/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/020226.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 26, 2002, Vol. 3, No. 40 Headlines * G E R M A N Y * COMMERZBANK AG: Will Sell Jupiter for GBP600MM DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: Cable-TV Sale Unlikely, Chief Sommer Says EXNORM HAUS: Kampa-Haus Completes ExNorm Acquisition KIRCHGRUPPE: Banks Will Appoint Moderator for Kirch Rescue Talks KIRCHGRUPPE: F1 Sale Will Be "Really Bitter," Leo Kirch Says KIRCHGRUPPE: Rupert Murdoch Seeks to Buy Premier Pay-TV SCHMIDTBANK GMBH: Societe Generale Confirms Consors Bid * I R E L A N D * ELAN CORPORATION: Plunges 9% on Clinical Tests * N E T H E R L A N D S * KPN NV: Offers Euroweb $10.5MM KPN NV: Paid Excessively for E-Plus LAURUS NV: Sells Spar Convenience to Consortium LAURUS NV: Supermarket Chain Becomes Takeover Target LAURUS NV: Will Streamline Dutch Operations * P O L A N D * NETIA HOLDINGS: Telia Will Save Netia * S W E D E N * ICON MEDIALAB: Will Present Annual Report on Thursday * S W I T Z E R L A N D * 4M TECHNOLOGIES: Shareholders Approve Share Issue at Par Value * U N I T E D K I N G D O M * CONSIGNIA PLC: Prepares for Battle With Regulator CONSIGNIA PLC: Wins Retailers Returns Deal COOKSON GROUP: Investors Await Good News EGG PLC: Drops Goldman Sachs as Joint Broker ENERGIS PLC: Draws Possible Buyers for Operations ENERGIS PLC: Ex-chief Grabiner Considers Bid for Energis IMPERIAL CHEMICAL: Faces GBP480MM Hit on Enron Fall INVENSYS PLC: Notes Credit Ratings MARCONI PLC: In Talks to Sell Italian Operations NTL INCORPORATED: Private Equity Groups Eyes NTL STORM TELECOMMUNICATIONS: KPMG Appointed as Administrator ============= G E R M A N Y ============= COMMERZBANK AG: Will Sell Jupiter for GBP600MM ---------------------------------------------- Commerzbank, Germany's third-largest bank, approached Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for fund management group Jupiter International Group. The move follows after Goldman, its advisers, reviewed the Commerzbank's strategy and position in asset management since October. Over five years, Commerzbank paid more than 670 million pounds for full control of Jupiter, which has 1.1 billion pounds under management. According to a report from the Daily Telegraph, Commerzbank is not expected to recover its investments on Jupiter, which is only expected to fetch around 600 million pounds on its sale. Commerzbank, which suffers from poor profitability and high costs, has been the subject of persistent takeover speculation for almost two years, including a failed attempt to merge with Dresdner Bank. The Frankfurt-based bank said earlier it lost 189 million euros ($163 million) before taxes for the fourth-quarter as it has set aside more money for bad loans and took a charge of 283 million euros to pay for an overhaul, which includes shedding 3,400 jobs. DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: Cable-TV Sale Unlikely, Chief Sommer Says ----------------------------------------------------------- Chief Ron Sommer of Bonn-based telecom giant Deutsche Telekom acknowledged that the planned sale of a 60% in the company's cable-TV network to Liberty Media Corp. is becoming very slim. The sale, a key element of DT's plan to reduce debts to $43.5 billion by the end of this year from $56.5 billion now, is widely expected to fall through after the U.S. media giant refused to make concessions to gain approval from the Federal Cartel Office. Mr Sommer has also cast doubt over the T-Mobile listing. He said that the initial public offering, initially scheduled for June, could be deferred until next if market conditions did not improve. Sommer's comments sent Telekom shares tumbling on Friday while risk premiums on its bonds rose. The stock closed with a loss of more than 4% at 15.19 euros, while risk premiums on a Telekom bond due in July 2006 rose by around 0.30 percentage points against the premiums on government bonds with a similar maturity period. EXNORM HAUS: Kampa-Haus Completes ExNorm Acquisition ---------------------------------------------------- Prefabricated buildings manufacturer Kampa-Haus AG has completed the partial acquisition of insolvent Steinheim-based ExNorm Haus GmbH, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported. The newly acquired activities, which include sales, brand rights and machinery, will be integrated into the newly formed Steinheimer Hausbau GmbH. Kampa-Haus will also take over ExNorm's 133 employees. The new subsidiary is expected to show turnover of around 35 million euros this year. