/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/091217.mbx
T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R
E U R O P E
Thursday, December 17, 2009, Vol. 10, No. 249
Headlines
B U L G A R I A
SOFIA PROPERTY: Bulgarian Unit Faces Insolvency Petition
C Y P R U S
CONTINENTAL BANK: Seized by Central Bank, Referans Says
YESILADA BANK: Seized by Central Bank, Referans Says
D E N M A R K
PRIVATE BRICKS: Moody's Cuts Ratings on Class C CDS to Low-B
F I N L A N D
DYNEA INTERNATIONAL: Moody's Confirms 'Caa1' Corp. Family Ratings
F R A N C E
BELVEDERE SA: EUR375MM Floating-Rate Notes Recognized as Debt
G E R M A N Y
LANDESBANK BADEN: European Commission Approves Bailout
TUI AG: Full-Year Profit Up to US$48MM Following Hapag Stake Sale
G R E E C E
GENERAL BANK: Fitch Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to 'D'
* GREECE: S&P Cuts Long-Term Sovereign Credit Rating to BBB+
I R E L A N D
FLEMING GROUP: Rescue Plan Lacks 'Financial Support', Court Hears
HARVEST CLO: Moody's Junks Ratings on Two Classes of Notes
THUNDERBIRD INVESTMENTS: S&P Cuts Rating on Class C Notes to 'B+'
K A Z A K H S T A N
ABERA COMPANY: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
ALLIANCE BANK: Creditors Approve KZT677 Bln Restructuring Plan
BATYS TSEMENT: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
BEREKE LLP: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
EXCUSIVE INT: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
KAZAKHTELECOM JSC: S&P Gives Stable Outlook; Keeps 'BB' Rating
KK COMPANY: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
MAGIC STONE: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
NIK TEL: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
PRIONA LTD: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
RIGHT FINANCE: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
SAN TEREK: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
K Y R G Y Z S T A N
DIABIS LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by January 13
KYRGYZSTAN JSC: Creditors Must File Claims by January 13
NEAR CUSTOMS: Creditors Must File Claims by January 13
L U X E M B O U R G
EUROMAX IV: S&P Downgrades Rating on Class D Notes to 'CCC+'
N E T H E R L A N D S
EUROPE CAPITAL: Moody's Cuts Rating on Class V Notes to 'Caa2'
LEVERAGED FINANCE: Moody's Cuts Ratings on Two Notes to 'Caa3'
N O R W A Y
NTM REFICTIO: Files Bankruptcy Petition, Petromena Says
R U S S I A
BESH-MET LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
BTA BANK: Moody's Reviews 'Caa2' Long-Term Deposit Ratings
DOBROSTROY LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
EUROPEAN TRUST: Moody's Reviews 'E+' Bank Strength Rating
GAZPROM JSC: S&P Gives Negative Outlook; Affirms Corporate Rating
REGINA CONFECTIONARY: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
REM-LES-STROY: A. Saranin Named Temporary Insolvency Manager
RUS' LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
VEST CONSTRUCTION: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
ZHIL-STROY: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
S P A I N
CAIXA PENEDES: Fitch Junks Ratings on Class C Notes From 'B'
TDA IBERCAJA: S&P Assigns 'CCC-' Prelim. Rating on Class C Notes
S W E D E N
GENERAL MOTORS: Spyker In Last-Ditch Talks to Acquire Saab
U N I T E D K I N G D O M
BORDERS U.K.: MCR In Advanced Talks with Potential Buyers
CATTLES PLC: Shareholders Mull Legal Action Against Ex-Directors
LANSDOWNE MORTGAGES: Fitch Lowers Ratings on Two Tranches to 'B'
LLOYDS TSB: Fitch Upgrades Ratings on Tier 1 Security to 'BB+'
NORTHERN ROCK: Richard Pym to Chair "Bad" Bank
PREMIUM BARS: Orchid Group Completes Purchase of 43 Businesses
ROYAL BANK: EU Commission Approves Restructuring Plan
TORITH LTD: In Administration; 110 Jobs Affected
* UK: Moulton Mulls GBP142.4 Million Fund IPO for Distressed Bets
X X X X X X X X
* Upcoming Meetings, Conferences and Seminars
*********
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B U L G A R I A
===============
SOFIA PROPERTY: Bulgarian Unit Faces Insolvency Petition
--------------------------------------------------------
James Whitmore at Property Week reports that Sofia Property Fund,
an AIM-listed Bulgarian investor, has received a claim for its
Bulgarian subsidiary to be declared insolvent.
According to the report, the company, which changed its name from
Lewis Charles Sofia Property Fund two weeks ago, said Tuesday it
had received an indication from joint venture development partner,
Westhill BG8 AD, that it had lodged a claim petitioning for
insolvency proceedings to be brought against the company's
Bulgarian subsidiary.
