/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/051125.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, November 25, 2005, Vol. 6, No. 234 Headlines F R A N C E FIDJI FRANCE: Gets B1/B2 Ratings from Moody's RHODIA S.A.: To Use Proceeds of Rights Issue to Pay Debt G E R M A N Y ALLTRANS GMBH: Falls into Bankruptcy AUGUSTA TECHNOLOGIE: Posts EUR4.3 Mln Consolidated 9-Month Loss AUGUSTA TECHNOLOGIE: Selling Shares in Pandatel for EUR3.2 Mln EASY DANCE: Creditors Meeting Set February ELEKTROANLAGENBAU PIRNA: Court Names Wolff/Rapp Administrator FBU FLIESEN: Proofs of Claim Due Next Month FLUGBORSE K&S: Dortmund Business Goes Bust GAMMA BAU: Calls in Administrator from Wolff/Rapp MALER WEDER: Kuebler Administrator Takes over Business PLGE MARBURGER: Claims Verification Set March TITUS CHEMNITZ: Court Appoints Administrator from HWW WIKOPLAN GMBH: Under Bankruptcy Administration I R E L A N D DELPHI SPA: Rescued out of Receivership for EUR3.7 Million SMURFIT KAPPA: Jefferson Smurfit, Kappa Sign Merger Pact I T A L Y SAFILO SPA: May Lose Ralph Lauren Eyewear License K Y R G Y Z S T A N ALMASH: Sets Creditors Meeting December 2 ENERGY CONSULTING: Creditors Meeting Today MA-MA SERVICE: Proofs of Claim Deadline Expires January N E T H E R L A N D S FORD CAPITAL: U.S. Parent Under Review for Possible Downgrade INTABEX NETHERLANDS: S&P Cuts Rating to B+ on Poor Performance ROYAL SHELL: Joint Venture Buys Jamaican Operations ROYAL SHELL: Has 3,963,400,000 Remaining 'A' Shares TBIH FINANCIAL: Long-term Rating Upped to B; On Watch Positive P O L A N D ELEKTRIM SA: Dispute with ET Worsens HUTA STALOWA: European Commission Reviews State Aid R U S S I A ALFA BANK: Loan Participation Notes Rated Ba3 ALTAIR-NORD: Appoints Insolvency Manager ASTRAKHANSKAYA: Astrakhan Court Brings in Insolvency Manager BOYARKA: Bankruptcy Hearing Set Next Year DIMITROVOGRAD TEXTILE: Hires V. Fokeev Insolvency Manager DOBROVOLSKOYE: Proofs of Claim Deadline December 15 OAO SIBNEFT: European Commission Clears Gazprom Takeover OKTYABRSK-DOR-STROY: Succumbs to Bankruptcy OREL-ALMAZ: Claims Filing Period Ends Mid-December RADUGA: Declared Insolvent SEMIGORYE: Bankruptcy Hearing Resumes January SOVIET SIBERIA: Undergoes Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure S W E D E N SAS GROUP: Navtech Pays SEK162 Million for EAG U K R A I N E CHORNOMORSKIJ KOMBIKORM: Declared Insolvent DAKS: Gives Creditors Until Next Week to File Claims DRUZHBA: Under Bankruptcy Supervision INTERSIL: Proofs of Claim Due November 29 LVIVTEPLOENERGOZBUT: Bankruptcy Supervision Begins NATALY: Lviv Court Appoints Liquidator SOVETSKE INCUBATOR: Deadline for Proofs of Claim Monday ZHOVKVA' BREAD: Succumbs to Bankruptcy U N I T E D K I N G D O M ALAN QUINE: Hires Liquidator from DTE Leonard Curtis ALLIANCE UNICHEM: Liquidator from Crane & Partners Enters Firm ALLIED CRISIS: Files for Liquidation ASHTEAD GROUP: Assures Investors firm has Succession Plan BETHELL FLEET: Hires Joint Liquidators from KPMG BLAKEDEW 560: Owners Decide to Wind up Business BMG (BH) LIMITED: Deloitte & Touche Liquidators Enter Firm BOX SPECIALISTS: Calls in Administrators from Kroll CAFE CITRON: Falls into Administration CAST SYSTEMS: Wilson Pitts Liquidators Take over Firm CHANNON MCCOLL: Creditors Meeting Set Next Week CLIFFORD & BEAU: Goes into Liquidation COMPASS GROUP: Plays down Reports of SFO Probe CONCEPT MANAGED: EGM Passes Winding-up Resolution CORPORATE AUDIO: Royal Bank of Scotland Appoints Receiver DERBY HERITAGE: Joint Liquidators Move in DRAX GROUP: Ends Talks with BCHP; To Pursue Listing ENGLISH OUT: Language School Calls in Administrator ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY: In Liquidation FACEBY FARMS: Hires Liquidator from Taylor Rowlands FEDERAL-MOGUL: Seeks Court's Nod on EL Insurance Settlement FINNFOREST ENGINEERED: Hires Liquidators from Vantis Numerica FISH DIRECT: Hires Valentine to Liquidate Business FRITH BOOK: Calls in Fanshawe Lofts Administrator FTS CREDIT: Appoints Liquidator from Knights & Co. F W BRIANT: Appoints Begbies Traynor Liquidator GOWER HOLDINGS: Pastry Maker Hires Administrator GRAHAM PALMER: Succumbs to Liquidation G.W. MITCHELL: Liquidator from Moore Stephens Enters Firm INTREPID ENERGY: Appoints Liquidator JUNCTION 9: Hires Begbies Traynor Liquidator LAKEDEV LIMITED: Liquidator from HKM Enters Firm MARANDY LTD.: Files for Liquidation MATHBIRK LTD.: Members Decide on Winding-up N C F (UK): Appoints Grant Thornton Liquidator OUTDOOR TRUST: Calls in Joint Liquidators PATIENTLINE PLC: Calls EGM to Tackle 2004 Articles Oversight POOLE PHOENIX: Administrators from Fanshawe Lofts Enter Firm PROSPECTIVE DEVELOPMENTS: Appoints Liquidator QUICKCAPE LIMITED: Names Begbies Traynor Liquidator QUICKPAK LTD.: Bishop Fleming Liquidator Enters Firm REFCO INC.: 70 Parties Consent to Property Litigation Procedures RK CLOTHING: Files for Liquidation SABAR PROJECTS: Calls in Liquidators from Kroll SANCTUARY GROUP: EGM to Discuss Capital Loss SCOTTISH POWER: Abandons Takeover Talks with E.ON SOUTH CLEVELAND: In Liquidation SUNLEY TURRIFF: Construction Firm Crumbles into Liquidation SYSTEMATIC COMMERCIAL: Owners Decide to Wind up Firm TDAO LTD.: Creditors Meeting Set Next Week UNITOWN LTD.: Files for Liquidation ********* =========== F R A N C E =========== FIDJI FRANCE: Gets B1/B2 Ratings from Moody's --------------------------------------------- Moody's Investor Service has assigned a B1 corporate family rating to Fidji France (BC1) SAS which is the direct holding company of FCI S.A. (FCI) The rating outlook is stable. Ratings assigned: (a) B1 corporate family rating; (b) B1 rating on Term loans A, B and C (EUR340 million); (c) B1 rating on the revolving and acquisition credit facility (EUR85 million and EUR100 million, respectively); and (d) B2 rating on Term loan D (EUR65 million). The B1 corporate family rating reflects: (a) FCI's strong market positions in its key markets, with established brands and client relationships with key OEMs and end-users; (b) The generally favorable growth prospects for the connector industry; (c) Management's success thus far in turning around under- performing divisions; and (d) fairly high barriers to entry in the sector. It also reflects: (a) The higher leverage following the largely debt-financed acquisition by Bain Capital Partners; (b) Moody's expectation of increased leverage over the medium term, followed eventually by a decline thereafter; (c) The costs and uncertainty surrounding the ongoing restructuring program; (d) The geographic shift in the company's profile that will be necessary to benefit from higher growth regions; and (e) potential volatility in some key markets segments. The company's short-term debt obligations are minimal. Under the terms of the new financing, the company's repayment obligations in 2006 amount to EUR1.36 million (2% Term loan A). At the close of the transaction on November 3, 2005, the company had EUR212 million in un-drawn committed senior facilities. In 2004 the company generated free cash flow (after net acquisitions) of EUR25 million, although this is expected to be negative over the medium term due to restructuring costs. Term loans A, B and C are rated B1 i.e. at the same level as the corporate family rating, while Term loan D is rated one notch lower at B2, to reflect its subordination to priority debt representing c.65% of the committed debt (excluding shareholder loans) within the new capital structure. The capital structure also includes mezzanine debt and shareholder loans. FCI's corporate rating is considered weakly positioned in the rating category, however, the stable outlook factors Moody's expectation that the company's credit profile will improve over time. Moody's notes the success the management team has had thus far in turning around the underperforming divisions of the business, notably the CDC division, which suffered a severe downturn in 2000/01 concurrent with the downturn in the telecoms industry. Management has embarked on an extensive restructuring of FCI's manufacturing facilities, both in terms of downsizing and relocating operations to lower cost countries. Moody's notes that during 2006 and 2007, FCI's adjusted leverage is likely to increase above the pro forma level of 4.5x in 2005, as restructuring costs are funded out of additional debt draw downs and cash flows, this has been factored into the assigned ratings. However, an increase in Total Adjusted Debt/EBITDAR above 6x would likely put downward pressure on the rating. The ratings do not factor any significant volatility in revenues as seen in the past as a result of the downturn in the telecoms sector, and no significant margin weakening, in particular in the autos division, which accounted for 43% of 2004 revenues. Any such weakness could put the ratings under pressure. Ratings could rise if total adjusted debt/EBITDAR falls below 4x. FCI, based in Versailles, France, is the world's fourth largest connector manufacturer (after Tyco, Molex and Amphenol) with 2004 sales of EUR1.289 billion and EBITDA (before restructuring) of EUR177.6 million. Bain Capital Partners acquired FCI from Areva on November 3, 2005, for a total consideration of EUR949.5 million. CONTACT: MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE LTD. (LONDON) David G. Staples, Managing Director Corporate Finance Group Phone: (Journalists) 44 20 7772 5456 (Subscribers) 44 20 7772 5454 Richard Morawetz, Vice President - Senior Analyst Corporate Finance Group Phone: (Journalists) 44 20 7772 5456 (Subscribers) 44 20 7772 5454 RHODIA S.A.: To Use Proceeds of Rights Issue to Pay Debt -------------------------------------------------------- Rhodia S.A. has launched a EUR604 million rights issue to reduce debt and fund development projects, AFX News says. Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Clamadieu said EUR420 million will be used to pay debt, while another EUR150 million will go to industrial projects. Aside from its goal to post a positive net result next year, Rhodia wants to achieve an EBITDA margin from continuing operations of over 15% in two to three years. Mr. Clamadieu said: "This target does not take into account the possible impact of projects to reduce CO2 emissions, which we talked about a few weeks ago." Rhodia will issue 549.1 million new shares with a par value of EUR1, and shareholders will be entitled to receive one right for each existing share held. The subscription period will end December 7, 2005. Preferential subscription rights will be listed and negotiable on the Eurolist of Euronext Paris. The rights issue is fully underwritten by a banking syndicate led by BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse First Boston. CALYON and HSBC serve as co-lead managers. Rhodia's biggest single shareholder Sanofi-Aventis will not participate in the rights issue. This will reduce its 15.3% shareholding to about 8.5%. A Sanofi spokesman said the Rhodia stake is not a strategic holding for the group. Financial Times, in another report, quoted Mr. Clamadieu as saying: "This rights issue will enable us to build our future. Largely restructured, refocused and holding global leadership positions, Rhodia today is ready to develop successfully in its chosen areas of activity." In October, Rhodia shares rose 38% amid speculation that larger rivals such as BASF were looking to buy the company. However, analysts considered the takeover unlikely as Rhodia is still restructuring and is still under pressure to snap a three-year losing streak. CONTACT: RHODIA S.A. 26, quai Alphonse Le Gallo 92512 Boulogne-Billancourt Cedex, France Phone: +33-1-55-38-40-00 Fax: +33-1-55-38-44-71 Web site: http://www.rhodia.com Press Relations Lucia Dumas Phone: +33 1 55 38 45 48 Anne-Laurence de Villepin Phone: +33 1 55 38 40 25 BNP PARIBAS 16, boulevard des Italiens 75009 Paris, France Phone: +33-1-40-14-45-46 Fax: +33-1-40-14-69-73 Web site: http://www.bnpparibas.com CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON 11 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10010-3629 Phone: 212-325-2000 Fax: 212-325-6665 Web site: http://www.csfb.com CALYON 9, quai du President Paul Doumer 92920 La Defense Cedex, France Phone: +33-1-41-89-00-00 Fax: +33-1-41-89-06-20 Web site: http://www.calyon.com HSBC 8 Canada Sq. London E14 5HQ, United Kingdom Phone: +44-20-7991-8888 Fax: +44-20-7992-4880 Web site: http://www.hsbc.com ============= G E R M A N Y ============= ALLTRANS GMBH: Falls into Bankruptcy ------------------------------------ The district court of Hannover opened bankruptcy proceedings against alltrans GmbH on November 3. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. Creditors have until December 12, 2005 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Manuel Sack. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting on January 11, 2006, 8:15 a.m. at the district court of Hannover, Saal 226, 2. Obergeschoss, Dienstgebaude Hamburger Allee 26, 30161 Hannover, at which time the administrator will present his first report of the insolvency proceedings. The court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors committee and or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. CONTACT: ALLTRANS GmbH Schuetzenallee 47, 30519 Hannover Contact: Helmut Schulze-Preusche, Manager Manuel Sack, Administrator Theaterstr. 3, 30159 Hannover Phone: 0511/36602-0 Fax: 0511/36602-55 AUGUSTA TECHNOLOGIE: Posts EUR4.3 Mln Consolidated 9-Month Loss --------------------------------------------------------------- Operating business development at Prime Standard member AUGUSTA Technologie AG (ISIN DE000A0D6612) in the current fiscal year outperformed the prior-year period, adjusted for the deconsolidated Data Display AG. On the one hand, consolidated sales revenues increased to EUR150.0 million compared with the adjusted prior-year period (Q1-Q3 2004 adjusted: EUR143.9 million; Q1-Q3 2004: EUR173.9 million). On the other, segment earnings from the three divisions rose to a total of EUR15.2 million (Q1-Q3 2004 adjusted: EUR1.1 million; Q1-Q3 2004: EUR2.5 million). The Sensor Systems division generated sales revenues amounting to EUR59.8 million (Q1-Q3 2004: EUR52.1 million). The IT Systems division, with sales revenues of EUR30.8 million, exceeded the comparable prior-year period adjusted for the deconsolidated Data Display AG (Q1-Q3 2004 adjusted: EUR26.0 million; Q1-Q3 2004: EUR56.0 million). The Communication Systems division generated sales revenues amounting to EUR59.4 million in the first nine months of 2005, after EUR65.8 million in the prior-year period. The deconsolidated Pandatel AG is no longer contained in the figures for the second and third quarters of 2005. As of Sept. 30, 2005, the investment at equity in Pandatel AG had to be written down by an amount of EUR5.5 million. AUGUSTA will sell this investment by the end of the fiscal year. The AUGUSTA Group reported an equity ratio of 29.5% as of Sept. 30, 2005. Net debt amounted to EUR68.8 million. Cash flow from operating activities remained negative at -EUR4.8 million (Q1-Q3 2004: -EUR4.3 million). Incoming orders in the AUGUSTA Group also improved compared with the adjusted prior-year period. They amounted to EUR142.0 million as of Sept. 30, 2005 (Sept. 30, 2004 adjusted: EUR140.1 million; Sept. 30, 2004: EUR164.7 million). Booked business amounted to EUR71.8 million as of Sept. 30, 2005 (Sept. 30, 2004: EUR75.2 million). EBITDA amounted to EUR10.3 million as of Sept. 30, 2005 (Q1-Q3 2004: -EUR8.2 million). EBIT amounted to EUR1.5 million (Q1-Q3 2004: -EUR12.2 million). Overall, AUGUSTA recorded a consolidated loss for the first nine months of 2005 of EUR4.3 million (Q1-Q3 2004: consolidated loss of EUR18.9 million) and a consolidated loss per share of EUR0.71 (Q1-Q3 2004: loss per share of EUR15.84). AUGUSTA reported a loss for the period after minority interest of EUR3.9 million. The Managing Board CONTACT: AUGUSTA TECHNOLOGIE AG Wilhelm-Leuschner-Str. 9-11 60329 Frankfurt/Main, Germany Phone: 0049-(0) 69-242669-0 Web site: http://www.augusta-ag.de Lena Trautmann, Investor Relations Phone: +49-(0) 69-242669-19 Fax: +49-(0) 69-242669-40 E-mail: trautmann@augusta-ag.de AUGUSTA TECHNOLOGIE: Selling Shares in Pandatel for EUR3.2 Mln -------------------------------------------------------------- AUGUSTA Technologie AG is going to sell its 49.98% share (3,946,516 shares) in Pandatel to strategic investors for approximately EUR3.2 million. 