/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/020219.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, February 19, 2002, Vol. 3, No. 35 Headlines * A U S T R I A * ERBA LAUTEX: Administrator Seeks for ERBA Bidders RHI AG: EGM Approves Capital Restructuring RHI AG: Names New Supervisory Board Members * G E R M A N Y * DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: Awaits Decision on Liberty Media Takeover DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: Compere Readies Bid for DT Assets EJAY AG: Company Profile KIRCHGRUPPE: Creditors Agree to Throw Lifeline KIRCHGRUPPE: Creditors Await Springer Results KIRCHGRUPPE: Denies Overdue Debt Repayments * N O R W A Y * BROVIG ASA: Postpones Debt Installments * U N I T E D K I N G D O M * BALTIMORE TECHNOLOGIES: Sells Firm to Founders for $28.6MM BIOGLAN PHARMA: U.S. Drug Firm Offers Rescue BROOKE INDUSTRIAL: Company Profile CONSIGNIA PLC: Union Urges Media to Boycott "Consignia" ENERGIS PLC: May Cut Jobs, Close or Sell Units ENRON CORPORATION: PwC Faces Query Over Cash Hole ENRON CORPORATION: Will Not Sell Computer Clues to Collapse EQUITABLE LIFE: Exit Penalty Brings Little Comfort to Clients EQUITABLE LIFE: Will Implement Exit Penalty IMPERIAL CHEMICAL: Dismisses Rights Issue Fears IMPERIAL CHEMICAL: Faces $648MM Pension Fund Shortfall INVENSYS PLC: To Unveil Debt Reduction Strategy Today RAILTRACK GROUP: Convertible Bondholders Okay Standstill Proposal RTS NETWORKS: Company Profile RYFORD LIMITED: Enters Administrative Receivership ============= A U S T R I A ============= ERBA LAUTEX: Administrator Seeks for ERBA Bidders ------------------------------------------------- Administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers has announced that the assets of colored woven fabrics manufacturer ERBA Lautex GmbH is up for grabs. The assets of ERBA Lautex include land and buildings, machinery and the shares in NEL, a well-established manufacturer of colored woven fabrics for the shirting and sheeting industry. ERBA Lautex, a well-known brand name in the shirting industry, reported a turnover of 21 million euros in 2001. It has 249 highly educated and experienced employees. Binding offers for the assets of ERBA Lautex or its individual assets will be accepted until March 29, 2002, the administrator added. Interest parties with the ability to develop the company's potential are requested to contact Wolfgang Vejdovsky or Christina Pollmann via e-mail at wolfgang.vejdovsky@at.pwcglobal.com or christina.poellmann@at.pwcglobal.com RHI AG: EGM Approves Capital Restructuring ------------------------------------------ The extraordinary general meeting of RHI AG, the Wein-based supplier for refractory materials for the steel industry, has approved on February 15 the issue of convertible bonds by a large majority. The approval means that the last obstacle to the capital restructuring of RHI has been overcome, and the financial and balance sheet reconstruction is secured. The restructuring is based on the high-profit refractories business in Europe, Asia, Central and South America, and Canada. The core elements agreed with the banks are 400 million euros mezzanine capital free of interest and repayment, a reduction of interest for bank loans, as well as convertible bonds worth 144 million euros. With the shareholders support for the restructuring, a long-term and future-oriented concept has been passed, which enables RHI to defend its position as the market leader for refractories even without the US companies, thus laying a lasting and solid foundation again for all business partners, on which the successful cooperation with RHI can be continued. RHI AG: Names New Supervisory Board Members ------------------------------------------- RHI AG's extraordinary general meeting has approved Michael Groller, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG, as well as Gerd Klaus Gregor, Member of the Supervisory Board and partner in Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment AG (SBOE), as new members of the Supervisory Board. Troubles at debt-riddled RHI AG were attributed to a downturn in the U.S. steel industry, added with the mounting cost of asbestos claims it inherited with the companies it acquired. In January, RHI was forced to seek bankruptcy protection for one of its U.S. units in an effort to ward off bankruptcy due to asbestos claims. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: Awaits Decision on Liberty Media Takeover ----------------------------------------------------------- The German government is expected to give Liberty Media Corp. approval for its 5.5 billion euro ($4.8 billion) takeover of Deutsche Telekom's cable arm, despite opposition from the Federal Cartel Office, the London's Sunday Times reported. Regulators are unhappy at the idea of the cable business, which dominates the German market, will go to a single buyer. They want Liberty Media's John Malone to upgrade the network to carry phone calls and high-speed Internet access in order to get approval for the acquisition. Liberty on Friday has refused to offer concessions to the Federal Carter Office regarding its planned acquisition of a 60% stake in DT's cable-TV network, but reaffirmed its commitment to the bid. The Bonn-based telecom giant has encouraged the German government to pass the deal, as it would help reduce its debt mountain, which could reach 70 billion euros by the end of 2002. Liberty will await the Cartel Office's final word before announcing its withdrawal. The Cartel Office has until February 28 to make its final decision. DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: Compere Readies Bid for DT Assets --------------------------------------------------- British finance brokerage firm Compere Associates is ready to step in and buy six cable networks from Deutsche Telekom if Germany's Federal Cartel Office blocks the planned purchase by Liberty Media Corp., Bloomberg reported yesterday, citing Compere partner Tom Crema. Compere Associates, Bloomberg adds, is prepared to pay the same price as Liberty and is willing to meet the cartel office's demands. "The price of 5.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion) that Liberty offered seems appropriate, Crema said. Crema declined to comment on whether Compere is in talks with Deutsche Telekom to take over the networks. EJAY AG: Company Profile ----------------------- Name : eJay AG Address : Rotebuehlstr 87 70178 Stuttgart Germany Phone: +49-711-620 31-000 Fax: +49-711-620 31-001 Website: www.eJay-AG.com Email: info@eJay.com SIC : Software Development & Other Computer Services Employees: 100 (as of August 2001) Net Loss: EUR594,000/$518,000 (as of March 2001) Total Assets: EUR20.7 million/$18 million Total Liabilities: EUR4.2 million/$3.6 million Outstanding Shares: 10 million (as of March 2001) Type of Business: eJay AG develops and sells music software that runs on online music platforms and TV productions. Trigger Event: The company filed for insolvency in December 2001 after it was adversely affected by its online advertising segment that brought about 3.9 million euros in losses. It was plagued by distribution problems in Germany, which brought 1.0 million euros in expenses. Ejay's balance sheet was further troubled due to special depreciation allowances of 2.5 million euros from its Swedish subsidiary eJay AB. Chief Executive Officer: Helmut Schmitz Supervisory Board Chairman: Horst Zundorf Supervisory Board Member: Dr. Axel Sigle Supervisory Board Member: W.-Rudiger Struck Auditors: Ernst & Young Deutsche Allgemeine Treuhand AG Wirtschaftspr’ungsgesellschaft Insolvency Administrator: Tibor Braun Solicitor: Illig, Braun, Kirschnek Last published in TCR-Europe on February 5. KIRCHGRUPPE: Creditors Agree to Throw Lifeline ---------------------------------------------- KirchGruppe's largest creditor banks, which together hold 3.1 billion euros ($2.7 billion) worth of loans on their books, agreed in its Thursday meeting in Munich to provide fresh cash to the debt-laden German media group, the Financial Times reported without citing sources. The banks in turn will be allowed to join HVB Group, Germany's second-largest bank, in its 1.1 billion euro ($960 million) offer for Kirch's 40% stake in German publisher Axel Springer Verlag AG. The banks involved include Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale and Commerzbank AG. DZ Bank has not made a decision yet, while Dresdner Bank AG expects to join in the offer, according to the paper. Kirch, the German media company on the verge of defaulting on $5 billion in debt, has been in talks with creditor banks about a rescue plan that may include selling assets. KIRCHGRUPPE: Creditors Await Springer Results --------------------------------------------- Creditors Dresdner Bank and HypoVereinsbank will not make a binding offer to take over Kirch's 40% stake in Axel Springer Verlag until the newspaper publisher presents its 2001 results, people close to the matter told Handelsblatt. Europe's largest newspaper publishing group is set to report today a full-year loss for the first time in its history. The proceeds from the sale of the Springer stake will allow Leo Kirch, chairman and founder of the Munich-based media empire, to rid himself of Deutsche Bank as a creditor and provide the group with fresh liquidity. People close to Kirch said that the group was considering suing Deutsche Bank CEO Rolf. E. Breuer for damages after he told Bloomberg television early this month that Kirch's creditors were no longer prepared to provide the group with fresh funds. Kirch is asking for more than 1.1 billion euros for the Springer stake, Handelsblatt added. KIRCHGRUPPE: Denies Overdue Debt Repayments ------------------------------------------- KirchGruppe faces another setback as DZ Bank is reportedly demanding the heavily indebted media empire over 400 million euro of outstanding debt, AFX News reported, citing industry sources. Kirch spokesman Hartmut Schultz has denied reports that any debt repayments are currently overdue. The debt-laden company is already struggling to stump up 767 million euro for a put option exercised by Axel Springer Verlag AG at end-January to sell its 11.5% stake in ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, as well as 450 million euro in debt repayments to Dresdner Bank AG by end-April. =========== N O R W A Y =========== BROVIG ASA: Postpones Debt Installments --------------------------------------- Brovig said Friday it has been granted postponement of debt installments from its mortgage banks until June 30, for loans aggregating $59 million, subject to final board approval on a smaller first priority loan. The Oslo-based company, which offers services for well-testing and marginal oil production to the oil industry based entirely on special purpose ships, has now received formal confirmation that the lender of this smaller loan also has granted debt postponement. As advised, the granted postponed debt installments are conditional upon interest payments also being postponed on the company's bond loan of NOK178.5 million until June 30 (until August 27 on certain conditions). Based on a total evaluation of the situation, Norsk Tillitsmann, as trustee for the bond loan, recommends that the application to defer interest payments is accepted. With the granted postponed debt installments, Brovig should have the necessary room for maneuver in the first half of 2002 to bring the ongoing work on its various projects onwards in the direction of contracts. For further information, contact Hans-Jorgen Wibstad, Managing Director, at telephone + 47 23 100 900 =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== BALTIMORE TECHNOLOGIES: Sells Firm to Founders for $28.6MM ---------------------------------------------------------- Content Technologies founders David Guyatt and Andy Harris are helping to buy back the software business sold to information security solutions provider Baltimore Technologies, the London's Sunday Times newspaper reported. The two founders, who sold the business to Baltimore Technologies for 700 million pounds in September 2000, are helping to buy it back for 20 million pounds ($28.6 million), the paper added. Baltimore, due to its financial crisis over the past year, was forced to sell Content. Guyatt, Content's former chief executive, and Harris, its chief technology officer, are supporting a fundraising by Clearswift Corporation, the smaller rival that is acquiring Content. Guyatt will join Clearswift's board, and he and Harris are expected to be the largest management shareholders, although their stakes will be a modest 0.27%. Guyatt and Harris, who originally owned 25% of Content, are each investing 150,000 pounds in Clearswift's fundraising. Amadeus Capital Partners, Cazenove Private Equity and Kennet Capital are putting up most of the money. At the end of the third quarter, Baltimore's cash reserves stood at 32.4 million pounds, with analysts forecasting a quarterly burn rate of between 9 and 12 million pounds, after a restructuring announced in August. Baltimore is aiming to reach profitability before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization by March 2003. BIOGLAN PHARMA: U.S. Drug Firm Offers Rescue -------------------------------------------- American drug company ICN Pharmaceuticals is planning to take over debt-laden British biotechnology company Bioglan, the Sunday Times citing unnamed sources. ICN is close to agreeing a deal with Bioglan and its bankers, led by Royal Bank of Scotland. Bioglan has been off-loading some of its smaller businesses in an attempt to stave off receivership and control its debt crisis, as assets stand at 42.9 million pounds and current liabilities amount to 57.4 million pounds. The company's shares have collapsed because its skincare business can no longer support debts that climbed above 100 million pounds due to poorly managed expansion. The business is now valued at 7.1 million pounds. Only two months ago, ICN pleaded guilty to securities fraud and had to pay a $5.6 million fine to settle criminal charges brought by the American government. The controversial company had misled investors by failing to disclose that regulators had refused it permission to use its drug ribavarin as a treatment for hepatitis C. BROOKE INDUSTRIAL: Company Profile ---------------------------------- Name : Brooke Industrial Holdings PLC Address : Shepcote Ln. Sheffield S9 1 QT United Kingdom Phone: +44-(0)114 249 4222 Fax: +44-(0)114 249 4223 Website http://www.brooke.co.uk/ SIC : Engineering & Machinery Employees: 1047 (9/30/00) Pre Tax