/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/020110.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 Thursday, January 10, 2002, Vol. 3, No. 7 Headlines * A U S T R I A * LIBRO AG: Delays General Meeting to March * F R A N C E * MOULINEX SA: Commission Okays SEB Bid * G E R M A N Y * BAYER AG: Plischke Steps in as New Drugs Chief PIXELPARK AG: Supervisory Board Names New Chairman * N O R W A Y * KVAERNER ASA: Creditors Agree to Restructure Kvaerner Debt KVAERNER ASA: Chief Buys Company Shares at Nkr7.89 Each * P O L A N D * ELEKTRIM SA: Polish Tribunal Moves Arbitration Hearing to Jan. 16 * S W E D E N * ADERA AB: Reduces Share Capital LM ERICSSON: Faces Pressure for Bonus System * S W I T Z E R L A N D * SWISSAIR GROUP: Pilots Discuss Bargaining Agreement With Crossair * U N I T E D K I N G D O M * BRITISH TELECOMS: May Partner With Pace to Launch TV Service CLUBHAUS PLC: Chief Faces Call for Resignation CLUBHAUS PLC: Company Profile CONSIGNIA: Signs Deal With U.S. Postal Service FUTURE NETWORK: Company Profile INVENSYS PLC: Announces Major Interests in Shares INVENSYS PLC: Company Profile MARCONI PLC: Sells Surplus Property to Reduce Debt MARCONI PLC: Shares Plummet on Asset Sale NAVAN MINING: In Rescue Talks to Raise $30MM NAVAN MINING: Proposes Rights Issue NAVAN MINING: Suspends Spanish Operations P&O PRINCESS: Carnival May Raise Princess Bid RAILTRACK GROUP: Administrators Will Meet Bondholders Next Week ============= A U S T R I A ============= LIBRO AG: Delays General Meeting to March ----------------------------------------- Austrian book and media retailer Libro AG is postponing its ordinary general meeting from the end of January to probably the end of March. Die Presse/FT Information reported that the share swap currently underway has not yet been completed and that the delay could lead to difficulties in the voting process. Crucial matters will be discussed at the general meeting, including the final report from a special examination into possible damage claims against former Libro management board members. Libro announced insolvency in June and a settlement was accepted in September. Negotiations over the sale of subsidiary Amadeus continues. German Book Compapany Buch & Kunst GmbH previously said it is interested in acquiring 23 branches of Amadeus. =========== F R A N C E =========== MOULINEX SA: Commission Okays SEB Bid ------------------------------------- The European Commission approved the rescue bid by SEB SA for parts of bankrupt French home appliance manufacturer Moulinex, the Financial Times reported. The merger still needs to receive the go-ahead by the French authorities, who will examine its impact on competition in the domestic market. SEB, which owns brands such as Tefal and Rowenta, has agreed not to use the Moulinex brand in nine European countries for the next eight years. In October, a French commercial court agreed to SEB's partial takeover of Moulinex, which excludes some of the most unprofitable parts of the company, such as vacuum cleaners and microwaves. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= BAYER AG: Plischke Steps in as New Drugs Chief ---------------------------- ----------------- Wolfgang Plischke will step in as the new boss of Bayer's pharmaceuticals arm now that David Ebsworth says he is leaving Germany's third-largest drugmaker. Plischke currently runs Bayer's U.S. drugs business. Ebsworth's decision came after a disastrous year, dominated by the failure of heart drug Baycol. Bayer, best known for inventing aspirin, suffered the worst crisis in its 139-year history in August when Baycol, also known as Lipobay, was linked to more than 50 deaths worldwide. The withdrawal of the product cost Bayer 600 million pounds and trapped the company in court actions. Earlier, Bayer said it would sell its three chemical units, Haarmann & Reimer, Rhein Chemie Rheinau and PolymerLatex GmbH & Co KG, to help reduce the company's debt levels to a single-digit billion-euro figure in the medium term. PIXELPARK AG: Supervisory Board Names New Chairman -------------------------------------------------- The supervisory board of Berlin-based Web site designer and Internet consultant Pixelpark AG elected Juergen Richter as its chairman. Dow Jones Newswires reported that the appointment was announced several weeks ago, when Pixelpark unveiled restructuring measures to help solve its recent financial problems. Pixelpark posted an operating loss of 14.2 million euros in the third