29% were sold to a strategic investor on Nov. 18, 2005. The other 20.98% will be sold by way of an option agreement to the same strategic investor or to another strategic investor by December 28, 2005. Thereby, as announced, it is assured that the sale of the complete at equity share in Pandatel AG will occur by the end of 2005. The economic development of Pandatel AG further has deteriorated as of Sept. 30, 2005. A valuation of the at equity share based on the dcf-method (discounted cash flow) resulted in an extraordinary need for value adjustment in the amount of EUR5.5 million. As of Dec. 31, 2005, a further minor need for value adjustment of less than EUR0.5 million is expected. Despite of this high extraordinary burden AUGUSTA expects a positive pre-tax result in the group as of Sept. 30, 2005. The complete financial report as of Sept. 30, 2005 will be published on November 22, 2005. The Managing Board CONTACT: AUGUSTA TECHNOLOGIE AG Wilhelm-Leuschner-Str. 9-11 60329 Frankfurt/Main, Germany Phone: 0049-(0) 69-242669-0 Web site: http://www.augusta-ag.de Lena Trautmann, Investor Relations Phone: +49-(0) 69-242669-19 Fax: +49-(0) 69-242669-40 E-mail: trautmann@augusta-ag.de EASY DANCE: Creditors Meeting Set February ------------------------------------------ The district court of Halle-Saalkreis opened bankruptcy proceedings against Easy Dance & Music Hall GmbH on November 4. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. Creditors have until January 4, 2006 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Jorg Riedemann. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting on February 1, 2006, 9:50 a.m. at the district court of Halle-Saalkreis, Saal 1.043, Justizzentrum, Thueringer Str. 16, 06112 Halle, at which time the administrator will present his first report of the insolvency proceedings. The court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors committee and or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. CONTACT: EASY DANCE & MUSIC HALL GmbH Philipp-Mueller-Strasse 77-78, 06110 Halle Contact: Martin Niemoller, Manager Im Bubenwingert 13, 69181 Leimen Jorg Riedemann, Administrator Muehlweg 47, D-06114 Halle Phone: 0345/293900 Fax: 0345/2939029 ELEKTROANLAGENBAU PIRNA: Court Names Wolff/Rapp Administrator ------------------------------------------------------------- The district court of Dresden opened bankruptcy proceedings against Elektroanlagenbau Pirna GmbH on November 1. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. Creditors have until December 15, 2005 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Albert Wolff. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting on January 27, 2006, 9:00 a.m. at the district court of Dresden, Saal D131, Olbrichtplatz 1, 01099 Dresden, at which time the administrator will present his first report of the insolvency proceedings. The court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors committee and or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. CONTACT: ELEKTROANLAGENBAU PIRNA GmbH Gebuerder-Lein-Strasse 1 in 01796 Pirna Albert Wolff, Administrator Wolff/Rapp Rechtsanwalte Weisseritzstrasse 3, 01067 Dresden Web site: http://www.WORAKO.de FBU FLIESEN: Proofs of Claim Due Next Month ------------------------------------------- The district court of Frankfurt (Oder) opened bankruptcy proceedings against fbu Fliesen & Baderservice Uckermark GmbH on November 10. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. Creditors have until December 13, 2005 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Falk Eppert. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting on January 17, 2006, 8:50 a.m. at the district court of Frankfurt (Oder), Muellroser Chaussee 55, 15236 Frankfurt (Oder), Saal 401, at which time the administrator will present his first report of the insolvency proceedings. The court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors committee and or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. CONTACT: FBU FLIESEN & BADERSERVICE UCKERMARK GmbH Ringstrasse 11, 16303 Schwedt/Oder Falk Eppert, Administrator Vietmannsdorfer Strasse 23, 17268 Templin FLUGBORSE K&S: Dortmund Business Goes Bust ------------------------------------------ The district court of Dortmund opened bankruptcy proceedings against Flugborse K&S Reisevermittlungs GmbH on November 11. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. Creditors have until December 20, 2005 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Dr. Petra Mork. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting on January 31, 2006, 10:30 a.m. at the district court of Dortmund, Nebenstelle, Gerichtsplatz 1, 44135 Dortmund, II. Etage, Saal 3.201, at which time the administrator will present his first report of the insolvency proceedings. The court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors committee and or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. CONTACT: FLUGBORSE K&S REISEVERMITTLUNGS GmbH Kaiserstr. 22, 44135 Dortmund Contact: Peter Schmidt, Manager Untere Husemannstr. 3, 59425 Unna Dr. Petra Mork, Administrator Arndtstr. 28, 44135 Dortmund Phone: 0231-952063-0 Fax: 0231-95206316 GAMMA BAU: Calls in Administrator from Wolff/Rapp ------------------------------------------------- The district court of Dresden opened bankruptcy proceedings against GAMMA Bau GmbH & Co. KG on November 1. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. Creditors have until December 20, 2005 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Jan Gartner. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting on January 31, 2006, 10:00 a.m. at the district court of Dresden, Saal D131, Olbrichtplatz 1, 01099 Dresden, at which time the administrator will present his first report of the insolvency proceedings. The court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors committee and or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. CONTACT: GAMMA BAU GmbH & Co. KG Gewerbepark Am Bahnhof 2 in 02633 Seitschen Jan Gartner, Administrator Wolff/Rapp Rechtsanwalte Weisseritzstrasse 3, 01067 Dresden Web site: http://www.WORAKO.de MALER WEDER: Kuebler Administrator Takes over Business ------------------------------------------------------ The district court of Dresden opened bankruptcy proceedings against Maler Weder GmbH on November 2. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. Creditors have until December 13, 2005 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Christian Heintze. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting on January 27, 2006, 10:30 a.m. at the district court of Dresden, Saal D131, Olbrichtplatz 1, 01099 Dresden, at which time the administrator will present his first report of the insolvency proceedings. The court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors committee and or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. CONTACT: MALER WEDER GmbH Hirschbergstr. 12 in 01662 Meissen Christian Heintze, Administrator Kuebler Loschwitzer Strasse 3, 01309 Dresden Web site: http://www.kuebler-gbr.de PLGE MARBURGER: Claims Verification Set March --------------------------------------------- The district court of Charlottenburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against PLGE Marburger Strasse 13 GmbH & Co. KG on November 4. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. Creditors have until January 26, 2006 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Sebastian Laboga. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting on December 15, 2005, 10:40 a.m. at the district court of Charlottenburg, Amtsgerichtsplatz 1, 14057 Berlin, II. Stock Saal 218, at which time the administrator will present his first report of the insolvency proceedings. The court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report March 23, 2006, 10:10 a.m. at the same venue. CONTACT: PLGE MARBURGER STRASSE 13 GmbH & Co. KG Marburger Str.13, 10789 Berlin Sebastian Laboga, Administrator Einemstr. 24, 10785 Berlin TITUS CHEMNITZ: Court Appoints Administrator from HWW ----------------------------------------------------- The district court of Chemnitz opened bankruptcy proceedings against Titus Chemnitz GmbH on November 1. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. Creditors have until December 12, 2005 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Kai Dellit. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting on January 18, 2006, 11:45 a.m. at the district court of Chemnitz, Saal 28, im Gerichtsgebaude Fuerstenstrasse 21, in Chemnitz, at which time the administrator will present his first report of the insolvency proceedings. The court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors committee and or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. CONTACT: TITUS CHEMNITZ GmbH Contact: Andre Prautzsch, Manager Strasse der Nationen 23, 09111 Chemnitz Kai Dellit, Administrator HWW Wienberg Wilhelm Michaelstrasse 71, 09116 Chemnitz Web site: http://www.hww-kanzlei.de WIKOPLAN GMBH: Under Bankruptcy Administration ---------------------------------------------- The district court of Chemnitz opened bankruptcy proceedings against WIKOPLAN GmbH on November 3. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. Creditors have until December 14, 2005 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Carsten Morgenstern. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting on January 11, 2006, 10:15 a.m. at the district court of Chemnitz, Saal 24, im Gerichtsgebaude Fuerstenstrasse 21, in Chemnitz, at which time the administrator will present his first report of the insolvency proceedings. The court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors committee and or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. CONTACT: WIKOPLAN GmbH Contact: Alfred Wittmann, Manager c/o VDW Wittmann GmbH Rosenheimer Strasse 47, 83083 Riedering Carsten Morgenstern, Administrator Michaelstr. 71, 09116 Chemnitz ============= I R E L A N D ============= DELPHI SPA: Rescued out of Receivership for EUR3.7 Million ---------------------------------------------------------- Receivers of Delphi Spa and Adventure Centre in Co Mayo have sold the company to local property developer Michael McDonagh for EUR3.7 million, reports say. Mr. McDonagh is a native of Oranmore, Co Galway. Bank of Scotland, owed EUR2.5 million, drove Delphi into receivership in October, but the center remained opened. The company has been operating for 20 years. It owns Delphi Mountain Resort & Spa, built at a cost of EUR4 million. CONTACT: PEARSE FARRELL Molyneux House Bride Street, Dublin 8 Phone: +353 1 4182000 Fax: +353 1 4182044 E-mail: fgs@fgs.ie Web site: http://www.fgs.ie/ SMURFIT KAPPA: Jefferson Smurfit, Kappa Sign Merger Pact -------------------------------------------------------- Jefferson Smurfit Group and Kappa Packaging on Nov. 23 said that the consultation and advisory processes with the relevant employee representative organizations have now been completed. A merger agreement between Jefferson Smurfit Group and Kappa Packaging, to form Smurfit Kappa Group, has also been signed. It is expected that the transaction will close on or about Dec. 1, 2005. Gary McGann, Jefferson Smurfit Group CEO, said: "We are pleased to announce the achievement of these milestones. Jefferson Smurfit and Kappa will form a focused industry leader with compelling strategic, operational and geographic fit. Our objective now is the effective integration of the two businesses." Frits Beurskens, Kappa Packaging CEO, said: "The merger of Kappa Packaging and Jefferson Smurfit Group creates an exciting platform which combines two highly complementary businesses. Smurfit Kappa Group will have a well invested asset base to provide creative packaging solutions to current and prospective customers." * * * Fitch Ratings assigns an expected Senior Unsecured rating of 'B+' to the Smurfit Kappa Group, the entity to be created through the acquisition of Kappa Packaging (Kappa) by Jefferson Smurfit Group (JSG). At the same time the agency assigns a 'BB' expected rating to the proposed new senior secured facilities for the combined Smurfit Kappa Group, reflecting Fitch's view of significant recoveries available to senior lenders in a distress scenario. Following completion of the acquisition, Fitch expects to affirm the ratings of the JSG Funding plc Senior Notes at 'B', the JSG Funding plc Senior Subordinated Notes at 'B-' and the JSG Holding plc Senior PIK Notes at 'CCC+'. The expected ratings are subject to completion of the acquisition as presented to Fitch and review of final documentation. A Stable Outlook has been assigned. The combination of JSG with Kappa will create the largest Europe-based integrated manufacturer of containerboard, corrugated containers and other paper-based packaging products. While Fitch believes that significant synergy potential arises from the proposed combination of the two companies, the next two years will be critical for the new group. Michelle De Angelis, Associate Director in Fitch's Leveraged Finance Group, said: "The ability of the group to deliver synergies and realize cash from disposals within a 12-24 month timeframe will be key to the maintenance of the expected 'B+' rating. The European paper and packaging market has yet to exhibit any significant signs of recovery, which means that the Smurfit Kappa Group will be embarking on a business restructuring program and inevitably incurring additional costs at a time when cash flow generation is under continued pressure." The paper and packaging industry is cyclical and conditions in Europe have been difficult for some time, due to excess capacity. While some industry commentators expect a recovery to begin in 2006, Fitch believes that the fundamental demand-supply imbalance is likely to continue beyond that time and that market conditions will remain soft through 2007. However, Smurfit Kappa is a strong market player with the potential to ride out a longer cyclical downturn and emerge with significant earning and cash generation ability. The merged entity will benefit from Kappa's well-invested facilities and JSG's disciplined track record of cash flow generation, as well as geographic diversification in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Nonetheless, Fitch has identified a number of challenges ahead for the group, and expects that downward rating pressure would result from the following occurrences: a reduction in rolling last twelve months EBITDA below EUR800 million; an increase in total cash-pay leverage above 6.0x; a deterioration in the company's liquidity position; or a failure to generate significant cash from disposals within an 18-month timeframe. While these factors are relatively limiting, the agency has assigned a Stable Outlook reflecting Fitch's view that the upside potential from the acquisition balances the downside potential inherent in the current European market conditions. Furthermore, the ratings of the combined group are likely to remain constrained by high overall financial leverage and moderate cash flow coverage in the near term. The proposed acquisition will result in a refinancing of the current outstanding senior secured facilities of both JSG and Kappa Packaging and all of the bonds at Kappa Beheer B.V. The ratings for these instruments will be withdrawn at that time. JSG's bonds, debentures and securitization program are expected to remain in place, and the ratings will be updated to reflect the transaction at close. CONTACT: JEFFERSON SMURFIT GROUP Gary McGann Phone: +353 1 202 7000 or Tony Smurfit Phone: +353 1 202 7000 or Ian Curley Phone: +353 1 202 7000 K CAPITAL SOURCE Mark Kenny Phone: +353 1 631 5500 WHPR (Media Consultant) Brian Bell Phone: +353 1 669 0030 ========= I T A L Y ========= SAFILO SPA: May Lose Ralph Lauren Eyewear License ------------------------------------------------- U.S. fashion house Ralph Lauren may withdraw the license of Safilo S.p.A. to make eyewear under its name, the Financial Times says. Still good for another year, Ralph Lauren has started talks with Safilo not for the purpose of renewing the license, people privy to the talks told the paper. According to them, Safilo rival Luxottica has pressed Ralph Lauren for exclusivity over the eyewear license. Ralph Lauren is expected to make a decision early next year. This development comes just as Safilo is preparing for an initial public offering that could raise as much as EUR1 billion. The offer is being coordinated by Merrill Lynch, SanPaolo IMI and UniCredito. Ralph Lauren licenses accounted for 10% of last year's EUR1 billion sales; Armani, Dior and Gucci licenses made up 55% of the total. Safilo and Ralph Lauren have been business partners for 15 years. Recently, they worked together on a new Ralph Lauren eyewear store on Madison Avenue in New York. Safilo is also working on next year's Ralph Lauren collection. * * * Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has placed its 'B' long-term corporate credit rating on Safilo on CreditWatch with positive implications, following the company's announcement of its planned IPO. At the same time, the 'B' debt rating and '3' recovery rating on Safilo S.p.A.'s senior secured bank loans have also been placed on CreditWatch with positive implications, as was the 'CCC+' debt rating on the subordinated senior notes held by subsidiary Safilo Capital International S.A. and guaranteed by Safilo S.p.A. Safilo hopes to raise at least EUR290 million -- based on a pricing at the lower end of the proposed range -- in the primary offering. The proceeds will be used to reduce gross debt and fund expansion. "The CreditWatch listing reflects the credit-enhancing impact of the expected material debt reduction," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Benedetta Rospigliosi. "Any upgrade will likely be by no more than two notches." Pro forma for the completion of the proposed offering and subsequent debt reduction, adjusted total debt at Sept. 30, 2005, was about EUR537 million, compared with the actual figure of EUR827 million. Pro forma adjusted net debt to EBITDA for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2005, was 3.1x, versus 4.8x. The forecast interest burden would also substantially decrease. Standard & Poor's expects to resolve the CreditWatch status shortly after completion of the IPO and Safilo's planned debt reduction. "We will closely assess the impact of the transaction on Safilo's credit ratios, as well as on its future investment strategy and financial policy, including management's appetite for dividend distributions and acquisitions," said Ms. Rospigliosi. "We will also reassess the notching on the subordinated senior notes held by Safilo Capital International S.A., based on the amount of the secured bank loan being repaid relative to unsecured debt." CONTACT: SAFILO S.P.A. Zona Industriale, VII Strada, 15 35129 Padua Italy Phone: +39-049-698-5111 Fax: +39-049-698-5354 Web site: http://www.safilo.com =================== K Y R G Y Z S T A N =================== ALMASH: Sets Creditors Meeting December 2 ----------------------------------------- The Inter-District Court of Bishkek for Economic Issues commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on joint venture Almash on July 5, 2005. Mr. Almaz Abdyvaliev has been appointed temporary insolvency manager. Creditors will meet at Bishkek, Moskovskaya Str. 151 room 108 on December 2, 2005, 9:00 a.m. Creditors must submit their proofs of claim and register with the temporary insolvency manager seven days prior to the meeting. Proxies must have authorization to vote. CONTACT: ALMAZ ABDYVALIEV Temporary Insolvency Manager Phone: (0-312) 21-67-25 ENERGY CONSULTING: Creditors Meeting Today ------------------------------------------ The creditors of bankrupt LLC Energy Consulting Group will meet at Micro District 5 63/27 on November 25, 11:00 a.m. Call (0- 312) 47-92-08 for more information. MA-MA SERVICE: Proofs of Claim Deadline Expires January ------------------------------------------------------- LLC MA-MA SERVICE, which recently became insolvent, will accept proofs of claim at Bishkek, Abdrahmanova Str. 170 until January 9, 2006. Call (0-502) 43-57-22 for more information. ===================== N E T H E R L A N D S ===================== FORD CAPITAL: U.S. Parent Under Review for Possible Downgrade ------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service has placed under review for possible downgrade the long-term ratings of Ford Motor Company (Ba1 Corporate Family and long-term, and Ba2 trust preferred) and the long-term and short-term ratings of Ford Motor Credit Company (Ford Credit) (Baa3 long-term and Prime-3 short-term) for possible downgrade. Ford's SGL-1 Speculative Grade Liquidity rating is not included in the review and has been affirmed. Moody's said the review of Ford's ratings is prompted by the prospects for persistently weak financial metrics caused in part by a severe erosion in the company's North American truck and SUV franchise as consumer preference continues to shift toward smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. Although Ford's US market share for the ten months through October ran at the 18.5% benchmark identified by Moody's in prior rating actions, share in the months of September and October approximated only 17% and the company's shipments of full size trucks and SUVs have fallen by 30% to 40% during this two-month period. As a result of this market shift, which Moody's expects will continue, Ford's performance through September 2005 has weakened, and its ability to achieve operating performance and credit metrics that support the Ba1 rating is becoming increasingly uncertain. In addition to the more rapid than anticipated shift in market demand in North America, Ford remains heavily burdened by excess production capacity and an elevated fixed cost structure including high medical costs. Ford will attempt to address these challenges, and to re-establish a more competitive and sustainable operating model in North America, by implementing an extensive restructuring program that will be announced in January 2006. The ratings of The Hertz Corporation (Baa3 senior and Prime-3 short-term) are unaffected by these actions and remain on a review for possible downgrade that was initiated on September 12, 2005. Moody's review of the Ford ratings will focus on: (a) The scope of the restructuring program that Ford will announce and the degree to which the restructuring program will support meaningful improvement in returns, cash generation and credit metrics; (b) The potential challenges that Ford could face in implementing the program, including labor issues, and the company's contingency plans to deal with such challenges; (c) The level of credit metrics that Ford can sustain during the near term as it begins to implement its restructuring which could potentially require sizable up front cash costs related to accelerated retirement plans or other restructuring payments; (d) The level of liquidity that Ford will maintain until its turnaround actions can begin to yield material benefits; and (e) Ford Credit's ability to continue making meaningful dividend payments to Ford while providing competitive customer financing, maintaining a sound capital structure, and preserving portfolio quality. As Moody's assesses Ford's ability to sustain the current Ba1 rating, important near-term financial benchmarks, calculated based on Moody's standard adjustments, will include: EBITA margin exceeding 2% and free cash flow to debt greater than 10%. In assessing Ford's restructuring initiatives and the resulting impact on its longer-term credit quality, Moody's will focus on the magnitude and timing of the anticipated cash savings, and also on the degree to which the plan is based on realistically achievable expectations for market share, pricing and product mix. Moody's notes that Ford's 2002 Revitalization Plan was highly successful at reducing capacity by 1 million units and considerably lowering operating costs. However, the plan fell well short of the forecasted improvement in operating performance due to much greater-than-anticipated pressure on market share, pricing and mix. Consequently, the underlying assumptions in the 2006 restructuring program will be critical considerations in Moody's assessment of the new plan. As Ford begins to fund the costs of these turnaround initiatives its liquidity position, which approximated $20 billion at September 2005, should remain sizable as a result of the $5.6 billion in proceeds from the Hertz monetization. Moody's review of Ford Credit's ratings reflects the rating action taken on Ford's ratings. Because of the strong business and financial ties that exist between Ford and Ford Credit, any weakening at Ford could negatively impact Ford Credit's volumes, asset quality and earnings. These connections keep Ford Credit's ratings closely tied to those of its parent. Current circumstances have also challenged Ford Credit's liquidity profile. In response to lower demand among unsecured debt investors, Ford Credit has increased its reliance upon securitization, which at September 30, 2005 represented 35% of on- and off-balance sheet funding sources, compared with 25% at the end of 2004. Most, but not all, of the company's assets are securitizable, which could prove limiting to the scale and scope of the company's operations in the future. But other factors help sustain the company's liquidity profile, including lower origination levels and higher cash balances. To date in 2005, Ford Credit's asset quality metrics have shown improvement, partially a reflection of the company's tightened underwriting standards. With lower loss expectations, the company has decreased loss provisions from prior year's levels, which has supported year-to-date earnings. However, Ford Credit faces headwinds in the form of higher borrowing costs from increased interest rates and credit spreads, declining revenues due to the decline in the base of earnings assets, as well as practical limits for further reductions in loss provisions. As a result, Moody's doesn't believe earnings and margins can be sustained at current levels. Moody's expects to maintain the one-notch rating distinction between the Ford and Ford Credit ratings. In Moody's view, Ford Credit's assets would likely provide better asset recovery to unsecured creditors compared to the assets of Ford. Ford Motor Company, headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, is the world's third largest automobile manufacturer. Ford Motor Credit Company, also headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, is the world's largest auto finance company. CONTACT: MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE (NEW YORK) Michael J. Mulvaney, Managing Director Corporate Finance Group Phone: (Journalists) 212-553-0376 (Subscribers) 212-553-1653 J. Bruce Clark, Senior Vice President Corporate Finance Group Phone: (Journalists) 212-553-0376 (Subscribers) 212-553-1653 INTABEX NETHERLANDS: S&P Cuts Rating to B+ on Poor Performance -------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its ratings on leaf tobacco dealer Alliance One International Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Intabex Netherlands B.V., including its corporate credit rating to 'B+' from 'BB-'. The ratings were removed from CreditWatch where they were placed on Oct. 25, 2005, with negative implications. The outlook is negative. Total rated debt on Morrisville, North Carolina-based Alliance One is about US$1.5 billion. The downgrade reflects: * the decline in operating performance and * the related effect on credit protection measures. These factors are due to: * the poor quality of the Brazilian crop and * Standard & Poor's expectation that financial measures will not improve to levels appropriate for the ratings in the near term. Standard & Poor's expects that the company will receive an amendment by its senior lenders that will loosen its financial covenants in the near term. Although Alliance One is ahead of schedule in achieving the cost savings from the May 2005 merger of DIMON Inc. and Standard Commercial Corporation, these savings were not sufficient to offset the declines in operating profit. CONTACT: ALLIANCE ONE Phone: 484-531-5000 Fax: 484-531-5057 Web site: http://www.allianceoneinc.com/ ROYAL SHELL: Joint Venture Buys Jamaican Operations --------------------------------------------------- Neal and Massy Holdings Ltd. and Cool Corp. Ltd. have agreed on a joint venture deal to buy Royal Dutch Shell's Jamaican businesses, The Trinidad Express reports. The partnership, which will be known as Cool Petroleum Holdings, will acquire Shell's retail, LPG and chemicals operations, including 56 service stations. Bernard Dulal-Whiteway, CEO of Neal and Massy, said: "In accordance with the principles and goals of the CSME (Caribbean Single Market and Economy), the Neal and Massy Group is happy to continue investing in the Single Market." He added the acquisition is part of the company's aim to become a "major pan-Caribbean enterprise" and the deal with Cool Corp. links it with a "creative and entrepreneurial partner in Jamaica." Cool Corp. Chairman Joseph Issa said: "As a Jamaican, I am proud to be part of an increasing ownership in our own country which is an integral part of the CSME." Jamaica Gleaner, in another report, quoted Roger Bryan, Shell's country chairman for Jamaica, as saying the Shell brand stays in Jamaica as part of a long-term agreement. Project Manager Lauran Wetemans said the company is not totally withdrawing from Jamaica. He noted that "Shell is basically changing its business model . . . and we will continue to supply products to the Jamaican market." The National Workers' Union was scheduled to meet with Shell's workers Wednesday to discuss the issue. Danny Roberts, vice- president of the NWU, said: "The question of how it will affect the contract of employees has to be discussed. The question of redundancy payment may not arise now for Shell, but the new owner may decide to lay off staff." Mr. Bryan clarified: "We may even see an increase in staff complement because a lot of services that were done overseas will now have to be done in Jamaica." Established ten years ago, Cool Corp. employs over 400 people and has annual sales of US$100 million. Neal & Massy Group has a workforce of 4,000 and sales of more than US$600 million. CONTACT: ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL GROUP OF COMPANIES Carel van Bylandtlaan 30 2596 HR The Hague The Netherlands Phone: +31 70 377 9111 Fax: +31 70 377 3115 Web site: http://www.shell.com NEAL AND MASSY HOLDINGS LTD. 63 Park Street P.O. Box 544 Port Of Spain Trinidad, West Indies Phone: 1 (868) 625-3426 Fax: 1 (868) 627-9061 E-mail: nmh@neal-and-massy.com Web site: http://www.neal-and-massy.com ROYAL SHELL: Has 3,963,400,000 Remaining 'A' Shares --------------------------------------------------- On 23 November 2005, Royal Dutch Shell plc purchased for cancellation 1,256,000 'A' Shares at a price of EUR26.90 per share. It further purchased for cancellation 350,000 'A' Shares at a price of 1,844.19 pence per share. Following the cancellation of these shares, the remaining number of 'A' Shares of Royal Dutch Shell plc will be 3,963,400,000. As of that date, 2,759,360,000 'B' Shares of Royal Dutch Shell plc were in issue. * * * Shell's buyback scheme is aimed at reviving shareholders' and investors' confidence. The buyback program follows a damaging reserves overestimation scandal last year. About the Company Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 145 countries with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of Liquefied Natural Gas and Gas to Liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects including wind and solar power. The Trouble Shell admitted overstating proved reserves by almost 6 billion barrels between January 2004 and February this year. This led to the ouster of three top executives, including former Chairman Philip Watts. The company was fined EUR150 million in total after investigations launched by U.S. and British regulators. Shell has since revised the method by which it calculates reserves to comply with U.S. regulations. Shell's proved reserves stood at 10.2 billion barrels at the end of 2004. CONTACT: ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL GROUP OF COMPANIES Carel van Bylandtlaan 30 2596 HR The Hague The Netherlands Phone: +31 70 377 9111 Fax: +31 70 377 3115 Web site: http://www.shell.com TBIH FINANCIAL: Long-term Rating Upped to B; On Watch Positive -------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has upgraded TBIH Financial Services Group N.V.'s (TBIH) Long-term rating to 'B' from 'B-'. At the same time, Fitch has withdrawn the Expected Long-term 'B' rating on TBIH's proposed senior debt issue, following its postponement. The Long-term rating remains on Rating Watch Positive (RWP) to reflect Wiener Stadtische Allgemeine Versicherung Aktiengesellschaft's (WS) agreement to purchase a 40% stake in Kardan Financial Services B.V. (KFS), the majority shareholder of TBIH. TBIH's Long-term rating is upgraded as the debt issue, which Fitch now expects to take place during 2006, is likely to be of a more moderate size than previously anticipated. As such, Fitch notes that the prospective financial leverage of TBIH is unlikely to materially impair the recovery characteristics of senior unsecured creditors beyond levels currently implied by the upgraded rating. The RWP reflects the improved financial flexibility that is potentially available from ownership links with an established insurer such as WS, a major player in Austria, and an expected improvement in market profile following the acquisition. Fitch also notes the potential benefits to TBIH's competitiveness, an expected capital injection to TBIH of at least EUR35 million and the possibility of a reduced risk appetite following the transaction. The transaction is subject to certain conditions, including the satisfactory completion of due diligence and regulatory approval. The RWP is expected to be resolved following completion of the transaction and discussions with management. Under the terms of the agreement, WS will acquire a 40% stake in KFS, which is currently the majority shareholder in TBIH with a 58.18% stake. KFS and WS intend to cooperate in pursuing financial services opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It is understood that within five years from the date of the transaction, WS may increase its percentage shareholding in KFS to 50%. TBIH is a joint stock company based in the Netherlands and acts as a holding company for a number of operating units based throughout CEE. The group was set up in 1998 to take advantage of the relatively undeveloped financial services provision in the region. The focus of the group's operations remains on financial services operations in CEE, especially in the retail and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sectors. TBIH has operations in non-life and life insurance, pensions and asset management as well as lending. The group had unaudited equity (including minority interests) of EUR110 million at 30 June 2005 and unaudited revenues (gross premiums, interest and fees) of EUR148 million for the six months to 30 June 2005. CONTACT: TBIH FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP N.V. Prins Hendriklaan 52 1075 BE Amsterdam The Netherlands Phone: +31 20 6648884 Fax: +31 20 6648861 E-mail: shalom@tbih.com Web site: http://www.tbih.com FITCH RATINGS Andrew Murray, London Phone: +44 (0)20 7417 4303 Damir Bettini Phone: +44 (0)20 7862 4095 Alison Leveridge Phone: +44 (0)20 7417 4305 Web site: http://www.fitchratings.com Media Relations Jon Laycock, London Phone: +44 20 7417 4327 =========== P O L A N D =========== ELEKTRIM SA: Dispute with ET Worsens ------------------------------------ Elektrim Telekomunikacja (ET) has sued Deutsche Telekom and Elektrim S.A. for allegedly violating its rights as a partner in PTC, AFX says. ET, backed by French Vivendi Universal, recently regained control of PTC after the Polish Business Registration Court reversed a Vienna arbitration court, which gave Elektrim and Deutsche Telekom 48% of PTC. The two remain at odds over the legality of the decisions. Vivendi and Elektrim each own 49% of ET. The remaining 2% of the stake is controlled by Ymer Finance, which Elektrim says is controlled by Vivendi. Vivendi is denying the claim, saying Ymer is independent. Elektrim acquired 15.8% of PTC from BRE Bank, Kulczyk Holding and insurance company Warta about six years ago, increasing its shareholding to 51%. It later transferred 48% to ET despite Deutsche Telekom's insistence of a right of first refusal. The entry of Vivendi Universal into the picture forced them to seek arbitration. Elektrim S.A. is a public holding company quoted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 1992. Its most valuable assets are Elektrim Telekomunikacja Sp. z o.o., and Elektrownia Patnow- Adamow-Konin S.A. Since 1999 Elektrim has implemented a far- reaching restructuring program to improve its operational efficiency and strengthen its position in the market. It plans to concentrate in two industries -- telecommunications and power. Recently, an English court rejected its appeal of a local court decision declaring it in breach of bond conditions. A public court in September ruled that its bonds were due since the beginning of the year. The company has more than EUR470 million in debt. PTC owns Era, a leading mobile telephone operator. CONTACT: ELEKTRIM S.A. Panska 77/79 00-834 Warszawa Public Relations Ewa Bojar Company Spokesman Phone: (+48 22) 432 89 55 Fax: (+48 22) 432 87 99 E-mail: ewa_bojar@elektrim.pl Investor Relations Phone: (+48 22) 432 87 75 Fax: (+48 22) 432 87 99 Web site: http://www.elektrim.pl HUTA STALOWA: European Commission Reviews State Aid --------------------------------------------------- The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation to establish whether the restructuring aid in favor of Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), a Polish industrial machinery company, is compatible with EC Treaty state aid rules (Article 87) prohibiting aid liable to distort competition in the Single Market. Part of the measures has been granted before accession and the Commission is therefore not competent to assess their compatibility. However a number of aid measures worth some EUR27 million are to be granted after accession and thus fall under the Commission's scrutiny. The opening of the formal investigation will give interested parties an opportunity to comment. The launch of the inquiry does not prejudge the Commission's final decision on whether the aid can be allowed. "Aid for restructuring can be one of the most distortive types of state aid and very strict conditions need to be respected to grant such aid. We need to make sure the company is able to compete on the market after the restructuring," Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes commented. HSW, a mostly state-owned company has received state aid in the form of refunds, write-offs, deferrals, loans on preferential terms and capital injections by various Polish authorities at local and central level in the framework of a restructuring plan envisaged for the period 2003-2007. The plan includes several measures that according to the company should restore the long- term viability, in particular a modification of the company's organizational structure. The Commission's preliminary examination has shown that some aid was granted before accession (at least EUR26 million), and some after accession (up to EUR27 million). The Commission has no competence to assess the compatibility of aid granted before accession. However, the Commission is competent to act with regard to state aid granted after accession even in the context of a restructuring launched before accession. On the basis of the information submitted by the Polish authorities, the Commission doubts whether the measures comply with all the requirements laid down in the Community guidelines on state aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty and in particular that the restructuring plan will restore the long-term viability of HSW, since it is largely focused on debt- serving and coverage of operating costs. Furthermore, the Commission has doubts that the private contribution to the financing of the restructuring is high enough and that competition will not be unduly distorted by these measures. CONTACT: HUTA STALOWA WOLA S.A. ul. Kwiatkowskiego 1 37-450 Stalowa Wola Phone: (015) 843 41 11 Fax: (015) 842 19 08 E-mail: hsw@hsw.pl Web site: http://www.hsw.pl =========== R U S S I A =========== ALFA BANK: Loan Participation Notes Rated Ba3 --------------------------------------------- Moody's has assigned a Ba3 rating with positive outlook to the forthcoming issue of Loan Participation Notes by the Irish-based orphan special purpose vehicle, Alfa Bond Issuance Limited Company, for the sole purpose of funding a subordinated loan to Alfa Bank. The rights under the present loan will be subordinated to the claims of senior creditors, although they will rank pari passu with other subordinated debt and be senior to the claims of holders of the bank's share capital, including preference shares. According to Moody's, the ranking of the claims justifies the Ba3 (positive outlook) rating of the present subordinated loan, one notch below the Ba2 rating with positive outlook already assigned to Alfa's Bank Deposits and Senior Unsecured Debts The amount of the issue is to be determined by market conditions, with an expected maturity of 10 years, including a prepayment option by the borrower after five years. Coupons will be paid in arrears on a semi-annual basis at a fixed rate during the Initial Interest Term (period terminating at the date of the prepayment option) and at an increased rate during the Step-Up Interest Term (period commencing the day after the date of the prepayment option). Moody's also notes that the borrower may prepay the loan on a reset date if the Central Bank of Russia does not unconditionally approve the loan as additional capital, or at any time if the loan ceases to qualify as additional capital. Alfa Bank is currently the largest private bank in Russia, and is part of the Alfa Group Consortium (not rated by Moody's), one of Russia's largest conglomerates. Alfa Bank has significantly diversified away from house banking with Alfa Group over the last several years. Apart from Russia, the bank has penetrated some of the neighboring CIS markets, is run by one of the most professional management teams in the market and displays sound financial fundamentals, although some areas for improvement still exist. All Moody's ratings assigned to Alfa Bank have been based on ABH Financial's consolidated IFRS financial statements and not on financial statements of Alfa Bank prepared on a standalone basis. Alfa Bank is headquartered in Moscow, Russian Federation. ABH Financial Limited reported (unaudited) total assets of US$8.3 billion as of 30 June 2005 (18.2% up from year- end 2004) and US$70.1 million half-year-to-date net profit. CONTACT: MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE LTD. (LONDON) Adel Satel, Managing Director Financial Institutions Group Phone: (Journalists) 44 20 7772 5456 (Subscribers) 44 20 7772 5454 MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE CYPRUS LIMITED (LIMASSOL) Dmitry Polyakov, Asst Vice President - Analyst Financial Institutions Group Phone: (Journalists) 44 20 7772 5456 (Subscribers) 44 20 7772 5454 ALTAIR-NORD: Appoints Insolvency Manager ---------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Murmansk region commenced bankruptcy proceedings against Altair-Nord (TIN 5191322252) after finding the limited liability company insolvent. The case is docketed as A42-5851/2005. Mr. P. Volkov has been appointed insolvency manager. CONTACT: ALTAIR-NORD Russia, Murmansk region, Samoylovoy Str. 78, Office 2 P. VOLKOV Insolvency Manager 183071, Russia, Murmansk region, Starostina Str. 19, Office ASTRAKHANSKAYA: Astrakhan Court Brings in Insolvency Manager ------------------------------------------------------------ The Arbitration Court of Astrakhan region commenced bankruptcy proceedings against Astrakhanskaya (TIN 3008009427) after finding the fuel company insolvent. The case is docketed as A06-4127/b/3-11 k/2005. Mr. A. Eremitskiy has been appointed insolvency manager. CONTACT: ASTRAKHANSKAYA 416111, Russia, Astrakhan region, Narimanov, Tsentralnaya Str. 10 A. EREMITSKIY Insolvency Manager 414056, Russia, Astrakhan region, Tatisheva Str. 16 "D", Apartment 5 BOYARKA: Bankruptcy Hearing Set Next Year ----------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Novosibirsk region has commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on close joint stock company Boyarka. The case is docketed as A45-19335/05-10/304. Mr. O. Klemeshev has been appointed temporary insolvency manager. A hearing will take place on February 8, 2006, 9:30 a.m. at the Arbitration Court of Novosibirsk region at 630077, Russia, Novosibirsk, Kirova Str. 3, Room 815. CONTACT: BOYARKA 633162, Russia, Novosibirsk region, Kolyvanskiy region, Boyarka O. KLEMESHEV Temporary Insolvency Manager 630077, Russia, Novosibirsk region, Post User Box 174 DIMITROVOGRAD TEXTILE: Hires V. Fokeev Insolvency Manager --------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Ulyanovsk region has commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on open joint stock company Dimitrovograd Textile. The case is docketed as A72-2877/05- 19/16-B. Mr. V. Fokeev has been appointed temporary insolvency manager. Creditors may submit their proofs of claim to 603137, Russia, N. Novgorod, Post User Box 221. CONTACT: DIMITROVOGRAD TEXTILE Russia, Dimitrovograd, Kuybysheva Str. 226 V. FOKEEV Insolvency Manager 603137, Russia, N. Novgorod region, Post User Box 221 DOBROVOLSKOYE: Proofs of Claim Deadline December 15 --------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Rostov region commenced bankruptcy proceedings against Dobrovolskoye (TIN 6107002900) after finding the close joint stock company insolvent. The case is docketed as A53-e18690/05-S2-7. Mr. K. Kovalenko has been appointed insolvency manager. Creditors have until December 15, 2005 to submit their proofs of claim to the Arbitration Court of Rostov region. A hearing will take place on December 6, 2005, 10:40 a.m. CONTACT: DOBROVOLSKOYE Russia, Rostov region, Krasnoyarskaya St., Oktyabrskiy Per. 1 OAO SIBNEFT: European Commission Clears Gazprom Takeover -------------------------------------------------------- The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of Siberian Oil Company (Sibneft) of Russia by Gazprom Finance B.V., controlled by Gazprom, also of Russia. Gazprom is a vertically integrated Russian natural gas company whose majority shareholder is the Russian Federation. It is active in the exploration, production, refining, transportation and marketing of natural gas. It also produces a limited amount of crude oil, refined products and petrochemical products. Gazprom supplies practically all of the natural gas in Russia and approximately 24% of the natural gas consumed in the EEA. It is also active in the oil industry including, to a lesser extent, that of the EEA. Sibneft is a Russian oil company and is vertically integrated in the oil supply chain of that country. Its principal activities concern oil and gas exploration, the production, refining and marketing of oil and oil products, and the sale of certain petrochemical products. Sibneft does not export any natural gas into the EEA. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. CONTACT: OAO SIBNEFT Sadovnicheskaya Street 4 115035 Moscow Switchboard: +7 (095) 777-3152 Switchboard fax: +7 (095) 777-3151 Phone: http://www.sibneft.com John Mann Phone: +7 (095) 777-3116 777-3182 Fax: +7 (095) 777-3114 E-mail: JohnM@sibneft.ru OKTYABRSK-DOR-STROY: Succumbs to Bankruptcy ------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Perm region commenced bankruptcy proceedings against Oktyabrsk-Dor-Stroy after finding the open joint stock company insolvent. The case is docketed as A50- 10285/2005-B. Ms. N. Vokhmina has been appointed insolvency manager. CONTACT: OKTYABRSK-DOR-STROY Russia, Perm region, Perm, Geroev Khasana Str. 456 N. VOKHMINA Insolvency Manager 614016, Russia, Perm, Geroev Khasana Str. 456 OREL-ALMAZ: Claims Filing Period Ends Mid-December -------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Orel region commenced bankruptcy proceedings against Orel-Almaz (OGRN 1025700827206, TIN 5753021930) after finding the industrial-investment company insolvent. The case is docketed as A48-3284/05-20b. Ms. E. Bystritskaya has been appointed insolvency manager. Creditors have until December 15, 2005 to submit their proofs of claim to 107078, Russia, Moscow, Novaya Basmannaya Str. 15, Post User Box 276. CONTACT: OREL-ALMAZ 302028, Russia, Orel region, Oktyabrskaya Str. 25 E. BYSTRITSKAYA Insolvency Manager 107078, Russia, Moscow, Novaya Basmannaya Str. 15, Post User Box 276 RADUGA: Declared Insolvent -------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Orenburg region commenced bankruptcy proceedings against Raduga after finding the trading house insolvent. The case is docketed as A47-7821/2005-14GK. Mr. O. Shelyakin has been appointed insolvency manager. CONTACT: RADUGA Russia, Orenburg region, Leninskaya Str. 29 O. SHELYAKIN Insolvency Manager 614068, Russia, Perm, Kirova Str. 224-1 SEMIGORYE: Bankruptcy Hearing Resumes January --------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Krasnodar region has commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on agro company Semigorye. The case is docketed as A-32-A-32-18158/2005-2/302-B. Mr. D. Sukhorukov has been appointed temporary insolvency manager. Creditors may submit their proofs of claim to 353900, Russia, Novorossiysk, Marksa Str. 25, Apartment 15. A hearing will take place on January 30, 2006. CONTACT: SEMIGORYE Russia, Novorossiysk, Semigorye, Tsentralnaya Str. 2 D. SUKHORUKOV Temporary Insolvency Manager 353900, Russia, Novorossiysk, Marksa Str. 25, Apartment 15 SOVIET SIBERIA: Undergoes Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure ---------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Novosibirsk region has commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on close joint stock company Soviet Siberia. The case is docketed as A45-18334/05-29/255. Mr. Y. Gomerov has been appointed temporary insolvency manager. A hearing will take place on January 25, 2006, 11:00 a.m. at the Arbitration Court of Novosibirsk region at 630077, Russia, Novosibirsk, Kirova Str. 3, Room 916. CONTACT: SOVIET SIBERIA 632753, Russia, Novosibirsk region, Kupinskiy region, Sovetskoye Y. GOMEROV Temporary Insolvency Manager 630501, Russia, Novosibirsk region, Krasnoobsk, Post User Box 325 Phone: (383) 348-60-77 =========== S W E D E N =========== SAS GROUP: Navtech Pays SEK162 Million for EAG ---------------------------------------------- The SAS Group has signed and closed an agreement to sell its 100% stake in European Aeronautical Group (EAG) to Navtech Inc. based in Waterloo, ON, Canada. The shares are sold at a total price of approximately