Loss: GBP.84 million/US$1.2 million (9/30/00) Total Assets: GBP29.5 million/US$42.2 million (9/30/00) Total Liabilities: GBP21.7 million/US$31.0 million (9/30/00) Outstanding Shares: 9.4 million (9/30/00) Type of Business: Brooke Industrial Holdings plc (formerly Brooke Tool Engineering (Holdings) PLC) is engaged in the manufacture of engineering components since 1912. The company distributes engineering components to over 60 countries. Trigger Event: Brooke called in administrators in January after the company admitted it had failed to secure continuing support from its banker, HSBC. The tools manufacturer, which operates in South Africa, Germany and the US, has been hit hard by the global economic recession. The firm revealed widening interim losses in June 2001 and warned it saw no sign of recovery in its main markets. Managing Director: M P Childs Finance Director: P M Gill Banker: HSBC Bank PLC Financial Adviser: Brewin Dolphin Securities Ltd Stockbroker: Brewin Dolphin Securities Ltd Auditor: KPMG Law Firm: DLA (Dibb Lupton Alsop) Last published in TCR-Europe on February 1. CONSIGNIA PLC: Union Urges Media to Boycott "Consignia" ------------------------------------------------------- Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers' Union, is calling on the media to boycott the name Consignia and instead use the real name, the Post Office. Hayes explains that every time reporters writes the word Consignia, they have to add the explanation 'We really mean the Post Office.' Post Office chairman Allan Leighton is also backing the campaign. Hayes adds that there is a serious political side to the campaign. Consignia, he says, means a profit-centered, declining, competition-ridden low-wage outfit in constant crisis. The Post Office changed its name to Consignia a year ago in a million-pound rebranding exercise designed to mark the organisation's transformation from a public service provider to a state-owned limited company. Consignia has performed poorly since adopting its new name. Industrial disputes and increasing competition in its key markets made the company report a loss of 281 million pounds for the six months to November 2001. It is struggling to slash 1.2 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) from its eight billion pound cost base in order to restore profitability and become more competitive. ENERGIS PLC: May Cut Jobs, Close or Sell Units ---------------------------------------------- Energis Plc, the Internet traffic carrier that issued a profit warning in January, may fire several hundred workers at its German plant and close or sell its Swiss and Austrian businesses, the Business reported without citing sources. Energis' lenders, led by Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, want higher interest payments in return for looser covenants and are unlikely to take additional equity in the group, the paper added. The London-based carrier of Internet traffic began a review on January 24 after it said it might breach covenants made on a 725 million pounds ($1.04 million) credit line in November with Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Bank of America and Barclays Capital, HypoVereinsbank, Royal Bank of Scotland, and WestLB. Other banks involved in the Energis loan are JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, CIBC and HSBC. The company will announce its business plan on Friday, the paper said. Energis is now valued at 237.7 million pounds, compared with 14 billion pounds in March 2000. ENRON CORPORATION: PwC Faces Query Over Cash Hole ------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Enron's European division have questioned PricewaterhouseCoopers, appointed administrators to wind Enron Europe up after a financial scandal engulfed U.S. energy trader Enron Corporation, over a 6.4-billion-pound gap in the company's balance sheets, BBC News reported. Figures released by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed a deficit of 6.4 billion pounds between the value of the Enron's assets and the sum that is likely to be distributed to creditors. Creditors, owed at least $1 billion when Enron Europe went down in December, demanded why more cash is not recoverable. Creditors are also questioning about the bonus payments of 20 to 24 million pounds paid to former Enron traders to help decipher trading logs, BBC News added. The administrators said the payments are necessary to recoup some 96 million pounds for creditors from 250,000 outstanding trades. Enron Europe was put into administration with PwC in November 2001 shortly before parent Enron Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Enron Corp. is selling its diminished assets to pay creditors a fraction of the more than $40 billion they are owed. It fired 16% of Europe's 6,800 workforce in November and is now retaining a small group of employees to help sell