quarter of 2001. Sales were down 26% to 17.4 million euros as a result of continual, difficult market conditions. Overall shares have dropped 80% last year, valuing the company at about 142 million euros. =========== N O R W A Y =========== KVAERNER ASA: Creditors Agree to Restructure Kvaerner Debt ---------------------------------------------------------- Anglo-Norwegian engineering and construction company Kvaerner said Tuesday that its lenders have signed the Inter-creditor Agreement. This means that a Directed Offering subscribed at the end of November 2001, and a Rights Offering to be subscribed later this month, are proceeding according to plan. The consent was the final element in the very comprehensive process of restructuring Kvaerner's debt, which requires detailed planning and negotiations with 50 different banks and holders of bonds and certificates. The restructuring converts 4.5 billion Norwegian krone of borrowing into subordinated bonds due on October 30, 2011, and reschedules 4.0 billion Norwegian krone into a (zero coupon) bullet term loan due on December 31, 2004. The effect of the new debt structure is that Kvaerner has stable long-term financing in place and will benefit from significantly reduced interest costs in the years to come. The total cost of the comprehensive efforts to restructure the group's debt amounts to approximately 160 million Norwegian krone, and this will be charged to the group's fourth quarter, 2001 accounts. For more information, contact Finn Berg Jacobsen, Acting CFO at telephone +44 (0)777 6161168, or Paul Emberley, Vice President Group Communications, at +44 (0)20 7339 1035 or via email paul.emberley@kvaerner.com KVAERNER ASA: Chief Buys Company Shares at Nkr7.89 Each ------------------------------------------------------- Kvaerner ASA chief executive and board member Helge Lund bought 630,000 shares in the engineering and construction company on Tuesday. AFX News reported that Lund acquired the shares at 7.89 Norwegian krone each. As a result of the transaction, Lund owns 630,010 Kvaerner shares. =========== P O L A N D =========== ELEKTRIM SA: Polish Tribunal Moves Arbitration Hearing to Jan. 16 ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Warsaw commercial tribunal has postponed the arbitration hearing of financially troubled Polish conglomerate Elektrim Telekomunikacja to January 16, AFX News reported. The tribunal ordered a financial assessment of Elektrim's situation, from which it would decide whether to seek a compromise settlement with creditors or declare Elektrim bankrupt. Creditors holding three-quarters of Elektrim's convertible bonds took action last week after declaring the company's request for court-brokered composition proceedings entirely unacceptable. The lawyer for the company's creditors, Pawel Ciecwierz, said that if the tribunal does not decide on a compromise settlement, they would demand a full reimbursement. In December, Elektrim applied for the proceedings after defaulting on its 479-million-euro worth of bonds. The company is 10%-owned by Vivendi Universal. =========== S W E D E N =========== ADERA AB: Reduces Share Capital ------------------------------- Adera AB said Tuesday that its extraordinary general meeting on December 20 resolved to reduce the share capital of the company by SEK 77,720.20. The reduction will be achieved through a withdrawal of 777 202 Series B shares without repayment. After the reduction, the share capital of the company will amount to 1.8 million Swedish kronas, represented by 18.36 million shares. Adera sold assets in 2001 as part of its on-going restructuring program. For further information, contact President and CEO Rolf Jansson at telephone +46 705 72 72 02 LM ERICSSON: Faces Pressure for Bonus System -------------------------------------------- Ericsson, the largest manufacturer of equipment for mobile phone networks, is facing investor pressure to tie managers' bonuses to its stock price to link their pay to shareholder returns. Bloomberg reported that chief executive officer Kurt Hellstroem and 3,000 other top managers could get bonuses of as much as 40% of base pay for last year after a turnaround of asset sales in December. Ericsson, which posted a pre-tax loss of 5.8 billion Swedish krona ($548.7 million) in the third quarter of 2001, previously signed a sale-lease back agreement regarding test plant equipment for US$750 million to improve its cash position. ===================== S W I T Z E R L A N D ===================== SWISSAIR GROUP: Pilots Discuss Bargaining Agreement With Crossair ----------------------------------------------------------------- The pilots' unions of the Swiss airlines Crossair and Swissair started to negotiate early this week a single collective bargaining agreement with Crossair management in Basel, the Le Temps/FT Information reported. The meeting resulted from the offensive launched recently by the Swissair pilots' union aeropers, who expressed a desire to do away with the Crossair name, to position the new airline as a high quality brand and to use the former Swissair safety regime as the security blueprint for the new airline. Crossair, which has incorporated some of the activities and personnel of the now-bankrupt Swissair, is committed to treating its own pilots and those of the former national carrier equally. Both parties will resume talks on January 16. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== BRITISH TELECOMS: May Partner With Pace to Launch TV Service ------------------------------------------------------------ British Telecom, the U.K.'s second-largest phone company, could launch a TV service using the digital decoders of set-top box maker Pace Micro Technology later this year, the Daily Telegraph reported, citing Pace chief executive Malcom Miller. Miller's remarks came just days after BT chairman Sir Christopher Bland said that he wanted his company to become a broadcaster within two years to compete with other cable companies. BT is currently going through a major restructuring. It has sold unprofitable businesses and spun off its wireless unit to slash debt that had tripled to 27.9 billion pounds ($40.3 billion) in the year ending March 31 2001. CLUBHAUS PLC: Chief Faces Call for Resignation ---------------------------------------------- Clubhaus shareholders are demanding Robert Bourne to step down as chairman of stricken golf clubs company. According to a report from The Guardian newspaper, a consortium of Clubhaus investors, led by leisure entrepreneurs Eddy Shah and David Lloyd, and Crown Sports, wants to oust the board for mismanagement. "Shareholders are not being told what is going on at the company. We're very aggrieved," Lloyd said in a statement. The move comes as Kent-based Clubhaus defaulted on a 3.8-million- pound interest payment due last month to bondholders. Bondholders, made up of European and US investors, are in discussion with Clubhaus about restructuring the debt and are expected to convert some of their high yielding 60-million-pound of bonds into equities. With equity capitalized at only 3 million pounds, asset sales are likely to be needed. CLUBHAUS PLC: Company Profile ----------------------------- Name: Clubhaus plc Address: 37 Ixworth Place Ixworth House London Sw3 3qh United Kingdom Phone +44 20 7 5818008 +44 20 7 5846610 Web site: http://www.clubhaus.com/ SIC: Leisure, entertainment & hotels Employees: 1,126 Total Assets: 206.9 million pounds (12/31/2000) Total Liabilities: 109.3 million pounds (12/31/2000) Outstanding Shares: 103.1 million Type of Business: Clubhaus plc is a leisure group that owns and operates 17 golf courses, health and fitness clubs in the UK, Germany, France and Spain. Trigger Event: The company disclosed this week that it is undergoing large-scale financial reorganization as it was unable to pay 3.8 million pounds in interest payments due in December 2001. Chairman: Robert Bourne Managing Director: Charlie Parker Finance Director: Rupert Horner Bankers: Barclays Bank PLC Financial Advisers: Peel Hunt PLC Stockbrokers: Peel Hunt PLC Auditors: Deloitte & Touche Law Firms: Ashurst Morris Crisp Financial PR Advisers: Financial Dynamics Last published in TCR-EUR on January 9, 2002 CONSIGNIA: Signs Deal With U.S. Postal Service ---------------------------------------------- Consignia, the state-owned post office group saddled with heavy fixed costs, signed an agreement with the U.S. Postal Service to handle all its airborne parcels from the U.S. to Europe, the Times newspaper reported. Under the deal, U.S. airborne packages will go through Consignia's network of European parcel companies, starting at its hub in Amsterdam, rather than going to individual countries. The U.S. Postal Service will send 1.6 million parcels and express delivery documents through Consignia's network annually for a fee of several million pounds. In November, Consignia reported a fivefold increase in first-half operating losses accruing to 100 million