billion-sterling buy of Reltec. Since then, Marconi's shares have fallen by almost 99%, or over 30 billion sterling of shareholder value. UBS Warburg is left not to be able to abandon Marconi as it, together with another investment bank Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, has been authorized to sell part of the business in Marconi's attempt to raise 500 million sterling to pay off its debt, the Sunday Business added. Potentially strong financial advisers is said to include JP Morgan because of its role as one of the largest lenders to the telecom equipment group. Morgan Stanley, which advised Marconi on the takeover of Internet group Ispsaris, is also well placed. NTL INCORPORATED: Apax Joins Acquisition Bid for NTL Business ------------------------------------------------------------- The private-equity firms Hicks Muse Tate & Furst and Apax Partners have entered the race to buy the broadcast-masts business of debt-laden cable TV operator NTL for 1.2 billion pounds, the Sunday Times reported. Other companies reported to be interested in the NTL business are France Telecom and Crown Castle International. U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs is advising NTL on the sale. NTL's chief executive Barclay Knapp is desperate to sell the masts business, which transmits radio, television and mobile- phone signals for other companies to pay off some of the company's debt of more than 10 billion pounds. PANGEA EUROPE: Fiber Optic Network Operator in Receivership ----------------------------------------------------------- Malcolm Shierson, Mike Jervis and Ipe Jacob, partners at Grant Thornton, have been appointed Joint Administrative Receivers to Pangea Europe Limited and Pangea Networks (UK) Limited, the September 27 edition of M2 Presswire said. The Bermudan registered-Pangea Europe Limited provides customers with state-of-the-art digital connectivity through its fiber optic network stretching across the United Kingdom, Northern Europe and Scandinavia to the Baltic, as well as links to New York. Grant Thornton will continue to trade the business while it seeks to achieve a restructuring or sale of the company within the next few weeks. *********** 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 Maria 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. 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