SEK162 million for the equity plus an additional amount estimated to SEK30 million based on future revenues. The capital gain in the SAS Group is approximately SEK50 million and the positive effect on cash and net debt is approximately the same excluding the additional amount. "[The] announcement fits with our strategy to focus mainly on our core business said Mr. Jorgen Lindegaard, President and CEO of the SAS Group." We have been impressed with Navtech and are looking forward to building a long-term, customer relationship with them and at the same time reduce our costs." The ownership of EAG is not considered of future strategic interest for the SAS Group and the sale is part of the ongoing program of capital release. "[The] acquisition is a significant step toward Navtech's strategic goal of becoming the premiere supplier of integrated flight operations solutions to airlines around the world," said Navtech, Inc. President and CEO David Strucke. "This enhances our position as one of the world's leading flight operations management providers with a tremendous airline customer base and one of the most comprehensive product portfolios." Mr. Strucke says the combined product scope and market presence of the two organizations are highly complimentary, and provides Navtech with a critical mass in the U.S and European markets, as well as a growing presence in Asia. About EAG European Aeronautical Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of the SAS Group with approximately 155 employees and operations in Sweden and the U.K. The Group produces advanced aeronautical documentation and systems for the aviation industry. Its product line includes different versions of aeronautical and flight navigation documentation and flight and route planning for various systems. EAG's fiscal 2004 revenues were approximately SEK200 million. About SAS Group SAS AB is the Nordic regions largest listed airline and travel group and offers air transport and related services from its base in the northern Europe. Scandinavian Airlines provides services within Scandinavia, to/from Europe, North America and Asia. Scandinavian Airlines is a founder member of the world's largest global airline alliance -- Star AllianceTM. The Group also includes the airlines Spanair, Wideroe's Flyveselskap and Blue1 and the partly owned airlines airBaltic and Estonian Air. The Group's business areas Airline Support Businesses and Airline Related Businesses include companies that support the airline operations. The Group also includes hotel operations with Rezidor SAS Hospitality. About the Navtech, Inc. Navtech creates and supports superior flight operations software for airlines. Navtech's software provides a competitive edge to airlines by facilitating significant costs savings in fuel consumption and crew planning, two areas that represent a majority of an airline's variable operating expenditures. With more than 200 airline customers around the world, Navtech's software directly supports millions of flights around the globe each year. Navtech has a fully rounded product portfolio that includes charting, navigational data, flight planning, crew planning, runway analysis, and mass & balance systems. Navtech has more than 250 employees with offices in the United States, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Singapore. CONTACT: NAVTECH, INC. Gordon Heard Chief Financial Officer Phone: +1 519 747 1170 x288 Web site: http://www.navtechinc.com SAS GROUP Hans Ollongren Senior VP, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs Phone: +46 70 997 1950 Sture Stolen VP, Investor Relations Phone: +46 70 997 1451 Web site: http://www.sasgroup.net ============= U K R A I N E ============= CHORNOMORSKIJ KOMBIKORM: Declared Insolvent ------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of AR Krym region commenced bankruptcy proceedings against Chornomorskij Kombikorm Plant (code EDRPOU 00688806) on October 13, 2005 after finding the limited liability company insolvent. The case is docketed as 2-20/4603- 2005. Mr. I. Gerasimov (License Number AA 140432) has been appointed liquidator/insolvency manager. Creditors have until November 29, 2005 to submit their proofs of claim to: (a) CHORNOMORSKIJ KOMBIKORM PLANT 96400, Ukraine, AR Krym region, Chornomorskij district, Novoselske, 65 (b) I. GERASIMOV Liquidator/Insolvency Manager 95043, Ukraine, AR Krym region, Simferopol, Gagarin Str. 36/52 (c) ECONOMIC COURT OF AR KRYM REGION 95000, Ukraine, AR Krym region, Simferopol, Karl Marks Str. 18 DAKS: Gives Creditors Until Next Week to File Claims ---------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Donetsk region commenced bankruptcy proceedings against LLC DAKS (code EDRPOU 25097986) on October 20, 2005 after finding the limited liability company insolvent. The case is docketed as 27/62 B. Mr. Davidenko Oleksij (License Number AB 216801) has been appointed liquidator/insolvency manager. The company holds account number 26006301581297 at Prominvestbank, Kirovske branch, MFO 334734. Creditors have until November 29, 2005 to submit their proofs of claim to: (a) DAKS 86300, Ukraine, Donetsk region, Kirovske, Molodizhnij quarter, 9/B (b) ECONOMIC COURT OF DONETSK REGION 83048, Ukraine, Donetsk region, Artema Str. 157 DRUZHBA: Under Bankruptcy Supervision ------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Vinnitsya region commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on Private Agricultural Enterprise Druzhba (code EDRPOU 03733921) on October 4, 2005. The case is docketed as 10/47-05. Mr. Sergij Severin (License Number AA 630139) has been appointed temporary insolvency manager. The company holds account number 26042000055001 at JSCB Nadra, Vinnitsya branch, MFO 302355 and account number 290290903 at OJSC Oshadbank, branch 5321, MFO 362061. Creditors have until November 29, 2005 to submit their proofs of claim to: (a) DRUZHBA Ukraine, Vinnitsya region, Vinnitsya district, Lavrivka, Lenin Str. 3 (b) SERGIJ SEVERIN Temporary Insolvency Manager Ukraine, Vinnitsya region, 9 Sichnya Str. 4/8 (c) ECONOMIC COURT OF VINNITSYA REGION 21036, Ukraine, Vinnitsya region, Hmelnitske Shose 7 INTERSIL: Proofs of Claim Due November 29 ----------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Lviv region declared Intersil (code EDRPOU 14339096) on April 26, 2005 after finding the joint Ukrainian- Polish enterprise insolvent. The case is docketed as 6/65-8/45. Mr. Pudlyak Bogdan (License Number AB 216954) has been appointed liquidator/insolvency manager. Creditors have until November 29, 2005 to submit their proofs of claim to: (a) INTERSIL 82300, Ukraine, Lviv region, Borislav, Danilo Galitskij Str. 34 (b) PUDLYAK BOGDAN Liquidator/Insolvency Manager Ukraine, Lviv region, Korolyov Str. 10/54 (c) ECONOMIC COURT OF LVIV REGION 79010, Ukraine, Lviv region, Lichakivska Str. 81 LVIVTEPLOENERGOZBUT: Bankruptcy Supervision Begins -------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Lviv region has commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on LLC Lvivteploenergozbut (code EDRPOU 32408893). The case is docketed as 6/204-8/181. Mr. Oleg Oprishko has been appointed temporary insolvency manager. Creditors have until November 28, 2005 to submit their proofs of claim to: (a) LVIVTEPLOENERGOZBUT Ukraine, Lviv region, Lazarenko Str. 1 (b) OLEG OPRISHKO Temporary Insolvency Manager 79000, Ukraine, Lviv region, Listopadovogo chinu Str. 7/2a (c) ECONOMIC COURT OF LVIV REGION 79010, Ukraine, Lviv region, Lichakivska Str. 81 NATALY: Lviv Court Appoints Liquidator -------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Lviv region commenced bankruptcy proceedings against Nataly (code EDRPOU 20812088) on June 29, 2005 after finding the private company insolvent. The case is docketed as 6/172-4/88. Mr. Oleg Oprishko has been appointed liquidator/insolvency manager. Creditors have until November 28, 2005 to submit their proofs of claim to: (a) NATALY Ukraine, Lviv region, Sadova Str. 13/16 (b) OLEG OPRISHKO Liquidator/Insolvency Manager 79000, Ukraine, Lviv region, Listopadovogo Chinu Str. 7/2a (c) ECONOMIC COURT OF LVIV REGION 79010, Ukraine, Lviv region, Lichakivska Str. 81 SOVETSKE INCUBATOR: Deadline for Proofs of Claim Monday ------------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of AR Krym region commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on Sovetske Incubator-Bird Enterprise' (code EDRPOU 05532279) on October 10, 2005. The case is docketed as 2-8/13833-2005. Ms. Yeryomenko Galina (License Number AA 719809) has been appointed temporary insolvency manager. The company holds account number 26002301732 at Oshadbank, MFO 384209. Creditors have until November 28, 2005 to submit their proofs of claim to: (a) SOVETSKE INCUBATOR-BIRD ENTERPRISE Ukraine, AR Krym region, Sovetske, Energetikiv Str. 24 (b) THE ECONOMIC COURT OF AR KRYM REGION 95000, Ukraine, AR Krym region, Simferopol, Karl Marks Str. 18 ZHOVKVA' BREAD: Succumbs to Bankruptcy -------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Lviv region commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC Zhovkva' Bread-Receiving Enterprise (code EDRPOU 00954870) on August 22, 2005. The case is docketed as 6/195-29/212. Mr. Andrij Kolisnik (License Number AB 116300) has been appointed temporary insolvency manager. The company holds account number 260017229 at JSPPB Aval, Lviv branch, MFO 325570. Creditors have until November 28, 2005 to submit their proofs of claim to: (a) ZHOVKVA' BREAD-RECEIVING ENTERPRISE 80300, Ukraine, Lviv region, Zhovkva, Vokzalna Str. 2 (b) ANDRIJ KOLISNIK Temporary Insolvency Manager Ukraine, Lviv region, Tarnavskij Str. 104-b/54 (c) ECONOMIC COURT OF LVIV REGION 79010, Ukraine, Lviv region, Lichakivska Str. 81 =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== ALAN QUINE: Hires Liquidator from DTE Leonard Curtis ---------------------------------------------------- A. Quine, chairman of Alan Quine Limited, informs that the special and ordinary resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Nov. 4 at DTE House, Hollins Mount, Bury BL9 8AT. Andrew Poxon of DTE Leonard Curtis, DTE House, Hollins Mount, Bury, Lancashire BL9 8AT was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: DTE LEONARD CURTIS DTE House, Hollins Mount, Bury BL9 8AT4 Norfolk Park Phone: 0161 767 1200 Fax: 0161 767 1201 Web site: http://www.dtegroup.com ALLIANCE UNICHEM: Liquidator from Crane & Partners Enters Firm -------------------------------------------------------------- J. P. Cox, the chairman of Alliance Unichem Holdings Limited, informs that the subjoined special resolution to wind up the company was passed at an EGM held on Nov. 11 at Sussex House, 8- 10 Homesdale Road, Bromley, Kent BR2 9LZ. Guy Charles David Harrison, of Crane & Partners, Sussex House, 8-10 Homesdale Road, Bromley, Kent BR2 9LZ was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: CRANE & PARTNERS Sussex House, 8-10 Homesdale Road, Bromley, Kent BR2 9LZ Phone: 020 8464 0131 Fax: 020 8464 6018 Web site: http://www.craneandpartners.com ALLIED CRISIS: Files for Liquidation ------------------------------------ F. L. Smyth, director of Allied Crisis Management Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Nov. 3 at 1640 Parkway, Solent Business Park, Whiteley, Fareham, Hampshire. Michael Robert Fortune and Carl Derek Faulds, of Portland Business & Financial Solutions Ltd., 1640 Parkway, Solent Business Park, Whiteley, Fareham, Hampshire were appointed Joint Liquidators. CONTACT: ALLIED CRISIS MANAGEMENT LIMITED First Floor Cakerstream House 4 Oriel Court, Alton, Hampshire GU34 2YT Phone: 08456017718 PORTLAND BUSINESS & FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LTD. 1640 Parkway Solent Business Park Whiteley Fareham Hampshire PO15 7AH Phone: 01489 550 440 E-mails: carl.faulds@portland-solutions.co.uk james.tickell@portland-solutions.co.uk ASHTEAD GROUP: Assures Investors firm has Succession Plan --------------------------------------------------------- Following recent press comment about the future of Chief Executive George Burnett, Ashtead Group plc has confirmed that, as shareholders would expect, the company keeps the succession plans for all its senior roles under regular review to ensure an orderly transition of responsibility at the appropriate time. George Burnett is involved in all aspects of the company's succession planning. Any decisions that are taken about succession to any board position will be announced to the market in the usual way, as and when they are made. About the Company Registered in the U.K., Ashtead is a leading provider of rental equipment in the U.K. and the U.S. through its a-Plant and Sunbelt subsidiaries. As at financial year ending April 30, 2005, the group generated annual revenues of GBP523.7 million and EBITDA of GBP169.7 million. Net debt stood at GBP493.2 million. In July, Ashtead completed its refinancing, which included: (a) the raising of approximately GBP70 million before expenses through the Placing and Open Offer of approximately 73.4 million New Ordinary Shares at 95.5 pence per share; and (b) the raising of US$250 million (approximately GBP142 million), before expenses, by the issue of New Senior Loan Notes, which carry an interest rate of 8 5/8% and will be repayable in full in August 2015. From the proceeds of the refinancing, Ashtead has now repaid the Convertible Loan Note at a discount of approximately 11% and will redeem GBP42 million of the existing Senior Loan Notes, which carry interest at a rate of 12%. CONTACT: ASHTEAD GROUP PLC King's Court, 41-51 Kingston Rd. Leatherhead Surrey KT22 7AP, United Kingdom Phone: +44-1372-362-300 Fax: +44-1372-376-610 BETHELL FLEET: Hires Joint Liquidators from KPMG ------------------------------------------------ N. Hopkins-Coman, chairman of Bethell Fleet Services Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Oct. 28 at KPMG LLP, St James' Square, Manchester M2 6DS. Paul Andrew Flint and Brian Green of KPMG were Joint Liquidators. CONTACT: BETHELL FLEET SERVICES LIMITED Dane House Europa Trad Est, Stoneclough Road Radcliffe, Manchester M26 1GG Phone: 0120-440-4832 KPMG Web site: http://www.kpmg.co.uk BLAKEDEW 560: Owners Decide to Wind up Business ----------------------------------------------- H. I. Stewart, chairman of Blakedew 560 Limited, informs that the special resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Sept. 30 at Long Lane Studios, 142-152 Long Lane, London SE1 4BS. Stephen John Adshead of Fashawe Lofts, 41 Castle Way, Southampton SO14 2BW was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: FANSHAWE LOFTS 41 Castle Way Southampton Hampshire SO14 2BW Phone: 023 8023 3522 Fax: 023 8023 3504 E-mails: sa@fanshawe-lofts.co.uk arf@fanshawe-lofts.co.uk BMG (BH) LIMITED: Deloitte & Touche Liquidators Enter Firm ---------------------------------------------------------- Company Names: BMG (BH) LIMITED BMG (CO PHASE IV) GENERAL PARTNER LIMITED BMG (DERBYSHIRE) LIMITED BMG (MH) LIMITED BMG (SH) LIMITED BMG (STIRLING) LIMITED BMG (THE DESIGNERS) LIMITED BMG UK HOLDINGS LIMITED The special and ordinary resolutions to wind up the companies were passed at a general meeting and J. R. D. Smith and N. J. Dargan of Deloitte & Touche, Athene Place, PO Box 810, 66 Shoe Lane, London EC4A 3WA were appointed joint liquidators. CONTACT: DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP Athene Place 66 Shoe Lane London EC4A 3BQ Phone: 00 44 (0) 207 936 3000 Fax: 00 44 (0) 207 779 4001 Web site: http://www.deloitte.com BOX SPECIALISTS: Calls in Administrators from Kroll --------------------------------------------------- David John Whitehouse and Simon Wilson (IP Nos 008699, 008963) of Kroll Limited were appointed joint administrators of The Box Specialists Limited (Company No 05371512) on Nov. 14. The company manufactures boxes. CONTACT: KROLL LIMITED The Observatory Chapels Walk Manchester Greater Manchester M2 1HL Phone: 0161 838 4500 Fax: 0161 838 4501 CAFE CITRON: Falls into Administration -------------------------------------- Lane Bednash (IP No 8882) of David Rubin & Partners and Richard Neville (IP No 592) of Neville & Co. were appointed administrators of Cafe Citron Limited (Company No 04537577) on Nov. 10. The company manages restaurants. CONTACT: DAVID RUBIN & PARTNERS Pearl Assurance House, 319 Ballards Lane, London N12 8LY Phone: 020 8343 5900 Fax: 020 8446 2994 Web site: http://www.drpartners.com NEVILLE HATTON 10-11 Lynher Buildings Queen Annes Battery Plymouth Devon PL4 0LP Phone: 01752672288 Fax: 01752 672290 E-mail: colinhatton@nevillehatton.fsnet.co.uk CAST SYSTEMS: Wilson Pitts Liquidators Take over Firm ----------------------------------------------------- J. G. Goodfellow, the director of Cast Systems Limited, informs that the special resolution to wind up the company was passed at an EGM held on Nov. 1 at The Bailey, Skipton BD23 1DN. D. F. Wilson and J. N. R. Pitts were appointed joint liquidators. CONTACT: WILSON PITTS Glendevon House Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds West Yorkshire LS14 1PQ Phone: 0113 237 5560 Fax: 0113 237 5561 CHANNON MCCOLL: Creditors Meeting Set Next Week ----------------------------------------------- Creditors of Channon McColl Media Limited (Company No 039656394) will meet on November 30, 2005, 10:30 a.m. at The Kings, 20 Wood Street, Swindon SN1 4AB. Creditors who want to be represented at the meeting may appoint proxies. Proxy forms must be submitted together with written debt claims to P. M. McConnell administrator of Monahans, 38-42 Newport Street, Swindon, Wiltshire SN1 3DR not later than 12:00 noon, November 29, 2005. CONTACT: MONAHANS 38-42 Newport Street Swindon Wiltshire SN1 3DR Phone: 01793 521231 Fax: 01793 512188 E-mail: paulm@monahans.co.uk CLIFFORD & BEAU: Goes into Liquidation -------------------------------------- M. Clifford, chairman of Clifford & Beau Ltd. (formerly Just Wood Flooring Ltd.), informs that a resolution to wind up the company was passed at an EGM held on Oct. 28 at Fergusson House, 124-128 City Road, London EC1V 2NJ. C. M. Iacovides of Jeffreys Henry Jacobs, 124-128 City Road, London EC1V 2NJ was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: JEFFREYS HENRY JACOBS 124-128 City Road, London EC1V 2NJ Phone: 020 7670 9010 Fax: 020 7670 9011 Web site: http://www.jhj.co.uk COMPASS GROUP: Plays down Reports of SFO Probe ---------------------------------------------- Compass Group plc has played down reports that it is being probed by the Serious Fraud Office, said The Times. SFO has reportedly launched a preliminary examination into Compass transactions involving alleged corrupt buying practices at the United Nations. However, a spokesman for the contract caterer said that they are "unaware of any investigation by the SFO." In October, Compass subsidiary Eurest Support Services was suspended as contractor to the U.N. after claims emerged it obtained confidential information before winning a GBP35.3 million food and water deal in Liberia. Compass then called in Freshfields and Ernst & Young to carry out its own investigation. Peter Harris, former ESS CEO, was dismissed, together with Andrew Seiwert, current ESS CEO, and a further mid-ranking executive who was associated with U.N. contracting. Dow Jones said SFO, which has the power to prosecute, is studying information related to Compass to see whether the body needs to launch a full investigation into the caterer. It doesn't have to inform Compass about the extent of the probe, according to Reuters, in another report. CONTACT: COMPASS GROUP PLC Compass House Guildford Street Chertsey Surrey United Kingdom KT16 9BQ Phone: +44 1932 573 000 Fax: +44 1932 569 956 Web site: http://www.compass-group.com FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER 65 Fleet St. London EC4Y 1HS United Kingdom Phone: +44-20-7936-4000 Fax: +44-20-7832-7001 Web site: http://www.freshfields.com/en.asp ERNST & YOUNG LLP 100 Barbirolli Square, Manchester M2 3EY Phone: +44 [0] 161 333 3000 Fax: +44 [0] 161 333 3001 Web site: http://www.ey.com CONCEPT MANAGED: EGM Passes Winding-up Resolution ------------------------------------------------- A. Sibley, director of Concept Managed Services Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Oct. 28 at UHY Hacker Young, St Alphage House, 2 Fore Street, London EC2Y 5DH. Andrew Andronikou and Ladislav Hornan of UHY Hacker Young, St Alphage House, 2 Fore Street, London EC2Y 5DH was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: CONCEPT MANAGED SERVICES LTD. 3rd Floor 42 Conduit Street London W1S 2YJ Phone: 0845 450 4926 Fax: 0845 241 1999 UHY HACKER YOUNG St Alphage House, 2 Fore Street, London EC2Y 5DH Phone: 020 7216 4600 Fax: 020 7638 2159 Web site: http://www.uhy-uk.com CORPORATE AUDIO: Royal Bank of Scotland Appoints Receiver --------------------------------------------------------- Royal Bank of Scotland Commercial Services Limited appointed Simon Allport and Garry Wilson (Office Holder Nos 8763, 9062) of Ernst & Young LLP joint administrative receivers of Corporate Audio Visual Plc (Reg No 02844022) on Nov. 9. Corporate Audio Visual Plc -- http://www.corpav.co.uk/-- specializes in providing audiovisual services to organizations throughout the UK and Europe. CONTACT: CORPORATE AUDIO VISUAL PLC Presentation House, Broadway Business Park, Broadway Greater Manchester OL9 0JA Phone: 0161 947 3535 Fax: 0161 947 3536 E-mail: manchester@corpav.co.uk ERNST & YOUNG LLP 100 Barbirolli Square, Manchester M2 3EY Phone: +44 [0] 161 333 3000 Fax: +44 [0] 161 333 3001 Web site: http://www.ey.com DERBY HERITAGE: Joint Liquidators Move in ----------------------------------------- R. Felix, director of Derby Heritage Centre Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Nov. 1 at The Swallow Hotel, Midland Road, Derby DE1 2SL. Neil Henry and Michael Simister of Lines Henry, 27 The Downs, Altrincham WA14 2QD were appointed Joint Liquidators. CONTACT: DERBY HERITAGE CENTRE LTD. St. Peters Churchyard, Derby Derbyshire DE1 1NN Phone: 01332299321 LINES HENRY 27 The Downs Altrincham Cheshire WA14 2QD Phone: 0161 929 1905 Fax: 0161 929 1977 E-mail: nola@lineshenry.co.uk DRAX GROUP: Ends Talks with BCHP; To Pursue Listing --------------------------------------------------- Further to their respective announcements of 15 November 2005, Drax Group Ltd. and the BCHP Consortium have agreed to discontinue discussions in relation to the BCHP Consortium's proposal to acquire Drax. As a consequence the BCHP Consortium has decided to withdraw its proposal with immediate effect. The BCHP Consortium recently held a number of meetings with investors in Drax. It is clear from those discussions, and soundings taken of Drax's shareholders by the Company and advisers to the Shareholder Committee, that a significant majority preferred to remain committed to the refinancing and listing of Drax pursuant to the irrevocable undertakings previously given. The Company is continuing preparations for the refinancing and listing of Drax, which is expected to become effective on 15 December 2005. Deutsche Bank AG London Branch, which is regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the conduct of designated investment business in the United Kingdom, is acting for Drax in connection with the matters described herein and no-one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than Drax for providing the protections afforded to customers of Deutsche Bank, nor for providing advice in relation to the matters described herein. About the Company Headquartered in Selby, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom, Drax Group operates the largest coal-fire power plant in Europe. Its primary subsidiary, Drax Power, operates the Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire England. Drax Group underwent a financial restructuring in 2003 after its largest customer, TXU Europe, filed for administrative protection. Its former project creditors took control of the firm from owner U.S. energy generator AES. In December, it secured an agreement for a GBP348 million claim from TXU. It received a first distribution of some GBP214 million at the end of March. Succeeding payments are expected in 2005 and 2006. The company is using its money to discharge B debt. Drax Group Limited has appointed Deutsche Bank AG London as lead adviser and sponsor for the proposed refinancing and listing. It has retained Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Limited as financial adviser. CONTACT: DRAX GROUP LIMITED PO BOX 3 Selby North Yorkshire YO8 8PQ Phone: +44 (0) 1757 618381 Fax: +44 (0) 1757 618504 ENGLISH OUT: Language School Calls in Administrator --------------------------------------------------- S. J. Parker (IP No 8989) and D. R. Beat (IP No 8191) of Tenon Recovery were appointed joint administrators of English Out There Limited (Company No 04230811) on Nov. 11. Its registered office is at Griffins Court, 24-32 London Road, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 1JX. CONTACT: TENON RECOVERY Sherlock House 73 Baker Street London W1U 6RD Phone: 020 7935 5566 Fax: 020 7935 3512 E-mail: bakerstreet@tenongroup.com Web site: http://www.tenongroup.com TENON RECOVERY Salisbury House 31 Finsbury Circus London EC2M 5SQ Phone: 020 7628 2040 Fax: 020 7638 0217 Web site: http://www.tenongroup.com ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY: In Liquidation ---------------------------------------- A. Hutchings, chairman of Environmentally Friendly Services Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Oct. 28 at Chiltern House, 24-30 King Street, Watford WD18 0BP. Richard Andrew Segal and Paul Michael Davis of Begbies Traynor (South) LLP, Chiltern House, 24-30 King Street, Watford WD18 0BP were appointed Joint Liquidators. CONTACT: ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SERVICES LIMITED Highland House Farm, The Heath Clacton On Sea, Essex CO16 0DA Phone: 01255871009 BEGBIES TRAYNOR Chiltern House, 24-30 King Street, Watford WD18 0BP Phone: 01923 812900 Fax: 01923 812999 Web site: http://www.begbies.com FACEBY FARMS: Hires Liquidator from Taylor Rowlands --------------------------------------------------- J. E. Perks, chairman of Faceby Farms Limited, informs that the special resolution to wind up the company was passed at an EGM held on Nov. 11 at Taylor Rowlands, 8 High Street, Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees TS15 9AE. John Harvey Madden of Taylor Rowlands, 8 High Street, Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees TS15 9AE was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: TAYLOR ROWLANDS 8 High Street Yarm Cleveland TS15 9AE Phone: 01642 790790 Fax: 01642 785588 E-mail: harvey@taylorrowlands.co.uk FEDERAL-MOGUL: Seeks Court's Nod on EL Insurance Settlement ----------------------------------------------------------- T&N Limited and other U.K. debtor-affiliates of Federal-Mogul Corporation were engaged in the manufacture, distribution, sale and installation of various asbestos products, including sprayed-on and pre-formed asbestos containing insulation, asbestos cementpipe, asbestos containing building materials, automated parts and other products. As a result of their involvement with asbestos, T&N and 57 U.K. Debtors -- the Scheme Proposing Companies -- are subject to a large number of asbestos-related claims. A list of the 58 U.K. Debtors is available for free at: http://bankrupt.com/misc/Scheme_Proposing_Companies.pdf Litigation with the EL Insurers After their appointment, the Administrators for the U.K. Debtors began an investigation of the historical employers' liability insurance policies maintained by T&N and the other U.K. Debtors, to ascertain whether there was any insurance to meet the asserted asbestos-related claims of employees of T&N and the U.K. Debtors. The investigation revealed that the insurance for employers' liability in the U.K. was placed by some of the Scheme Proposing Companies between: (a) October 1, 1969, and March 31, 1977, with Royal Insurance Company, now Royal & SunAlliance; and (b) April 1, 1977, and April 30, 1995, with the Brian Smith Syndicate at Lloyd's. Employees of the Scheme Proposing Companies who were employed at any point during the EL Insurance coverage period had claims under the Policies. Although the Administrators asked the EL Insurers to meet the EL Claims, the EL Insurers asserted that: (a) their policies excluded employee asbestos claims; (b) the excess or the deductibles applied; and (c) they were entitled in any case to avoid payment of claims under the Policies by reason of alleged misrepresentations and material non-disclosures by T&N and the other Scheme Proposing Companies. The Administrators disagreed with the EL Insurers and commenced proceedings against the EL Insurers in May 2002 in England. The Administrators sought to resolve the issues among T&N, the other Scheme Proposing Companies and the EL Insurers with the aim of providing relief to a certain class of claimants that meet certain criteria, including any person or the personal representative of a deceased person that was an employee of T&N or any Scheme Proposing Company who: (a) was employed between October 1, 1969, and April 30, 1995; (b) was exposed to asbestos during his term of employment; and (c) has developed or may subsequently develop an asbestos disease attributable to negligent exposure to asbestos by a Scheme Proposing Company. The trial date for the Administrators' proceedings was set for January 2003. In late December 2002, England's Court of Appeal decided that it was necessary to bifurcate the issues and defer a determination of whether the EL Insurers could avoid providing coverage to a later second trial. Accordingly, the first trial proceeded and was concluded in February 2003. In May 2003, England's High Court of Justice determined that: (a) from October 1, 1969, to December 31, 1971, EL Claims relating to pneumoconiosis were excluded from the RSA coverage, but all other employee asbestos claims were covered, subject to a GBP1,000 deduction; (b) from January 1, 1972, to April 30, 1977, all employee asbestos claims were covered by RSA, subject to an indemnity claim against T&N; and (c) from 1977 to 1995, all employee asbestos claims were covered by the Syndicate, subject to certain indemnity claims against T&N. The rulings were subject to the High Court's decision at the second trial as to whether the EL Insurers were entitled to avoid the EL Insurance altogether because of alleged misrepresentations and non-disclosure. The parties engaged in significant and time-consuming discovery, delaying the start of the second trial. In the meantime, the EL Insurers obtained permission for an expedited appeal from the High Court's May 2003 decision. However, at the request of the Administrators and the EL Insurers, the Appeal was postponed to permit settlement negotiations. The Court of Appeals hearing was deferred until May 2004. Subsequently, the Administrators and the EL Insurers conducted long and complex settlement negotiations. In May 2004, prior to commencement of the Appeal, the parties reached an agreement in principle resolving all asbestos-related issues in the EL Insurance Litigation. At the parties' request, the Appeal was stayed so that the settlement could be finalized and put into effect. As previously reported, the Debtors and the Administrators have asked the Bankruptcy Court to approve the U.K. Global Settlement Agreement among Federal-Mogul Corporation, T&N, the other co- proponents of the Third Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization, the Administrators and the Pension Protection Fund in the United Kingdom. Under the U.K. Global Settlement Agreement, each Plan Proponent agreed to support the applications of the Administrators and the Debtors to the U.S. Court for approval of the Scheme between T&N and the EL claimants regulating the distribution of the EL settlement fund to the EL Claimants. In fulfillment of their obligation under the U.K. Global Settlement Agreement, the Debtors and the Administrators ask the Court to: (a) approve the settlement of the EL Insurance Litigation as embodied in the EL Schemes; (b) authorize the Debtors to take any and all action necessary and appropriate to give effect to the EL Schemes; and (c) modify the automatic stay to the extent necessary to permit the claims of Established EL Claimants to be satisfied and receive distributions under and in accordance with the EL Schemes, if and when the EL Schemes become effective under U.K. Law. The Settlement Agreement Under the EL Schemes The EL Schemes embody the settlement terms among T&N, the other Scheme Proposing Companies and the EL Insurers. A full-text copy of the EL Schemes is available for free at http://bankrupt.com/misc/EL_Schemes.pdf James E. O'Neill, Esq., at Pachulski, Stang, Ziehl, Young, Jones & Weintraub, tells the Court that the EL Schemes remain subject to revision. A final version will be delivered to the Court at a later date. The principal terms of the EL Settlement are: Settlement Amount: The EL Insurers have placed GBP36,740,000 as Settlement Sum in escrow to be transferred on the effective date of the EL Schemes to a trust established Pursuant to the EL Schemes and the Trust Deed and administered by trustees in accordance with the Trust Deed and the Trust Distribution Procedures. Release: On the effective date of the EL Schemes, neither the trustees, the Scheme Proposing Companies nor the EL Claimants will be entitled to claim or assert any rights of any nature against the EL Insurers arising out of any EL Claim. Payment of Settlement Sum to EL Claimants: The Settlement Sum will be distributed in accordance with the Trust Deed and the TDP to the EL Claimants. Payments to the EL Insurers: Upon the effective date of the EL Schemes, the EL Insurers will be deemed to have received the Indemnity Rights Sum, which will be GBP1,260,000. Contribution to Costs: On the effective date of the EL Schemes, GBP2,000,000 