pounds. The company is failing to meet service targets for first and second-class mail delivery and is struggling to cut 1.2 billion pounds from its 8-billion-pound cost base to restore profitability and become more competitive. FUTURE NETWORK: Company Profile ------------------------------- Name: The Future Network plc Address: Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street Bath BA1 2BW UK Phone: +44(0)1225 442244 Fax: +44(0)1225 446019 Web site: http://www.thefuturenetwork.plc.uk/ SIC: Consumer Magazine Publishing Employees: 1,828 Total Assets: 94.4 million pounds (US$135.9 million) (6/30/01) Total Liabilities: 137.5 million pounds (US$197.9 million) Outstanding Shares: 147.8 million Type of Business: Future Newtorks publishes over 90 titles of consumer magazine for global circulation. Popular gaming and computing titles include PC Gamer and The Official PlayStation Magazine Its US subsidiary, Imagine Media, produces MacAddict and Maximum PC. Trigger Event: Hit by the slowdown in the advertising industry, the company terminated the publishing of about 20 magazines affecting about 650 jobs last year. Chief Executive: Greg Ingham Chief Operating Officer & Managing Director UK: Colin Morrison Group Finance Director: John Bowman Financial PR Advisers: Hogarth Financial Advisers: Morgan Stanley & Co Ltd Solicitors: Berwin (SJ) Auditors: PricewaterhouseCoopers Bankers: Banque Paribas Brokers: Morgan Stanley & Co International Ltd, Beeson Gregory Last published in TCR-EUR on January 9, 2002 INVENSYS PLC: Announces Major Interests in Shares ------------------------------------------------- Invensys plc said Tuesday that its shareholder Franklin Resources, Inc. and affiliates, which include Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC and Templeton Worldwide, Inc., hold a major interest in the global automation and controls group. These holdings form part of funds managed on behalf of clients. Invensys also revealed its registered holders and the number of shares held by each of them. Chase Nominees Ltd - 125,438,236 Royal Trust Corp of Canada - 13,890,588 Bank of New York (BONY) - 1,626,900 Bank of New York Europe Ltd - 85,279 HSBC Bank - 875,129 Merrill Lynch - 5,563,396 Northern Trust Co. - 3,163,492 Bankers Trust Company - 1,326,560 Clydesdale Bank plc - 12,534,311 Citibank - 646,132 State Street Bank & Trust Co. - 6,844,601 Deutsche Bank - 412,176 The London-based company added that its holding now totals 172,608,464. For queries, contact Victoria Scarth, Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Communications at 020 7821 3712 INVENSYS PLC: Company Profile ----------------------------- Name: Invensys plc Address: Carlisle Place London SW1P 1BX Phone: +44 207 834 3848 Fax: +44 207 834 3879 Web site: http://www.invensys.com/ SIC: Electronic & electrical equipment Employees: 90,650 (2001) Net Income: US$ 110.5 million (as of March 2001) Total Assets: US$ 11.4 million Total Liabilities: US$ 8.9 billion Outstanding Shares: 3.5 billion Type of Business: Provider of automation and controls for industrial, home and office use. Trigger Event: Invensys incurred mounting losses last year, about 3.28 billion pounds (US$4.7 billion) in half-year debts, cut over 6,000 jobs as its US and manufacturing markets have declined. Chairman: Lord Marshall Chief Executive Officer: Rick Haythornthwaite Chief Financial Officer: Kathleen O'Donovan Financial Advisers: UBS Warburg Ltd Solicitors: Slaughter and May Auditors: Ernst & Young LLP Brokers: Merrill Lynch International , Cazenove Bankers: National Westminster Bank PLC Last published in TCR-EUR on January 9, 2002 MARCONI PLC: Sells Surplus Property to Reduce Debt -------------------------------------------------- Marconi said Tuesday that it has entered into a contract with London-based manager of industrial estates Ashtenne Holdings Plc for the sale of a portfolio of surplus properties in the U.K. for about 10 million pounds. Under the deal, Marconi is selling surplus offices, factories and sports grounds generating annual income of 676,000 pounds, but will get a share of any gains resulting from future development of the sites. The sale is the latest in a string of asset sales over the past three months by the troubled telecom equipment group in an effort to reduce between 2.7 and 3.2 billion pounds of debt by March. Debt peaked at 4.4 billion pounds in mid-2001. The company reported a loss of 5.1 billion pounds during the six months to September. MARCONI PLC: Shares