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter Europe, the insolvency proceeding for ExNorm Haus GmbH was opened before the district court of Aalen last week, with Schneider, Kloss & Partner as insolvency manager. Last year, ExNorm constructed about 600 to 650 prefabricated houses and achieved a turnover of around 160 million Deutsche marks ($71.2 million). ExNorm sells a typical 110 square meter house for just under 110,000 euros. A full-text copy of ExNorm's announcement concerning the Kampa Haus transaction is available on ExNorm's Web site at http://www.exnorm.dein the "Presseberichte" section. KIRCHGRUPPE: Banks Will Appoint Moderator for Kirch Rescue Talks ---------------------------------------------------------------- Kirch Group's largest banking creditors plan to appoint a single moderator in their negotiations with the debt-laden Bavarian media giant, people familiar with the situation told Handelsblatt. Sources said that the appointment would be made before the end of this week, and the person chosen is likely to be a former top banker. The banks, including Deutsche, Dresdner Bank AG, HypoVereinsbank (HVB Group) and Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale, have in the past been unable to agree on a common line. According to banking insiders, Deutsche chief Rolf Breuer has clearly been banking on a break-up of Kirch Group, and he has in the past effectively blocked any attempt by the banks to act in concert. Then two weeks ago, HVB signaled its interest in buying Kirch's 40% stake in publisher Axel Springer Verlag for 1.1 billion euros ($960 million). Since then, the banks have held frequent meetings, but without any result. KIRCHGRUPPE: F1 Sale Will Be "Really Bitter," Leo Kirch Says ------------------------------------------------------------ KirchGruppe founder Leo Kirch said he will be "really bitter" if he is forced to sell his stake in Formula One car racing. In his interview with Der Spiegel magazine, Mr Kirch said that last year's $1.5 billion purchase of Formula One's television rights was the climax of his career and to have to get rid of the stake will be a "really bitter pill to swallow." KirchGruppe creditors including Deutsche Bank AG and Dresdner Bank AG have called on Germany's second-biggest media company to sell assets such as the 40% stake in publisher Axel Springer Verlag AG, Formula One rights and a 25% stake in Telecinco SA to avoid default. KIRCHGRUPPE: Rupert Murdoch Seeks to Buy Premier Pay-TV ------------------------------------------------------- News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch is seeking to acquire Kirch Holding GmbH's unprofitable pay-television unit Premier, the Business reported in its weekend edition, citing unidentified sources at the Australian company. Murdoch believes Kirch, which has amassed 6.5 billion euros ($5.7 billion) of debt, is on the verge of bankruptcy and he would seek to buy Premiere if it occurs, the report said. Murdoch, who is also chairman British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, already owns a 22% stake in Premiere through the U.K. pay-TV service. If he gets control of the German business, he will seek to renegotiate film rights payments with U.S. movie studios in a bid to make Premiere profitable, the report added. The KirchGruppe -- http://www.kirchgruppe.de-- is blaming its pay television business for a large part of its current financial woes. As reported in the Monday edition of the Troubled Company Reporter Europe, Premier is losing 1.5 million euros a day and faces a life-threatening liquidity bottleneck. A new study by investment bank WestLB Panmure, the broadcaster's funds could run out by September 2002. Many industry players say Premier has to find an investor or it becomes insolvent. SCHMIDTBANK GMBH: Societe Generale Confirms Consors Bid ------------------------------------------------------- Chairman Daniel Bouton of Societe Generale confirmed Thursday the French bank had presented a non-binding offer to Nuremberg- based online brokerage firm Consors Discount Broker AG, Handelsblatt reported. Consors and its parent company, Schmidt-Bank, declined to comment on Societe Generale's bid. Apart from Societe Generale, Germany's Commerzbank has so far confirmed that it put forward a bid for Consors. Also reported as having expressed interest in the brokerage are French bank BNP Paribas and U.S. online broker E-Trade. Germany's Postbank, which initially signaled interest, has since said that it will not bid for Consors. Consors has been up for sale since November during the near collapse of its parent company SchmidtBank, which was rescued from bankruptcy by a consortium of Germany's largest banks, including HVB, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Dresdner Bank and the Bavarian savings banks. Schmidtbank, which holds a 65% stake in Consors, said it aimed to sell the online broker by March this year. Consors is valued at around 450 million euros ($398 million). ============= I R E L A N D ============= ELAN CORPORATION: Plunges 9% on Clinical Tests ---------------------------------------------- Elan Corporation fell 9.09% to 14.5 euros on Friday after the Dublin-based pharmaceutical company confirmed that more patients in its clinical trials of an Alzheimer's treatment had taken ill, Reuters reported. Elan is facing a securities class action lawsuit in the United States for fraud. The complaint alleges that the company and certain of its officers and directors issued a series of materially false and misleading statements regarding the company's financial condition. Elan's top executives and auditor KPMG LLP face four other class action lawsuits in the U.S. for issuing misleading press releases and using accounting