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C Y P R U S
===========
CONTINENTAL BANK: Seized by Central Bank, Referans Says
-------------------------------------------------------
Mark Bentley at Bloomberg News, citing Referans, reports that the
central bank seized Continental Bank and Yesilada Bank after the
two Northern Cyprus-based lenders failed to bolster their capital
against the effects of the global financial crisis.
According to Bloomberg, Referans said the two banks have assets
totaling CYP87.1 million (US$58 million).
Bloomberg says Northern Cyprus may be faced with a banking crisis
following the seizures.
YESILADA BANK: Seized by Central Bank, Referans Says
----------------------------------------------------
Mark Bentley at Bloomberg News, citing Referans, reports that the
central bank seized Continental Bank and Yesilada Bank after the
two Northern Cyprus-based lenders failed to bolster their capital
against the effects of the global financial crisis.
According to Bloomberg, Referans said the two banks have assets
totaling CYP87.1 million (US$58 million).
Bloomberg says Northern Cyprus may be faced with a banking crisis
following the seizures.
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D E N M A R K
=============
PRIVATE BRICKS: Moody's Cuts Ratings on Class C CDS to Low-B
------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has downgraded these ratings of the
mezzanine and the junior Credit Default Swaps in Private Bricks
2005-I and Private Bricks 2007-I, two Danish synthetic RMBS
transactions:
Private Bricks 2005-I
- B CDS, downgraded to Aa2, previously assigned Aa1 on 23
December 2005
- C CDS, downgraded to Ba2, previously assigned Baa2 on 23
December 2005
Private Bricks 2007-I
- B CDS, downgraded to Aa2, previously assigned Aa1 on 9 January
2007
- C CDS, downgraded to Ba1, previously assigned Baa2 on 9
January 2007
Moody's says that the downgrades were prompted by the recent
worse-than-expected performance of the collateral and the
weakening of the macro-economic environment in Denmark, including
the expected increase in unemployment rates projected for 2009 and
2010 as well as the severe deterioration of the Danish housing
market.
Unemployment in Denmark has risen from 1.2% in summer 2008 to 3.9%
currently and is expected to increase to 5.5% to 6% by 2011.
Danish house prices have been decreasing for nine consecutive
quarters, with an average drop from the peak of 14.9% for houses
and 23.8% for apartments. The house price depreciation has been
particularly severe in Copenhagen and the surrounding area, where
house price decline for apartments has been in the range of from
32% to 36% from the peak. About 40% of the collateral pool in
each of the transactions is concentrated in Copenhagen and the
surrounding area. House prices are expected to stabilize in the
second half of 2010 but are expected to remain weak until 2011.
For more detailed information on the macroeconomic trends and
forecasts, please refer to Moody's Economy.Com.
Transaction Overview
Private Bricks 2005-I and Private Bricks 2007-I closed in December
2005 and January 2007, respectively. The transactions are backed
by portfolios of first-ranking (or first and sequential lower
ranking) mortgage loans denominated in Danish Kroner, originated
by Realkredit Danmark A/S, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Danske
Bank A/S (Aa3/P-1) and secured on residential properties located
in Denmark. At closing, the amounts of mortgage loans securitized
in these transactions were DKK60.0 billion (EUR8.0 billion) in
Private Bricks 2005-I and DKK126.7 billion (EUR17.0 billion) in
Private Bricks 2007-I. Both transactions had revolving periods,
which end on the next payment date in January 2010. The notional
amounts of the CDS will then start to amortize sequentially,
starting with the senior CDS. Both transactions feature a call
option by Danske Bank. However, due to their optional character,
Moody's does not take into account these call options in its
ratings analysis and the rating action is therefore independent of
whether or not Danske Bank decides to exercise the call options.
The weighted average LTV at closing was approximately 67.0% in
Private Bricks 2005-I and 65.5% in Private Bricks 2007-I. During
the revolving period, the weighted average LTV has declined to the
current levels of 60.2% and 62.4%, respectively. The weighted
average indexed LTV is currently 58.5% in Private Bricks 2005-I
and 62.9% in Private Bricks 2007-I. However, as a result of the
house price depreciation after closing, approximately 4.7% of the
outstanding portfolio of Private Bricks 2005-I is currently
characterized by an indexed LTV higher than 100% (6.8% in Private
Bricks 2007-I).
Arrears in the transactions have increased considerably in recent
quarters from their previously very low levels. 60 days plus
delinquencies have reached 0.49% in Private Bricks 2005-I and
0.58% in Private Bricks 2007-I, compared to an average of 0.10%
before 2008 in both transactions. Losses have begun to
materialize and cumulative losses allocated to the structure are
currently equal to 0.03% of original balance for Private Bricks
2005-I and 0.04% of original balance for Private Bricks 2007-I.
To date, the average loss severity has been 27.5% in Private
Bricks 2005-I and 29.8% in Private Bricks 2007-I. Loss severities
vary considerably between loans, in some cases reaching 80% and
higher.
