/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/011012.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, October 12, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 200


                            Headlines

* B E L G I U M *

SABENA ASA: Lufthansa, Ryanair Call EU's Attention on Unfair Aid
SABENA ASA: Unions Protest

* F I N L A N D *

SONERA: To Lay Off 1,000 of Its Staff in Finland

* F R A N C E *

MOULINEX-BRANDT: Possible Liquidation, Reject Fidei & SEB Bids
VALEO: Plans To Close 70 Plants to Survive Industry Crisis  

* G E R M A N Y *

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: DM1.1BB Property Sold to MSC Real Estate
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: State Urge Telekom to Open Lines to Rivals
METABOX AG: Failed Amstrad Sale Lure Insolvency
PLETTAC AG: Survival Plan Gets 99% Shareholder Thumbs Up

* N O R W A Y *

KVAERNER ASA: CEO Says Bankruptcy Is Unlikely

* U N I T E D   K I N G D O M *

BALTIMORE TECHNOLOGIES: Announces Bijan Khezri's CEO Appointment
HUNTINGDON LIFE: Bank Consortium in the Works to Ensure Funding
INDEPENDENT INSURANCE: Suit to Be Filed Against KPMG, Wyatt
RAILTRACK PLC: 5th Largest Shareholders Group Takes Action
RAILTRACK PLC: 370-MM-Pound Assurance Not Guaranteed


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


SABENA ASA: Lufthansa, Ryanair Call EU's Attention on Unfair Aid
----------------------------------------------------------------

Germany's Lufthansa AG and Ireland's Ryanair are crying foul over
the 125 million euro bridge loan obtained recently by Sabena from
the Belgian government.

The German airline filed a formal complaint Wednesday, claiming
the bridge loan was a violation of the rules restricting EU
countries from subsidizing their airlines, reports Reuters.

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair is also opposed to the loan as it
will more likely be disadvantaged.  Last April, it opened its
first hub in continental Europe in the Belgian city of Charleroi.

Meanwhile, Sabena is itself awaiting approval of the loan from
the European Commission, which it notified last Friday.

An approval from the Commission will likely be handed down in a
few days or weeks, unless the complaints from the other airlines
will be sustained.


SABENA ASA: Unions Protest
--------------------------

Hundreds of Sabena employees trooped to the streets Wednesday to
protest the expected job cuts that will result from the
restructuring plan being peddled by the company, Reuters says.

Sabena CEO Christoph Muller had earlier announced that Sabena's
13,000 workforce must be trimmed down to 5,500 employees in order
for the company to stay afloat.

In addition, the company also plans to sell its catering and
cargo subsidiaries and scale down international operations to
save money.

The union is pleading management to maintain a maximum number of
employees and offer a "respectable social plan" for those who
will be laid off.


=============
F I N L A N D
=============


SONERA: To Lay Off 1,000 of Its Staff in Finland
------------------------------------------------

Mobile communications operator Sonera ended on Wednesday employee
negotiations commenced in August. Sonera is to reduce its staff
in Finland by 1,000, AFX News said on Wednesday.

Sonera will lay off 500 of its staff. Moreover, 91 employees from
its corporate administration and Sonera wireless ventures, 153
from the Sonera services business area and 254 employees of its
telecom business area will be retrenched.

The rest of the job cuts will be implemented through expiration
of fixed-term employment agreements, other personnel turnover and
redeployment within the group.


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


MOULINEX-BRANDT: Possible Liquidation, Reject Fidei & SEB Bids
--------------------------------------------------------------

The administrators who were expected to whip up a restructuring
plan for appliance maker Moulinex signified the possibility of
liquidation, La Tribune and FT Information on Wednesday reports.

The paper, citing a report sent to union members by the works
council, said that the administrators find Fidei's take-over
offer unacceptable, while SEB's bid was found to be insufficient.

The receivers claim that both propositions bore no weight
compared to the value of the assets involved.

Union representatives have maintained to condemn the taking of
the troubled company's stocks by creditor banks as guarantees for
the debts repayments.