Plummet on Asset Sale ----------------------------------------- Marconi Plc, the U.K.'s largest phone-equipment maker, fell 5.9% to 40.25p in Tuesday's trading after it said it has agreed to sell a portfolio of properties in the U.K. for 10 million pounds to Ashtenne Plc, Bloomberg reported. Marconi's shares have plunged 93% over the past year. NAVAN MINING: In Rescue Talks to Raise $30MM -------------------------------------------- Investors of London-listed Navan Mining Plc have indicated they are prepared to buy up to $30 million of new shares to keep the struggling company afloat. Reuters reported that the investors, recruited by Canaccord Capital, were conditionally prepared to subscribe to just over 103 million new shares at 20 pence each. Navan, which mines metals like gold, silver, zinc and copper, ran into trouble in the middle of last year when metal prices plunged. The company said talks with creditors about restructuring its $36 million of debts were at an advanced stage. Navan's shares, which were suspended at 26.5 pence on December 3 pending clarification of its financial position, could resume trading on February 5. NAVAN MINING: Proposes Rights Issue ----------------------------------- Navan Mining Plc has proposed a two-for-one rights issue of almost 175 million shares for existing shareholders at 20 pence apiece, Reuters reported. The proposal depends on shareholders' approval, which the company hopes to obtain at an extraordinary general meeting on January 30. If rejected, Navan Mining directors believe that there would be no option but to petition for administration or liquidation. NAVAN MINING: Suspends Spanish Operations ----------------------------------------- Navan's Aguas Tenidas mine and Almagrera mine/mill complex in Spain were suspended in early December and placed into a regulated "care and maintenance" mode, reported Reuters. A "suspension of payments" application, similar to the Chapter 11 protection from creditors of the U.S., was filed with the Spanish courts on December 19. The suspension came as the company expected that commodity prices, particularly zinc, sulphuric acid and copper, were unlikely to recover sufficiently in the short-to-medium term to make the Spanish business cash-generative. Navan's Spanish mining operations produced 414,912 tons of ore containing 13,575 tons of zinc, 5,548 tons of copper, 3,211 tons of lead and 328,092 troy ounces of silver in the first half of 2001. P&O PRINCESS: Carnival May Raise Princess Bid --------------------------------------------- U.S. cruise operator Carnival Corporation has urged shareholders of P&O Princess plc to consider its bid for the British group, the Evening Standard reported. Carnival said it might be able to raise its 3.2-billion-pound bid for P&O Princess, depending on how much it would cost to break up the deal with Royal Caribbean. Carnival also wants to clarify the cost of so-called "poison pills" inserted into the Princess-Royal Caribbean merger to fend off third parties. Carnival wrote to Princess on Sunday night seeking further talks, but received a letter rejecting its request. P&O Princess, which received a downgrade review from Moody's Investors Service in November, repeated it would continue to back a merger agreed with Royal Caribbean Cruises, unless Carnival came up with a better offer by January 18. The world's three biggest cruise liners are engaged in a bid battle as they seek cost-cutting alliances to counter a sharp slump in passengers since the September 11 attacks on the United States. RAILTRACK GROUP: Administrators Will Meet Bondholders Next Week --------------------------------------------------------------- Ernst & Young LLP, administrators of insolvent rail infrastructure operator Railtrack plc, will meet with bondholders Tuesday to negotiate standstill agreements on three bonds. According to a report from The Herald newspaper, resolutions should have been voted on before the holiday period, but there were not enough bondholders present for a quorum. Tuesday's meeting is 9.625% 2016 bonds, 7.375% 2022 paper and 3.5% exchangeable 2009 bonds. Railtrack won breathing space in December when most bondholders, holders of nearly 1.14 billion pounds of 1.5 billion pounds in bonds, agreed not to call in debts or take legal action to recover their money. ********** 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 2002. 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 240/629-3300. * * * End of Transmission * * *