techniques that artificially inflated the company's earnings. Elan denies the underlying allegations. The company earlier lost some $9 billion in value as it released a grim 2002 profit warning and accounting concerns. ===================== N E T H E R L A N D S ===================== KPN NV: Offers Euroweb $10.5MM ------------------------------ In a move to restructure its Hungarian operations, heavily indebted Hague-based telecom company Royal KPN NV has offered $2.25 per share, or $10.5 million, for outstanding shares in Internet service provider EuroWeb International Corp. KPN made the bid through its Everest Acquisition Corp. unit. Based on the most recent information available to Everest Acquisition Corp., 4,665,332 shares are outstanding. EuroWeb is the holding entity of four Business Internet Service Providers in Hungary (49% owned), Slovakia (100% owned), Romania (100% owned) and Czech Republic (100% owned). KPN currently owns 52.8% of EuroWeb, which is complementary to KPN's 75.2% ownership in Hungarian Data/IP operator Pantel. Pantel is exploiting an extensive national fiber optic network in Hungary with extensions to most of its neighboring countries. Pantel owns a 51% interest in EuroWeb's operations in Hungary. Following the tender offer and subsequent merger, KPN intends to integrate the EuroWeb activities into Pantel, after which Pantel will have direct control over the EuroWeb operations and access to its business customers in the region. KPN is focusing on its core markets in The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium and in early 2001 announced it will exit from its activities in Central and Eastern Europe including amongst others both EuroWeb and Pantel. KPN chief financial officer Maarten Henderson earlier said that the company has 8.8 billion euros in cash on hand, while net debt as of December 31 is estimated at 16.5 billion euros. KPN NV: Paid Excessively for E-Plus ----------------------------------- KPN has paid far too much for the German mobile operator E-Plus, the Telecom.paper reported, citing Sobi, the association that sued the Dutch telecom company for reporting misleading financial results in 2000. According to the association, BellSouth bought E-Plus from Vodafone for 9.1 billion euros, while KPN bought a 77.5% stake from BellSouth for 9.1 billion euros in cash and 9.9 billion euros in conversion rights and a warrant. The total amount the American company got is 19 billion euro euros. LAURUS NV: Sells Spar Convenience to Consortium ----------------------------------------------- S-Hertogenbosch-based supermarkets and wholesale group Laurus NV has finalized on February 15 the sale of Klaver Holding BV, under which all of Spar Convenience activities are grouped, to Sperwer and the Spar Detaillistenvereniging. Transaction details were not disclosed. Laurus proposed to sell Klaver in November to a three-member consortium consisting of Sperwer, Spar Detaillistenvereniging and Spar Convenience's management as the Spar Convenience format no longer fits into Laurus' strategy. Spar Convenience, which employs a total of 514 staff members, supplies 260 independent retailers, 284 mobile shops and 180 other wholesale customers. Its wholesale turnover in 2000 amounted to 271 million euros. LAURUS NV: Supermarket Chain Becomes Takeover Target ---------------------------------------------------- Laurus NV is a takeover target as the supermarket chain struggles to return to profit, Bloomberg reported. According to analysts and investors, Laurus may attract interest from companies such as French supermarket owner Casino Guichard- Perrachon SA. French daily La Tribune said Thursday last week that Casino and the buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. might bid for Laurus. Casino and KKR declined to comment. Laurus received 250 million euros in financing from ING, ABN Amro and Rabobank in October as part of a plan to make the company profitable again. The company's shares fell as much as 50 cents, or 12%, to 3.60 euros Friday. LAURUS NV: Will Streamline Dutch Operations ------------------------------------------- Supermarket group Laurus N.V. will reduce its staffing by 178, affecting office support employees and some positions at the regional distribution center in Heerenveen. This next step, Laurus says, is necessary for the execution of the recovery plan announced earlier. Laurus CEO Jan Konings had announced as part of the recovery plan in October 2001 that the company's financial situation meant staff levels in various departments and business units would have to be critically reviewed and staff numbers reduced as necessary. Laurus will publish its annual results for 2001 on March 20, 2002. =========== P O L A N D =========== NETIA HOLDINGS: Telia Will Save Netia ------------------------------------- Telecom provider Telia, which holds a 48% stake in Netia Holdings S.A., has reached an agreement with fellow shareholder Warburg Pincus to save Poland's largest alternative provider of fixed- line telecommunications services, Venturedome reported. U.S. investment firm Warburg Pincus holds 9% of Netia. Telia's proposal has to be approved by Netia's