VALEO: Plans To Close 70 Plants to Survive Industry Crisis  
----------------------------------------------------------

Automotive supplier Valeo will reduce its factories from 170 to
100 in order to effectively respond to the present industry
downturn, reports AFX news.

Chairman and managing director Christian Morin says the move is
indispensable if the company were to successfully ride the wave.

He says it will take flexibility, adaptability and speed to
manage the current crisis caused by increased outsourcing,
falling markets, among others.

Morin believes the crisis will intensify next year and predicts a
10 percent drop in vehicle sales in Europe.


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


DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: DM1.1BB Property Sold to MSC Real Estate
----------------------------------------------------------

Deutsche Telekom AG has sold 27 office proterties to MSC Real
Estate Investment GmbH worth 1.1 billion Deutsche marks ($511.9
million), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and FT Information on
Wednesday reports.

Deutsche Telekom aims to generate 2.5 billion euros ($2.3
billion) from asset sales by the end of next year in order to cut
net debts of 56.5 billion euros ($51.4 billion).

It is thought that the company is holding talks with UK-based
Trammell Crow Savills over the sale of its property subsidiary
Dete Immobilien.

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and German-based Corpus
Immobiliengruppe hold a 75% stake in MSC.


DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: State Urge Telekom to Open Lines to Rivals
------------------------------------------------------------

Germany's administrative court in Muenster this month again ruled
that Telekom's should allow its rivals access to its local area
calls infrastructure, the Associated Press reports.

The same Muenster court ruled in August that Telekom must share
connections with rivals who may be unwilling to do further
investments in additional communications networks.

RegTP regulator and rivals accuse Telekom of using court action
to delay freeing the market while taking advantage of fast-
growing businesses and Internet users.

In line with the government's drive to promote competition, lower
communication costs and boost the state's high-tech industries,
German regulators urged the telecom operator to allow other local
operators use of its local communication networks.

Telekom, which has a near monopoly on local calls in Germany,
could face fines if it doesn't offer its lines to rivals while
the main court case against the regulator continues.


METABOX AG: Failed Amstrad Sale Lure Insolvency
-----------------------------------------------

Set-top box maker Metabox AG's failure to sell subsidiary unit
Amstrad have further pushed the beleaguered company closer to
possible insolvency, the Borsen-Zeitung  and FT Information
reports on Wednesday.

Credit institutions insist that Metabox pay its 4-million-
Deutsche-mark ($1.9 million) debt, for which the company stood as
a guarantor.

Metabox's operating loss 20.3 million Deutsche marks for the
first half was increased due to taxes and development expenditure
due.


PLETTAC AG: Survival Plan Gets 99% Shareholder Thumbs Up
-------------------------------------------------------

Shareholders of global scaffolding group Plettac AG approved
restructuring plans during a meeting, Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung and FT Information reports Wednesday.

The reorganization plan, which involves capital reduction and
possible divestments, claimed 99% of votes cast on Tuesday.

The business plan has also gained the approval of 29 creditor
banks.


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


KVAERNER ASA: CEO Says Bankruptcy Is Unlikely
---------------------------------------------

Kvaerner CEO Kjell Almskog believes bankruptcy is still a far-
fetched possibility for the company as several alternative
measures can still be made to prevent it.

He said the NKr1 billion capital it needs to immediately raise
through a rights issue is not a 'make or break' option because
other avenues are still available to get the money.

For instance, he says, its shareholders can take up the NKr500
million it currently lacks to complete the rights issue by early
November or December.

The other possibility is to request the banks to write off part
of the company's NKr6.5 billion in net interest bearing debt.

"I feel we will get more than NKr1bn," says Almskog. "We are
talking about a company that makes money and earns profits."

The company is expected to call an Extraordinary General Meeting
in December to vote on the proposed rights issue, reports the
Financial Times.


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


BALTIMORE TECHNOLOGIES: Announces Bijan Khezri's CEO Appointment
----------------------------------------------------------------

Baltimore Technologies on Wednesday announces the appointment of
Bijan Khezri as the company's Chief Executive Officer, effective
immediately.

Bijan replaces Paul Sanders who served as interim CEO from July
2001.