various businesses. ENRON CORPORATION: Will Not Sell Computer Clues to Collapse ----------------------------------------------------------- Enron Europe administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers said that some computers at the company's former London headquarters would not be sold to offset its debts because they may contain sensitive data, Reuters reported. PwC partner Tony Lomas said that an auction of the fittings of Enron House, the group's European headquarters overlooking the gardens of Buckingham Palace, the London residence of Queen Elizabeth, would take place later this month. Lomas hoped to recover some of the 21 million pounds ($30.08 million) Enron spent on interior decor. Among the items to be auctioned will be gym equipment. Enron's few remaining staff who are working to wind up the group's operations and reconciling trading positions will move out of Enron House in late March. EQUITABLE LIFE: Exit Penalty Brings Little Comfort to Clients ------------------------------------------------------------- Equitable Life's decision to charge a 10% exit penalty for retirement annuity pension holders aged between 50 and 60 will be of little comfort to the thousands of policyholders waiting for uplifts, the Daily Telegraph reported. According to Danny Shiel of Leeds-based independent financial adviser Pearson Jones, "Equitable Life policyholders have suffered greatly over the last nine months and this is a further kick in the teeth." Earlier this month, the High Court sanctioned a compromise scheme that won the approval of 98% of with-profits policyholders. Under the scheme, holders of GAR policies were asked to give up their guaranteed pension rates in return for a 17.5% increase in the value of their policies. Non-GARs were given a 2.5% uplift for both accepting the increase given to GARs and agreeing not to sue the society. Days after the scheme was sanctioned, Equitable imposed a 10% exit penalty on policies that had previously not incurred the charge. EQUITABLE LIFE: Will Implement Exit Penalty ------------------------------------------- Following the High Court's approval on the compromise deal whereby policyholders with guaranteed pension returns would give up their guarantees in return for a one-off 17.5% boost to the value of their investments, Equitable Life's management team has decided a change in policy that would prevent members leaving with their money. The troubled life assurer will be charging up to 70,000 policyholders a 10% exit penalty if they transfer out of its with-profits fund to draw a pension from another provider. The move affects retirement annuity policyholders aged between 50 and 60. Equitable Life had not previously charged the penalty, known as the market value adjuster (MVA), to those of its 70,000 guaranteed annuity rate (GAR) holders moving their money after 50. Despite this being a non-contractual move, the society was happy for the expensive GAR policies to leave its books. The contractual exit date is 60, and no penalty is charged after this. IMPERIAL CHEMICAL: Dismisses Rights Issue Fears ----------------------------------------------- Imperial Chemical Industries PLC has dismissed fears that its 800-million-pound rights issue could be in trouble because of a pensions shortfall. The London-based chemical group was reported to be facing a 453 million pound ($648 million) pension fund deficit as a result of controversial new accounting rules. An ICI spokeswoman told AFX News that the deficit in the pension fund is purely a function of the new FRS17 accountancy rules and has no influence on the outcome of the rights issue. IMPERIAL CHEMICAL: Faces $648MM Pension Fund Shortfall ------------------------------------------------------ Imperial Chemical Industries Plc is facing a 453 million pound ($648 million) pension fund deficit as a result of controversial new accounting rules, the Times of London reported. The company disclosed the shortfall after calculating its pension fund liabilities using FRS17, the new accounting standard. It was disclosed in notes to ICI's accounts, and will appear on its balance sheet in 2003, when FRS17 takes full effect, the newspaper added. Pension experts said applying FRS17 in full to ICI's balance sheet now would raise the deficit between assets and liabilities to 669 million pounds from 216 million pounds, the Times said. An ICI spokesman said the FRS17 liability would have no cashflow impact at all. ICI has long known its pension fund is underfunded and had to substantially increase its contributions in 1998, when it realized there was a shortfall, the paper said. ICI has earlier launched an 808 million pounds rights issue at 180p per share aimed at cutting its debt of 2.9 billion pounds. INVENSYS PLC: To Unveil Debt Reduction Strategy Today ----------------------------------------------------- Invensys Plc chief