bondholders, who are discussing a restructuring plan to cope with the firm's debt after it missed interest payments on two sets of bonds late last year. Netia found itself in financial trouble in December when it defaulted on the 1999 Senior Dollar Notes and 1999 Senior Euro Notes totaling more than $13.3 million. The Warsaw-based company again failed to issue payment of $850 million in bonds after a 30-day grace period ended in mid January. A week ago, Netia released 2001 figures showing a far worse than expected consolidated net loss of 11.15 billion zlotys ($274 million) and net debt of 2.86 billion zlotys ($690.59 million). DebtTraders reports that Netia Holdings SA's 13.5% bonds due 2009 (NETH09PON2) are trading between 18 and 20. See http://www.debttraders.com/price.cfm?dt_sec_ticker=NETH09PON2 for real-time bond pricing. =========== S W E D E N =========== ICON MEDIALAB: Will Present Annual Report on Thursday ----------------------------------------------------- IconMedialab International, which merged with Amsterdam-based international network Lost Boys N.V. at the end of last year, said yesterday it would present the 2001 year-end financial results on February 28 during its Analyst Presentation at 8.00 AM CET in Operaterrassen, Stockholm. The Swedish Internet consultant, whose shares were suspended on the Stockholm bourse in December, reported an operating loss of 146.9 million Swedish kronas in the third quarter of 2001. For more information, contact William Kellerman, Corporate Communication, at telephone +46 70 375 9020 or via e-mail at william.kellerman@iconmedialab.com ===================== S W I T Z E R L A N D ===================== 4M TECHNOLOGIES: Shareholders Approve Share Issue at Par Value -------------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of 4M Technologies Holding on Friday decided to increase share capital of the Yverdon-les Bains-based manufacturer of production systems for optical discs from CHF14 million up to CHF80 million by the issuance of 6.6 million new shares at par value, which will be paid up through debt conversion and cash injection. At the same time, the shareholders approved the construction of a conditional share capital of CHF10 million to cover the conversion rights, which will be issued in connection with loans of the company, and the constitution of a conditional capital of CHF6.75 million for the implementation of a new incentive plan for the employees and the managers of the group. The shareholders also appointed Messrs Nicholas Grey and Jean- Claude Roch as new board members and approved the cancellation of the voting rights' restriction fixed at 5% of the share capital. The shareholders' decisions represent an important step for the implementation of the financial reorganization of the group. 4M, which reported for the nine months ending September 30 a net loss of 33.4 million Swiss francs, filed for protection from creditors on the same month after it was hit by the sharp downturn in the technology business. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== CONSIGNIA PLC: Prepares for Battle With Regulator ------------------------------------------------- Consignia interim chairman Allan Leighton is preparing for a head-on attack to Postcomm chairman Graham Corbett, stating that proposals to open up the network to competitors are unworkable and could cause the financial collapse of the state-owned post office operator. According to a report from London's The Sunday Times, Consignia intends to send the letter to the postal regulator within the next two weeks, which will give sufficient time for the issues to be considered by government ministers and the public. Postcomm intends to open up 30% of Consignia's business to competition from April this year to March 2004, open up a further 30% of the market from April 2004 to March 2006 by including bulk mail between 500 and 1,000 items, and abolish all restrictions. Consignia, which is obliged under law to provide a universal service, believes it will not be able to deliver mail everywhere in the country for the same price if other firms are allowed to take over its profitable operations. The government may be forced to mediate between Consignia and Postcomm, the paper added. CONSIGNIA PLC: Wins Retailers Returns Deal ------------------------------------------ Post Office operator Consignia has agreed to manage the return of Safeway's faulty or damaged goods. All "non-grocery" items that consumers return to the supermarket will be processed and returned to wholesalers and manufacturers by the Post Office, Ananova reported. The contract is part of Consignia's drive to reposition itself within the market following the threat of increased competition to its postal services. The company is offering a similar service to other retailers and several other high-street names are expected to announce their deals shortly. Consignia 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. COOKSON GROUP: Investors Await Good News ---------------------------------------- Shareholders of debt-laden Cookson Group plc are expecting the London-based industrial materials group to announce its 2001 results