will be released from the Settlement Sum to the Administrators to be applied by the Administrators against fees and expenses they incur in the EL Insurance Litigation. Mr. O'Neill relates that under U.K. law, a scheme of arrangement is an arrangement between a company and its creditors or any creditor class as prescribed by Section 425 of the Companies Act of 1985. A scheme of arrangement becomes binding upon a company and its creditors or any class of creditors if: (a) a majority in number representing not less than 75% in value of creditors or any class of creditors, present and voting in person or by proxy, vote in favor of the scheme of arrangement at a specifically convened meeting; and (b) the English Court approves that scheme of arrangement. The EL Schemes will need to go through that process in England, Mr. O'Neill says. However, the purpose of the EL Schemes and the targeted beneficiaries are narrow. Its sole purpose is to enable EL Claimants to receive a payment from the Trust Fund in respect of an established claim at a level proportionate to other EL Claimants and calculated by reference to the level of settlements or awards that EL Claimants would have received absent an insolvency, Mr. O'Neill explains. No other claims or estate resources are effected by the EL Schemes or the settlement contained therein. Directions from the U.K. Court Mr. O'Neill relates that on October 4, 2005, the Administrators filed an application for directions with the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, which included a request for a determination that all future asbestos claimants are capable of being bound and having their claims compromised by schemes of arrangement and company voluntary arrangements and may prove their claims in a liquidation. Pursuant to the terms of the U.K. Settlement Agreement, the High Court of Justice must have heard and have determined these issues in the affirmative by the close of business on November 14, 2005. The High Court heard oral argument on the Administrators' directions application on October 11, 12, 13, 14, 26 and 27, 2005. As of October 31, 2005, the High Court of Justice has yet to issue a ruling on the issue. Mr. O'Neill emphasizes that because the EL Schemes intend to bind future asbestos claimants and to avoid the possibility of the Bankruptcy Court entering a conditional order, a hearing to consider the EL Settlement Motion may be deferred to a later date unless a ruling is made by the High Court of Justice prior to that hearing. Headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, Federal-Mogul Corporation -- http://www.federal-mogul.com/-- is one of the world's largest automotive parts companies with worldwide revenue of some US$6 billion. The Company filed for chapter 11 protection on Oct. 1, 2001 (Bankr. Del. Case No. 01-10582). Lawrence J. Nyhan Esq., James F. Conlan Esq., and Kevin T. Lantry Esq., at Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, and Laura Davis Jones Esq., at Pachulski, Stang, Ziehl, Young, Jones & Weintraub, P.C., represent the Debtors in their restructuring efforts. When the Debtors filed for protection from their creditors, they listed US$10.15 billion in assets and US$8.86 billion in liabilities. At Dec. 31, 2004, Federal-Mogul's balance sheet showed a US$1.925 billion stockholders' deficit. At Mar. 31, 2005, Federal-Mogul's balance sheet showed a US$2.048 billion stockholders' deficit, compared to a US$1.926 billion deficit at Dec. 31, 2004. Federal-Mogul Corp.'s U.K. affiliate, Turner & Newall, is based at Dudley Hill, Bradford. (Federal-Mogul Bankruptcy News, Issue No. 97; Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., 215/945-7000) CONTACT: KROLL BUCHLER PHILLIPS Simon Freakley, U.K. Administrator 84 Grosvenor Street W1X 9DF Phone: +44 (0)20 7493 2550 FINNFOREST ENGINEERED: Hires Liquidators from Vantis Numerica ------------------------------------------------------------- Members of Finnforest Engineered Wood UK Limited inform that the special and ordinary resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Nov. 1. Nicholas Hugh O'Reilly and Jonathan Mark Birch, both of Vantis Numerica, PO Box 2653, 66 Wigmore Street, London W1A 3RT were appointed joint liquidators. CONTACT: VANTIS NUMERICA PO Box 2653, 66 Wigmore Street, London W1A 3RT Phone: 020 7467 4000 Fax: 020 7284 4995 Web site: http://www.vantisnumerica.com FISH DIRECT: Hires Valentine to Liquidate Business -------------------------------------------------- A. Richardson, chairman of Fish Direct (London) Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Nov. 1 at Valentine & Co., 4 Dancastle Court, 14 Arcadia Avenue, London N3 2HS. Robert Valentine and Mark Reynolds of Valentine & Co., 4 Dancastle Court, 14 Arcadia Avenue, London N3 2HS were appointed Joint Liquidators. CONTACT: FISH DIRECT (LONDON) LIMITED 100 Clements Rd. Bermondsey SE16 4DG Phone: 020 7064 0714 VALENTINE & CO. 4 Dancastle Court 14 Arcadia Avenue, London N3 2HS Phone: 020 8343 3710 Fax: 020 9343 4486 Web site: http://www.valentine-co.com FRITH BOOK: Calls in Fanshawe Lofts Administrator ------------------------------------------------- Antony Robert Fanshawe and Stephen John Adshead (IP Nos 005944, 008574) of Fanshawe Lofts were appointed joint administrators of Frith Book Company Limited (Company No 03768108) on Oct. 18. Its registered office is at 22 Paul Street, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 5LA. The company is engaged in publishing books. CONTACT: FANSHAWE LOFTS 41 Castle Way Southampton Hampshire SO14 2BW Phone: 023 8023 3522 Fax: 023 8023 3504 E-mails: sa@fanshawe-lofts.co.uk arf@fanshawe-lofts.co.uk FTS CREDIT: Appoints Liquidator from Knights & Co. -------------------------------------------------- J. M. Darvell, chairman of FTS Credit Services Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Oct. 31 at Cecil House, Norwood Street, Ashford, Kent TN23 1QU. Barry P. Knights of Knights & Company, Milford House, 43-55 Milford Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 2BP was appointed liquidator. FTS -- http://www.ftscredit.co.uk-- offers online credit reports on U.K. businesses, online service for Europe and ROW credit reports, credit insurance, commercial debt collection (no collection no fee), and outsourced credit control (no collection no fee). CONTACT: FTS CREDIT SERVICES LTD. Queen House Queen Street Ashford TN23 1RG Kent Phone: 0845 108 0524 Fax: 01233 632974 KNIGHTS & CO 1st Floor Milford House 43-45 Milford Street Salisbury Wiltshire SP1 2BP Phone: 01722 330688 Fax: 01722 414546 F W BRIANT: Appoints Begbies Traynor Liquidator ----------------------------------------------- G. M. Lemm, director of F W Briant Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Nov. 1 at Begbies Traynor, 2-3 Pavilion Buildings, Brighton BN1 1EE. I. P. Sykes of Begbies Traynor, 2-3 Pavilion Buildings, Brighton BN1 1EE was appointed liquidator. The resolutions and appointment were confirmed at a creditors meeting held on the same day. CONTACT: F W BRIANT LIMITED 125 St. Pancras, Chichester West Sussex PO19 7LH Phone: 01243788816 BEGBIES TRAYNOR 2-3 Pavilion Buildings Brighton Sussex BN1 1EE Phone: 01273 747847 Fax: 01273 747743 E-mail: geoff.rhodes@begbies-traynor.com GOWER HOLDINGS: Pastry Maker Hires Administrator ------------------------------------------------ Company Names: GOWER HOLDINGS LIMITED (Company No 04686340) SWEETMANS HOLDINGS LIMITED (Company No 03346374) SWEETMANS RETAIL LIMITED (Company No 00744248) SWEETMANS SELECT SAVOURIES LIMITED (Company No 02295948) Keith R. Morgan and Philip James Long (IP Nos 6831, 2086) of PKF (UK) LLP were appointed joint administrators of these companies on Nov. 4. Sweetmans Select Savourines Ltd. manufactures savoury filings within a pastry case in lamb, spicy chicken, lamb & leek, steak, turkey while Sweetmans Retail Ltd. sells bread, cakes and confectionery. CONTACT: SWEETMANS SELECT SAVOURINES LTD. 8/9 Cwmdu Industrial Estate Fforestfach Swansea SA5 8JF Phone: 01792 588 674 Fax: 01792 588 706 E-mail: howard@sweetmans.net SWEETMANS HOLDINGS LTD. 44 Sway Road, Morriston, Swansea, SA6 6HT Phone: 01792 794901 SWEETMANS RETAIL LTD. 59 Herbert Street Pontardawe Swansea SA8 4EB West Glamorgan Phone: 01792 869552 PKF (UK) LLP 18 Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3PB Web site: http://www.pkf.co.uk GRAHAM PALMER: Succumbs to Liquidation -------------------------------------- G. J. Palmer, director of Graham Palmer Services Ltd., informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Oct. 27 at Langley House, Park Road, London N2 8EX. Philip Simons was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: GRAHAM PALMER SERVICES LTD. 3 Tealsbrook, Swindon, Wiltshire SN3 5AU Phone: 01793527556 G.W. MITCHELL: Liquidator from Moore Stephens Enters Firm --------------------------------------------------------- G. W. Mitchell, chairman of G.W. Mitchell Engineering Limited, informs that a resolution to wind up the company was passed at an EGM held on Nov. 1 at Moore Stephens LLP, Victory House, Admiralty Place, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4QU. Simon Geoffrey Paterson of Moore Stephens LLP, Victory House, Admiralty Place, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4QU was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: G.W. MITCHELL ENGINEERING LIMITED 18 Holborough Road, Snodland, Kent ME6 5NJ Phone: 01634241438 MOORE STEPHENS CORPORATE RECOVERY Victory House Admiralty Place Chatham Maritime Kent ME4 4QU Phone: +44 (01634) 895100 Fax: +44 (01634) 895101 Web site: http://www.moorestephens.com INTREPID ENERGY: Appoints Liquidator ------------------------------------ Company Names: INTREPID ENERGY & COMPANY EUROPE LIMITED INTREPID ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED INTREDID ENERGY GAMMA INTREPID ENERGY NORTH SEA (HOLDINGS) LIMITED M. T. Lynch, the chairman of these companies, informs that the special and ordinary resolutions to wind up the companies were passed at an EGM held on Nov. 8 and L. A. Manning and J. R. D. Smith of Deloitte & Touche, Athene Place, 66 Shoe Lane, London EC4A 3WA were appointed joint liquidators. CONTACT: DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP Athene Place 66 Shoe Lane London EC4A 3BQ Phone: 00 44 (0) 207 936 3000 Fax: 00 44 (0) 207 779 4001 Web site: http://www.deloitte.com JUNCTION 9: Hires Begbies Traynor Liquidator -------------------------------------------- Junction 9 Photographic Services Limited informs that a resolution to wind up the company was passed at an EGM held on Nov. 1 at 70 Conduit Street, London W1S 2GF. Lloyd Biscoe of Begbies Traynor, The Old Exchange, 234 Southchurch Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS1 2EG was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: JUNCTION 9 PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICES LIMITED Iceni House London Road Great Chesterford Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1NY Phone: 01799531199 Web site: http://www.junction-9.co.uk/ BEGBIES TRAYNOR The Old Exchange, 234 Southchurch Road Southend-on-Sea SS1 2EG Phone: 01702 467255 Fax: 01702 467201 E-mail: southend@begbies-traynor.com Web site: http://www.begbies.com LAKEDEV LIMITED: Liquidator from HKM Enters Firm ------------------------------------------------ H. Akram, the chairman of Lakedev Limited, informs that the special resolution to wind up the company was passed at an EGM held on Nov. 7 at Knightsbridge House, Lower Brown Street, Leicester LE1 5NL. John Phillip Walter Harlow was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: HKM LLP 73-75 Aston Road North Waterlinks Birmingham B6 4DA Phone: 0121 333 7300 Fax: 0121 333 7301 E-mail: johnh@hkm.co.uk MARANDY LTD.: Files for Liquidation ----------------------------------- Marandy Ltd. informs that a resolution to wind up the company was passed at an EGM held on Nov. 1 at St. Andrew's House, 18-20 St Andrew Street, London EC4A 3AJ. Clive Robert Hammond of PB Recovery Limited, St Andrew's House, 18-20 St Andrew Street, London EC4A 3AJ was appointed liquidator. Marandy Ltd. is the first supplier of commercial taxi management system in the U.K. CONTACT: MARANDY LTD. Unit 22, Prince William Road Loughborough, LE11 5GU Phone: (01509) 23 55 33 or (0115) 911 88 08 Fax: (01509) 23 33 31 E-mail: info@marandy.com MATHBIRK LTD.: Members Decide on Winding-up ------------------------------------------- J. Matthews, chairman of Mathbirk Ltd., informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Oct. 28 at The Nottingham Gateway Hotel, Nuthall Road, Cinderhill, Nottingham NG8 6AZ. Timothy Simon Cockcroft of Timothy S. Cockcroft, Vale Cottage, 16 Watson's Lane, Harby, Leicestershire was appointed liquidator. The appointment was confirmed at a creditors meeting held on the same day. CONTACT: MATHBIRK LTD. Mansfield Road Sutton in Ashfield NG17 4HE Nottinghamshire Phone: 01623 559333 Fax: 01623 552109 Web site: http://www.mathbirk.co.uk N C F (UK): Appoints Grant Thornton Liquidator ---------------------------------------------- N. Sheard, chairman of N C F (U.K.) Ltd., informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Oct. 28 at Tomlinsons, St John's Court, 72 Gartside Street, Manchester M3 3EL. Ian Carr of Grant Thornton UK LLP, Bryon House, Cambridge Business Park, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WZ was appointed liquidator. The resolutions and appointment were confirmed at a creditors meeting held on the same day. CONTACT: GRANT THORNTON U.K. LLP Byron House Cambridge Business Park Cowley Road Cambridge CB4 0WZ Phone: 01223 225600 Fax: 01223 225619 Web site: http://www.grant-thornton.co.uk OUTDOOR TRUST: Calls in Joint Liquidators ----------------------------------------- The Outdoor Trust informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed Windy Gyle, West Street, Belford, Northumberland NE70 7QE. Gordon Smythe Goldie and Allan David Kelly of Tait Walker, Bulman House, Regent Centre, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3LS were appointed Joint Liquidators. CONTACT: TAIT WALKER Bulman House, Regent Centre, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3LS Phone: 0191 285 0321 Fax: 0191 284 9117 E-mail: advice@taitwalker.co.uk Web site: http://www.taitwalker.co.uk PATIENTLINE PLC: Calls EGM to Tackle 2004 Articles Oversight ------------------------------------------------------------ Patientline plc has issued a circular to shareholders convening an Extraordinary General Meeting on Friday 9 December 2005. The EGM will be asked to pass ordinary resolutions to deal with an error in the Company's Articles of Association that were approved in July 2004. As a result of an oversight at the Company's solicitors, the 2004 Articles that were filed reverted inadvertently from the GBP150 million borrowing limit approved in 2002 to a previous lower limit of GBP50 million. Approval of the resolutions will restore the borrowing position to that which would have applied had the error not occurred. Copies of the circular will be available on the Company's Web site, from its registered office at 183-187 Bath Road, Slough in office hours and via the FSA's document viewing facility. About the Company Patientline provides communication and entertainment services to NHS trusts or the hospitals where it operates. By the end of 2004, it had 80,000 units installed in over 170 hospitals. For the year ended March 2005, Patientline booked revenues of GBP49.4 million. In July, the company admitted that operational changes within the NHS had affected usage and revenue levels in the last quarter of the year ended March 2005. With a variety of factors affecting revenues and the increased volatility, particularly during the holiday period, the company predicted a net loss of up to GBP4 million compared with market expectations for the year to March 2006. Patientline, which has not made a profit since it was formed ten years ago, reported in June that it has narrowed yearly operating loss to almost half, from GBP8.2 million to GBP4.6 million. CONTACT: PATIENTLINE PLC Thames Valley Court 183/187 Bath Road Slough Berkshire SL1 4AA Phone: 0845 414 6000 Fax: 0845 414 6153 Web site: http://www.patientline.co.uk POOLE PHOENIX: Administrators from Fanshawe Lofts Enter Firm ------------------------------------------------------------ Stephen John Adshead and Antony Robert Fanshawe (IP Nos 008574, 005944) of Fanshawe Lofts were appointed joint administrators of Poole Phoenix Precision Engineering Limited (Company No 4997173) on Oct. 31. Its registered office is at Arrowsmith Court, Station Approch, Broadstone, Dorset BJ18 8AT. CONTACT: FANSHAWE LOFTS 41 Castle Way Southampton Hampshire SO14 2BW Phone: 023 8023 3522 Fax: 023 8023 3504 E-mails: sa@fanshawe-lofts.co.uk arf@fanshawe-lofts.co.uk PROSPECTIVE DEVELOPMENTS: Appoints Liquidator --------------------------------------------- M. Fryer, the director of Prospective Developments Limited, informs that the special and ordinary resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Nov. 10 at Prospect House, Windham Road, Sudbury CO10 2XD. Chris Williams of McTear Williams and Wood was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: MCTEAR WILLIAMS & WOOD 90 St Faiths Lane, Norwich NR1 1NE Phone: 01603 877540 Fax: 01603 877549 E-mail: mail@mw-w.com Web site: http://www.mw-w.com QUICKCAPE LIMITED: Names Begbies Traynor Liquidator --------------------------------------------------- K. H. Johnson, the chairman of Quickcape Limited, informs that the special and ordinary resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Nov. 9 at 3 Castlegate, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6SF. Peter A. Blair and Richard A. B. Saville of Begbies Traynor were appointed joint liquidators. CONTACT: BEGBIES TRAYNOR Regency House, 21 The Ropewalk, Nottingham NG1 5DU Phone: 0115 941 9899 Fax: 0115 945 4845 Web site: http://www.begbies.com QUICKPAK LTD.: Bishop Fleming Liquidator Enters Firm ---------------------------------------------------- S. Bumford, chairman of Quickpak Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Nov. 3 at Bishop Fleming, Priest House, 1624-1628 High Street, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands B93 0JU. Jeremiah Anthony O'Sullivan of Bishop Fleming, Priest House, 1624-1628 High Street, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands B93 0JU was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: QUICKPAK LTD. 16 Oxleasow Road Redditch B98 0RE Hereford and Worcester Phone: 01527 830497 Fax: 01527 830498 BISHOP FLEMING 19 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8SJ Avon Phone: 0117 924 8077 Fax: 0117 924 8081 E-mail: sramsbottom@bishopfleming.co.uk REFCO INC.: 70 Parties Consent to Property Litigation Procedures ---------------------------------------------------------------- At least 70 parties responded to Refco Inc., and its debtor- affiliates' request to establish procedures to govern litigation of estate property issue: * Russia Growth Fund, Ltd. * JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. * Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent * Capital Management Select Fund Ltd. * Turisol Casa de Cambio C.A. * Beckenham Trading Co., Inc. * Lyxor/Estlander & Ronnlund Fund Ltd. * Lyxor/Beach Discretionary Fund Ltd. * AQR Absolute Return Master Account, L.P. * AQR Global Asset Allocation Master Account L.P. * Colt Global Futures Fund * CMA Global Investment, Ltd. * Elton Aggressive Growth Fund * Sabby Moinis * Winchester Preservation LLC * JWH Global Trust * IDS Managed Futures, L.P. * IDS Managed Futures II, L.P. * IDS Managed Fund LLC * KPC Corporation * Inter Financial Services Ltd. * Refco Advantage Multi-Manager Fund Futures Series I * Refco Winton Diversified Futures Fund * BAWAG P.S.K. Bank fur Arbeit und Wirtschaft und Oserreichische Postparkasse AG * RCM Account-Holders: -- Banesco International de Puerto Rico; -- Banesco Banco Universal C.A.; -- Panama Branch; Banesco Holding C.A.; -- Banesco Banco Universal C.A.; -- Banesco, Banco International (Panama) S.A.; -- Miura Financial Services; -- Multiplicas Casa de Bolsa; -- Bencorp Casa de Bolsa C.A.; -- Clau Corporation Overseas LTD.; -- NBK Investments LTD; -- Almiron Finance Corp.; -- AFC Almiron; -- Dufil Investments S.A.; -- Bencorp Custody I; -- Total Bank Curacao N.V.; -- Total Bank N.V.; -- Fondo Comun Casa de Bolsa C.A.; -- La Primera Casa de Bolsa; -- La Primera C.B.; -- SBP Alternative Investments Fund; -- SBP Investments/Trading; -- SBP - Custody I; -- SBP Investments/Alternative; -- Markwood Investments; -- Union Holding Company; -- Gorey Finance, Inc.; -- Dover Commodities Corp.; -- Global Partners Emerging Markets S.A.; -- Acurob Investments AG; -- Capital Investment Services, Inc.; -- Enrico Priotti; -- Luca Desidero; -- Icis Trading Inc.; -- Carlos Alberto Nagel Markovic; -- Mistyrise International Ltd.; -- Inverunion S.A. Casa de Bolsa; -- Carlos Sevilleja; -- Cosmorex Ltd.; -- Creative Finance Limited; -- Invesdex Ltd.(ICL); -- Renaissance Advisory Services Limited; and -- Banvalor Banco de Inversion * Investors in the Rogers Raw Materials Fund, L.P. and Rogers International Raw Materials Fund, L.P.: -- N Williams Family Investments Limited Partnership, -- Morgan Investments Limited Partnership, -- Joseph L. & Frances L. Simek Family Investments, Ltd., -- Ronald L. Simek Family Investments, Ltd., -- Ronald L. Simek 1978 Irrevocable Trust, -- Gerald George, Sr., -- John Bouma, and -- David Sebold The parties generally agree with the Debtors' objective to expedite and simplify the litigation procedure on the estate property issue. JPMorgan believes that Debtors' Motion should be granted since a class action will provide the most effective procedure for adjudication of the competing claims to the assets in JPMorgan's possession and will avoid duplicative and potentially inconsistent actions and results. However, the parties point out that the Debtors' proposed procedures do not provide for a sufficient number of subclasses to cover the different laws governing the various RCM accounts. The Debtors' motion also does not provide for discovery by the RCM customers with respect to relevant factual matters that may impact on a determination of the legal issues. According to the objecting parties, the Debtors' motion does not clearly demonstrate the existence of common issues of law and fact among the account-holders, and fails to advance adequate procedures for making that determination. At a minimum, the Debtors need to make additional factual disclosures to enable the proposed class members to assess the commonality issue and the potential need for subclasses. The Debtors' proposed procedures is too broad and generalized in light of the apparent differences underlying the various claims asserted to date, the parties note. Bank of America asserts that as Agent to the Debtors' prepetition lenders, it should be afforded the same opportunity as the Creditors' Committee to participate in the litigation of the estate property issue. Bank of America argues that it should be afforded that right because the value of the Secured Lenders Collateral clearly may be affected by the outcome of that litigation. Capital Management Select Fund believes that expedited discovery is necessary to understand, account for and locate the assets held by, for, or on account of RCM and RCM customers. Until that discovery occurs, however, Capital Management says, no determination can be made regarding whether any class action adversary proceeding is the appropriate mechanism to achieve the "controlled and orderly procedure" sought by the Debtors. A number of parties also object to the automatic stay of all individual account holder actions pending the completion of the proposed class action. Headquartered in New York, New York, Refco Inc. -- http://www.refco.com/-- is a diversified financial services organization with operations in 14 countries and an extensive global institutional and retail client base. Refco's worldwide subsidiaries are members of principal U.S. and international exchanges, and are among the most active members of futures exchanges in Chicago, New York, London and Singapore. In addition to its futures brokerage activities, Refco is a major broker of cash market products, including foreign exchange, foreign exchange options, government securities, domestic and international equities, emerging market debt, and OTC financial and commodity products. Refco is one of the largest global clearing firms for derivatives. The Company and 23 of its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on Oct. 17, 2005 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 05-60006). J. Gregory Milmoe, Esq., at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, represent the Debtors in their restructuring efforts. Refco reported $16.5 billion in assets and $16.8 billion in debts to the Bankruptcy Court on the first day of its chapter 11 cases. (Refco Bankruptcy News, Issue No. 9; Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., 215/945-7000) CONTACT: REFCO INC. One World Financial Center 200 Liberty Street, Tower A New York, New York 10281 Web site: http://www.refco.com RK CLOTHING: Files for Liquidation ---------------------------------- R. Kumar, shareholder of RK Clothing Manufacturers Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Oct. 27 at 50 Newhall Street, Birmingham B3 3QE. Gagen Dulari Sharma was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: RK CLOTHING MANUFACTURERS LTD. 300-306 Park Road Birmingham B18 5HE West Midlands Phone: 0121 551 1379 Fax: 0121 551 1379 SABAR PROJECTS: Calls in Liquidators from Kroll ----------------------------------------------- D. Smith, chairman of Sabar Projects Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Nov. 2 at Premier Lodge, G Mex, Manchester. David J. Whitehouse and Simon Wilson of Kroll, The Observatory, Chapel Walks, Manchester M2 1HL were appointed Joint Liquidators. CONTACT: SABAR PROJECTS LTD. 15 High Street Cheadle Cheshire SK8 1AX Phone: 0161 491 6661 SANCTUARY GROUP: EGM to Discuss Capital Loss -------------------------------------------- As previously indicated in an announcement issued on 28 October, notice is hereby given that an Extraordinary General Meeting of Sanctuary Group plc will be held at the offices of the Company at Sanctuary House, 45-53 Sinclair Road, London, W14 0NS on 20 December 2005 at 9:00 a.m. for the purpose of considering, in accordance with section 142 of the Companies Act 1985, whether any, and if so what, steps should be taken to deal with the situation that the net assets of the Company are less than half of its called-up share capital. No resolution is being put to the Extraordinary General Meeting in respect of the serious loss of capital. Formal notices of the Extraordinary General Meeting have been posted. About the Company The Sanctuary Group plc is one of the world's leading developers of music intellectual property rights (IPR), with offices in London, New York, Berlin, Houston and Los Angeles. In 2004, Sanctuary recorded a turnover of GBP221 million and a group profit of GBP16.1 million. The Artist Management arm of Sanctuary comprises: Music World Entertainment (part of Sanctuary Urban) based in Houston; Trinifold Management based in London; Sanctuary Artist Management (London, Los Angeles, New York and Berlin) and Sanctuary Entertainment (London). Sanctuary's visual rights licensing and merchandising operations, Bravado and World Online, are part of the Artist Services division and have clients ranging from Elton John, Robbie Williams and Simon and Garfunkel to Eminem, Christina Aguilera, 50 Cent and Hilary Duff. On September 21, due to a number of operational and trading problems, the company said it is likely to generate a loss at EBITDA level before exceptional items such as restructuring costs and provisions. The Group has also suffered from recent negative commentary as a result of poor trading in 2005 and this has had an adverse impact in particular in the Records division. It would be looking at disposals of a number of non-core businesses, following the completion of the sale of its Book Publishing division to Music Sales. CONTACT: THE SANCTUARY GROUP PLC Sanctuary House 45 - 53 Sinclair Road London W14 0NS Phone: +44 (0)20 7602 6351 Fax: +44 (0)20 7603 5941 E-mail: info@sanctuarygroup.com Web site: http://www.sanctuarygroup.com SCOTTISH POWER: Abandons Takeover Talks with E.ON ------------------------------------------------- Scottish Power said on Tuesday it had ended takeover talks with Germany's E.ON AG. According to the Financial Times, independent advice from Morgan Stanley and UBS say the offer did not reflect fair value for the asset. Besides, shareholders won't gent any money until 2007 anyway. E.ON's latest proposal, which was made on Nov. 18, offered 570p a share plus normal dividend payments. However, there would have been conditions around the payout of GBP2.5 billion (US$4.3 billion) to shareholders from the sale of the U.S. generation business Pacificorp, the report said. ScottishPower was subject of takeover speculations in the U.K. after the sale in August of its U.S. arm PacificCorp to American billionaire Warren Buffet for a net loss of GBP442 million. The US$9.4 billion (GBP5.1 billion) disposal took about two-thirds off its value. Utility giants E.ON and Centrica were immediately linked to possible takeover. But analysts then think an acquisition by a U.K. player could meet face tough problems with regulator Ofgem, which is intent on maintaining tight competition on the power supply sector. Centrica, which is the owner of British gas and Scottish Gas, captures 57% of the gas market share in the U.K. German E.On's Powergen has nearly half of that, which is just a little bigger than ScottishPower's. The sale of PacifiCorp could take between 12 and 18 months to complete, giving the prospective buyers enough time to plot an acquisition strategy. CONTACT: SCOTTISH POWER PLC 1 Atlantic Quay Glasgow G2 8SP, United Kingdom Phone: +44-141-248-8200 Fax: +44-141-248-8300 Web site: http://www.scottishpower.plc.uk Jennifer Lawton, Head of Investor Relations Phone: 0141 636 4527 David Ross, Investor Relations Manager Phone: 0141 566 4853 Colin McSeveny, Group Media Relations Manager Phone: 0141 636 4515 SOUTH CLEVELAND: In Liquidation ------------------------------- W. Robson, director of South Cleveland Garages (Middlesbrough) Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Oct. 13 at Fergusson & Co Ltd, Shackleton House, Falcon Court, Preston Farm Industrial Estate TS18 3TS. Malcolm Edward Fergusson was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: SOUTH CLEVELAND GARAGES Brenda Road Hartlepool Cleveland TS22 2BQ Phone: 01429 230900 01429 230901 SUNLEY TURRIFF: Construction Firm Crumbles into Liquidation ----------------------------------------------------------- Sunley Turriff Construction Limited has gone into liquidation, said ICC Credit. Founded in 1993, the Manchester-based company operates as building and civil engineering contractor. In 1995, it incurred losses of GBP4.5 million. While it booked its highest turnover of GBP95 million in 1998, Sunley Turiff has not been profitable since then. Two years ago, it was slapped with a GBP8,000 fine following the result of a prosecution by Health and Safety Executive. This came on top of several lawsuits and a total of 7 County Court Judgments. Meanwhile, ICC Credit noted that 6% of U.K. firms in the construction industry are in liquidation, with 9% of them facing County Court Judgments. CONTACT: SUNLEY TURRIFF CONSTRUCTION LIMITED Targeting House, Gadbrook Park Northwich, Cheshire CW9 7UY SYSTEMATIC COMMERCIAL: Owners Decide to Wind up Firm ---------------------------------------------------- Duncan Titcombe, chairman of Systematic Commercial Interiors Limited, informs that resolutions to wind up the company were passed at an EGM held on Oct. 28 at Hilton Newbury North Hotel, Oxford Road. Peter Bridger was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: SYSTEMATIC COMMERCIAL INTERIORS LTD. Red Shute Hill Red Shute Hill Industrial Estate Hermitage Thatcham RG18 9QL Berkshire Phone: 01635 201789 Fax: 01635 200996 Web site: http://www.systematicinteriors.co.uk TDAO LTD.: Creditors Meeting Set Next Week ------------------------------------------ Creditors of TDAO Ltd.(Company No 03222070) will meet on November 28, 2005, 11 a.m. at Vantis, Stoughton House, Harborough Road, Oadby, Leicester LE2 4LP. Creditors who want to be represented at the meeting may appoint proxies. Proxy forms must be submitted together with written debt claims to Lynn Robert Bailey and Alan Roy Limb of Vantis Numerica, Stoughton House, Harborough Road, Oadby, Leicester LE2 4LP not later than 12:00 noon, November 25, 2005. CONTACT: VANTIS NUMERICA Stoughton House Harborough Road Oadby Leicestershire LE2 4LP Phone: 0116 272 8200 Fax: 0116 271 5472 E-mail: bob.bailey@numerica.biz Web site: http://www.vantisnumerica.com UNITOWN LTD.: Files for Liquidation ----------------------------------- B. Brownstein, director of Unitown Limited, informs that a resolution to wind up the company was passed at an EGM held on Oct. 31 at Hodgsons, George House, 48 George Street, Manchester M1 4HF. Lawrence Freedman of Hodgsons, George House, 48 George Street, Manchester M1 4HF was appointed liquidator. CONTACT: UNITOWN LIMITED Brunswick Square Union Street Oldham, Lancashire OL1 1DE Phone: 0161-833-3040 HODGSONS George House 48 George Street Manchester Greater Manchester M1 4HF Phone: 0161 228 7444 Fax: 0161 228 735 E-mail: dmond@hodgsons.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., Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Frederick, Maryland USA. Larri-Nil Veloso, Ma. Cristina Canson, Liv Arcipe, Julybien Atadero and Jay Malaga, Editors. Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2754. 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