Formerly on the Baltimore Tech Board as a Non-Executive Director
for corporate strategic development, Khezri was also served as
strategic advisor and Board member of Jetter AG, a global
Ethernet-based industrial automation company.

Successful in corporate strategy implementation, Khezri served as
Director on the Board of a Silicon Valley-based network security
company, VPNet Technologies.

In early 2000, he co-founded UK-based Despatchbox, a PKI(public
key infrastructure)-centered application vendor for secure
communications and data sharing.

Baltimore Chairman Peter Morgan said "His (Khezri's) thorough
knowledge of our industry and company-specific challenges, his
proven leadership and corporate development skills, make him an
exceptional choice as CEO."

Kezri says that a restructuring programme announced on August 22
is under way and is expected to take the company into the next
growth phase.


HUNTINGDON LIFE: Bank Consortium in the Works to Ensure Funding
---------------------------------------------------------------

At least three high street banks are reportedly forming a
consortium that will ensure funding for Huntingdon Life Sciences
(HLS) and other groups engaged in animal experiments.

This after HLS recently announced that it will transfer
headquarters to the United States to avoid the intense, and
sometimes violent, campaigns of animal rights activists.

The Financial Times reports that HSBC, Lloyds and Barclays are
believed to be behind the initiative, along with the Department
of Trade and Industry and the Association of British
Pharmaceutical Industry.

Since July when National Westminster succumbed to pressures from
protestors, HLS has been using the emergency DTI banking
facilities provided by the Bank of England.

The report says that the consortium may be established in a few
months, despite risk that it might be accused of being a
financial services cartel.


INDEPENDENT INSURANCE: Suit to Be Filed Against KPMG, Wyatt
-----------------------------------------------------------

Former policyholders of Independent Insurance believe Watson
Wyatt, KPMG, and its auditors are to blame for the collapse of
the company.

This has become apparent as an impending action begins to take
form, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.

More than 1,000 ex-policyholders are planning to file suit early
next month to recover money they had lost after the company went
into liquidation in June.

According to Class Law, a law firm coordinating the action,
evidence point towards Watson and KPMG as the culprits rather
than the former officers and directors of the company.

KPMG has denied responsibility, claiming in a statement that the
company withheld information from its advisors.

"KPMG is cooperating with the liquidator and the regulators in
their investigation. These are the appropriate places for these
issues to be addressed," the statement adds.

Watson Wyatt has yet to issue a statement.


RAILTRACK PLC: 5th Largest Shareholders Group Takes Action
----------------------------------------------------------

A group of shareholders has acquired the services of Allen &
Overy in its bid to seek compensation from the Government for the
forced administration of Railtrack Group PLC, reports The Times.

The group, reportedly holding a fifth of Railtrack's shares, has
the backing of Fidelity Investments, Invesco, Odey Asset
Management, Legg Mason, and Marathon Asset Management.

"The shareholders comprise pensions and institutional funds and
individual shareholders in the UK and overseas who are extremely
angry. They are determined to see the value of their shares
realized," said Crispin Odey, head of Odey Asset Management.

"This has very serious implications for the willingness of
institutions in future to commit the funds of pensioners and
private investors to Public Private Partnerships."

It is expected that more institutions and shareholders will mount
similar actions in the next few days.


RAILTRACK PLC: 370-MM-Pound Assurance Not Guaranteed
----------------------------------------------------

The 370 million pound earlier guaranteed by Railtrack Group PLC
to its shareholders does not resemble anything like that at all.

Creditor bank HSBC, refused to release the money Wednesday night,
reports The Times Thursday.

Railtrack Group owns the money, all right; but the bank is also
owed money by Railtrack PLC, the troubled track and signals
subsidiary now being run by Ernst & Young.

In a recent statement, the company announced that the money
"would be available to shareholders in cash at the time the new
not-for-profit company is formed."

Translated into share value, the company guarantees a 70p per
share return to shareholders.

The government has refused to lend taxpayers' money to Railtrack
by rejecting a request for a bailout package earlier.

The transportation department has only promised to assist the
company in identifying ways in which money belonging to it may be
made available to shareholders.

The HSBC deposit was one of those identified by the department.

                                    **********

        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 L. 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.


                  * * * End of Transmission * * *