today. According to a Financial Times report, shareholders, without a final 2002 dividend payment to look forward to, will hope to see some evidence of a recovery. Analysts forecast a pre-tax loss of up to 170 million pounds, after writedowns, 3,700 redundancies and losses on disposals. Most think the group will again be loss-making in 2002. HSBC expects a 16 million pounds loss, on sales below 2 billion pounds, with a better second half failing to compensate for a first-half loss. With a recovery gaining momentum, and the group's plan to reduce costs by 90 million pounds annually, analysts think Cookson could be profitable again by the end of 2003. Cookson issued a string of profit warnings over the past year with the downturn in the electronics industry. It has been looking at ways to raise cash as it sets about tackling a large debt burden, which in December was estimated at around 800 million pounds. The company could be forced to sell its precious metals division, valued at to 350 million pounds. The banking facilities of 450 million pounds it renegotiated in December would gain the company only a year of breathing space to repay the 240 million pounds originally due this year. EGG PLC: Drops Goldman Sachs as Joint Broker -------------------------------------------- Online bank EGG plc has dropped Goldman Sachs as one of its joint brokers in preparation to begin a major round of European restructuring, the Electronic Telegraph reports. Egg, 79% owned by insurance group Prudential, has informally solicited the services of Merrill Lynch for its planned investor roadshows, the paper adds. Although Merril Lynch has not yet been formally appointed as joint broker, it is believed that Egg is working with Cazenove to prepare for the European onslaught. Egg has been generating losses since it was established by Prudential in 1998. In the third quarter of 2001, pretax losses were 18.4 million pounds, from 25.5 million in the second quarter. It, however, broke even during the fourth quarter of 2001. ENERGIS PLC: Draws Possible Buyers for Operations ------------------------------------------------- Struggling London-based Internet traffic carrier Energis Plc said on Sunday it has received expressions of interest from potential buyers for some of its operations. Spokesman Mark Beeden was unable to comment on any details of the approaches or say which parts of the business were of interest to the possible buyers. Energis is close to collapse after it racked up with more than one billion pounds ($1.4 billion) of net debt. Now it will shed the European units, fire 400 workers to save 25 million pounds a year and renegotiate bond debt in a bid to persuade banks to lend the money it needs to survive. The company has lost 99% of its value over the past year and faces relegation from the FTSE 250 Mid-cap index when the index compiler reshuffles it next month. On Friday, shares in Energis closed at three pence valuing it at just more than 50 million pounds. That compares with a peak of near 14 billion pounds in March 2000. Bonds were further traded at around 15% of their face value, after credit agencies cut their ratings on the company because of fears that it would default on its payments for the 565 million pounds ($804.8 million) of bonds. Founded in 1993, Energis is an IT services and telecommunications solutions provider. It is focused on the business marketplace, offering integrated solutions from a portfolio of data, voice, connectivity, complex managed hosting and managed application services. The company has a significant presence in the U.K, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland and Poland. ENERGIS PLC: Ex-chief Grabiner Considers Bid for Energis -------------------------------------------------------- Energis' former chief executive Michael Grabiner is plotting a bid for the company he quit nine months ago via private equity firm Apax Partners. The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported that Grabiner approached Energis' advisers and told them that Apax is interested in making a bid for the business, which is in danger of collapsing into administration or receivership. The paper said Apax was thought to have contacted Goldman Sachs and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Energis's investment banks, about its interest and would start work on a potential deal this week. Any offer would involve a nominal bid likely to be less than 5p a share and an offer to buy up Energis's bonds at a deep discount, the paper added. Apax may also insist that Energis bankers write off a proportion of their 725-million-pound loans to the company as part of any deal. On these terms, the total cost of an offer for Energis would be less than 1 billion pounds, the Telegraph said. IMPERIAL CHEMICAL: Faces GBP480MM Hit on Enron Fall --------------------------------------------------- Imperial Chemical Industries PLC is facing the threat of a 480- million-pound hit as a result of the downfall of U.S. energy trader Enron Corp., the Financial Mail reported Sunday. The report said that details of the potential charges were disclosed in the small print of documents sent to investors