executive officer Rick Haythornthwaite is expected to unveil today a new strategy on how London's largest engineering company can reduce debt without selling more shares or compromising future expansion. Invensys, which was battered last year with two profit warnings, change of its chief executive and the layoff of 6,300 jobs, is trying to cut borrowing after speculation it might breach agreements with lenders. The company had 3.3 billion pounds ($4.7 billion) of debt at the end of September, or 89% of its current market value. Outstanding loans include a $1.25 billion credit line arranged two years ago by HSBC Holdings Plc and UBS Warburg that expires in 2005. Last year, Invensys got a $1.5 billion credit from a group of banks led by Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc, BNP Paribas SA and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. that expires in 2004. Invensys recently sold its battery business for about $500 million. Some onlookers believe it may need to divest other units to raise another 1 to 1.5 billion pounds. Candidates for disposal include the group's valves unit. Also up for sale could be parts of its operations selling process control automation equipment and software to customers such as chemicals producers. Haythornthwaite has hired US-based strategy consultants Parthenon to help him decide on Invensys's new identity. RAILTRACK GROUP: Convertible Bondholders Okay Standstill Proposal ----------------------------------------------------------------- Railtrack Plc's holders of the 400 million pounds ($572 million) of exchangeable bonds has voted to approve a so-called standstill arrangement under which the government has promised to meet the debt obligations of the insolvent national railway operator, Bloomberg reported. The vote helps clear the way for the government-appointed administrator to decide how a new company should be created, Bloomberg added, citing credit analyst Michael Dolan at Bank of America Securities. In October 2001, the government won a court order to place the owner of Britain's rail network into administration, saying it could not continue to meet the company's requests for funding. The government proposed to transfer Railtrack's bonds to a new not-for-profit company. Transport secretary Stephen Byers said bondholders who agreed to the standstill arrangement would continue to be paid interest and would be repaid when the debt matures at the same terms as the existing bonds. RTS NETWORKS: Company Profile ----------------------------- Name : RTS Networks Group PLC Address : 80 Great Eastern St. London EC2A 3JL United Kingdom Phone: +44-20-7749-5000 Fax: +44-20-7749-5001 SIC : Computer Software & Services Employees: 146 (02/05/02) Net Loss: GBP5.5 million (06/30/01) Total Assets: GBP13.5 million/US$19.3 million (2000) Total Liabilities: GBP3.3 million/US$4.7 million (2000) Outstanding Shares: 120.2 million (2000) Type of Business: RTS Networks Group plc is an Internet solutions provider with services including technical solutions development and integration. It operates in Great Britain, the United States, Finland and France. Trigger Event: After talks on funding opportunities to secure the group's long-term future rendered fruitless, RTS NetWorks Group PLC ran out of cash to continue operations. The solutions provider was forced to into administrative receivership in early February 2001. Other companies in the group, including Axida Ltd and RTS Networks' overseas offices in France, America and Denmark are not included in the receiverships. Chairman: Bernard Fisher COO: Peter Michael Weil CFO: Eric Rothbarth Bankers: National Westminster Bank PLC Stockbrokers: J M Finn & Co Auditors: BDO Stoy Hayward Law Firms: Olswang Financial PR Advisers: Weber Shandwick Square Mile Last published in TCR-Europe on February 5. RYFORD LIMITED: Enters Administrative Receivership -------------------------------------------------- Joint administrative receivers Andrew Phillp Peters and Joseph Beaumont Atkinson of Deloitte & Touche has offered for sale the business and assets of Ryford Limited, the manufacturer of precision injection mould tools and plastic moldings. Ryford Limited, which has an annual turnover of approximately 30 million pounds, has approximately 100,000 sq ft leasehold premises in Aldridge, West Midlands and 23,000 sq ft in Plymouth. The company's state of the art tool design and manufacturing machinery includes automated AGIE EDM facilities and high speed CNC milling Automated injection molding shop with 49 DEMAG machines. For further information, please contact Greig Mitchell or Joe Atkinson of Deloitte & Touche at Colmore Gate, 2 Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 2BN, or through telephone 0121 200 2211, fax 0121 695 5555 or via e-mail at gremitchell@deloitte.co.uk ********** 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 * * *