as part of ICI's 800-million-pound rights issue. ICI and Enron became partners in a Teesside power plant project in the early nineties. Both entities signed a 20-year contract to buy gas supplies to fuel the station, the report added. ICI was able to sell its share of the project to Enron in two deals in 1996 and 1998, but the collapse of Enron means that ICI could become liable for almost 500 million pounds of payments for future gas supplies, the paper added. With Enron Corporation in the U.S. and Enron Europe in the U.K. in receivership, the newspaper said experts are warning that the companies involved with the Teesside deal could also be put into receivership. Two weeks ago, the London-based chemical group admitted to a 453- million-pound funding gap in its 7.6 billion pounds pension and healthcare schemes. INVENSYS PLC: Notes Credit Ratings ---------------------------------- London's largest engineering company Invensys plc said yesterday it has noted the decision of Moody's Investors Service to downgrade the Group's long-term debt rating to Ba1 (negative outlook). Moody's said that the rating downgrade reflects Invensys' covenant issue and the continuing reliance on confidence sensitive markets for the funding of its refinancing needs. In this connection, as stated in the announcement of the strategy review on February 19, the Group's financing plans are not contingent upon retaining its investment grade credit rating. Invensys also confirmed that Standard & Poor's current long term rating of the company remains at investment grade: BBB (negative outlook). Invensys has been cutting jobs and selling assets to cut its 3 billion pounds of debt, 89% of its market value, on speculation it may breach loan agreements after posting a first-half loss. Outstanding loans include a $1.25 billion credit line arranged two years ago by HSBC Holdings Plc and UBS Warburg that comes due in 2005. Contact Duncan Bonfield at telephone 020 7821 3712 for further information. MARCONI PLC: In Talks to Sell Italian Operations ------------------------------------------------ Cash-strapped Marconi is in talks to sell its Italian defense subsidiary Marconi Mobile, worth an estimated 400 million pounds. According to a report from the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, bidders were thought to include BAE Systems, French company Thales and Italy's Finmeccanica, as well as EADS, the European defense and aerospace group. The planned disposal is the latest in a series by the London- based telecom equipment company, which is striving to reduce its debt, still standing at 2.9 billion pounds ($4.1 billion). The future of Marconi Mobile has been the subject of speculation since it was excluded from the original sale of GEC of its Marconi Electronics defense business to BAE in the late 1990s. Marconi did not comment on any potential sale of the Genoa-based business. Marconi, which has raised 1.5 billion pounds from selling non- phone equipment assets in the past few months, plunged into financial chaos last year and resulted in the ousting of chairman Sir Roger Hurn, chief executive Lord Simpson, and chief executive John Mayo. NTL INCORPORATED: Private Equity Groups Eyes on NTL --------------------------------------------------- Private equity companies have made approaches to NTL Inc., seeking to take advantage of the collapse in valuations. According to a Financial Times report, Blackstone and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts have contacted NTL after the British cable television operator said it was seeking a new financial investor. NTL has received approaches from other parties. GE Capital, General Electric's financial services arm, has already injected cash into the company and is expected to consider a further investment. FT added that U.S. media investment group Liberty Media and AOL Time Warner have expressed an interest in taking ownership stakes in NTL. STORM TELECOMMUNICATIONS: KPMG Appointed as Administrator --------------------------------------------------------- KPMG was appointed administrator to Storm Telecommunications following the privately owned broadband provider's failure to secure additional financing, the PrivateEquityOnline reported. Storm Telecommunications, which reported turnover of 52 million pounds in 2000, was the subject of a $50 million MBO backed by Soros Private Equity Partners in February 2001. The London-based company then received an additional $35 million financing from Soros and Merrill Lynch Ventures in July, taking the total funding received to $400 million. Storm Telecommunications Limited is a wholly owned operating company of Storm Investments Limited and is the leading provider of on-demand international network solutions. Storm recently launched the first international Ethernet service providing end-to-end native Ethernet across London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and New York. Operational sites are located in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Dublin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris Stockholm, and Munich. ************ 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 * * *