Revised Performance Expectations
Moody's has re-assessed its lifetime loss expectation for Private
Bricks 2005-I and Private Bricks 2007-I to reflect the collateral
performance to date as well as its updated expectations for these
transactions considering the macroeconomic environment in Denmark.
Taking into account the current amount of realized losses, and
completing a roll-rate and severity analysis for the non-defaulted
portion of the portfolio, Moody's has updated the portfolio
expected loss assumption to 0.30% from 0.20% of original balance
plus cumulative replenishments in Private Bricks 2005-I and to
0.35% from 0.17% of original balance plus cumulative
replenishments in Private Bricks 2007-I. When increasing the
expected loss assumption Moody's has taken into account the
recently reported high loss severities in the loans enforced upon
experienced by the collateral pools. Given the moderate weighted-
average LTV of the pools, these levels of loss severity are higher
than Moody's initially expected.
As part of its analysis, Moody's has also assessed loan-by-loan
information for the outstanding portfolios to determine the credit
support consistent with target rating levels and the volatility of
the distribution of future losses using "Moody's Methodology for
Rating RMBS in Europe, Middle East and Africa". In this review,
Moody's has updated its expectation of house price decline in a
stressed scenario using the rating methodology "A Framework for
Stressing House Prices in RMBS Transactions in EMEA", July 2008.
As Denmark is among the EMEA countries that are likely to be the
most affected by a severe negative economic shock, the stress
applied on the house prices has been 52% on average in each pool.
Moody's has also stressed the loss severity assumption to account
for the high loss severities recently experienced by the pools.
As a result, Moody's has revised its MILAN Aaa credit enhancement
assumptions to 2.85% from 1.85% at closing for Private Bricks
2005-I and to 3.20% from 2.38% at closing for Private Bricks 2007-
I. The loss expectation and the Milan Aaa CE are the two key
parameters used by Moody's to calibrate its loss distribution
curve, which is one of the core inputs in the cash-flow model it
uses to rate RMBS transactions. Current credit enhancement under
the Aaa-rated Senior CDS is 7.47% for Private Bricks 2005-I and
9.16% for Private Bricks 2007-I as at the last payment date in
October.
Moody's ratings address the expected loss posed to investors by
the legal final maturity of the notes. Moody's ratings address
only the credit risks associated with the transaction. Other
risks have not been addressed, but may have a significant effect
on yield to investors.
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F I N L A N D
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DYNEA INTERNATIONAL: Moody's Confirms 'Caa1' Corp. Family Ratings
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has confirmed the probability of default
and corporate family ratings of Dynea International Oy at Caa1.
The outlook on the ratings is negative. This concludes the review
for possible downgrade process initiated by Moody's on 17th
September 2009.
The confirmation of the ratings was prompted by a sequential
improvement of the operating performance of Dynea International
Oy alleviating short term liquidity pressures from a potential
covenant breach at the end of September 2009. Dynea has posted
an EBITDA of EUR11 million during the third quarter of fiscal
year 2009 (Q2: EUR8 million; Q1: EUR3 million) and generated
Funds from Operations of EUR9 million for the same period (Q2:
EUR4 million; Q1: EUR3 million) illustrating the sequential
improvement in the cash flow generation of the group
notwithstanding that operating metrics remain significantly below
last year's level (EUR16 million EBITDA and EUR14 million FFO in
Q3 2008). Moody's expects the operating performance of Dynea to
only very gradually improve over time and does not exclude
setbacks in operating performance in the short to medium term as
most of the recovery in volumes in Q2 and Q3 2009 was driven by
the end of heavy destocking patterns across the entire chemicals
value chain.
The negative outlook assigned to the ratings continues to reflect
heightened uncertainty with regards to future demand levels for
Dynea's end products coupled with rising input costs which could
further exert pressure on the operating margins and cash flow
generation of the group. Moody's also notes that Dynea, alongside
other competitors in the European chemicals industry might need to
adjust production capacity if volumes and capacity utilization
does not restore to more sustainable levels in the short to medium
term.
Moody's notes that the capital structure of Dynea International
includes a high proportion of subordinated shareholder loans
(approximately 60% of the group's financial indebtedness), which
the agency believes have limited rights upon bankruptcy. The
presence of this instrument in the capital structure is expected
to enhance the recovery prospects for other third-party creditors
in the corporate family.
The last rating action was on September 17, 2009, when Dynea
International Oy was downgraded to Caa1 and placed under review
for downgrade.
Dynea International Oy is a diversified specialty chemicals group
headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. The group produces industrial
and panelboard resins as well as interior and engineered wood
solutions for the construction, furniture, automotive and
machinery & equipment industry. Dynea reported 2008 revenues of
EUR864 million and an EBITDA of EUR41 million.
===========
F R A N C E
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BELVEDERE SA: EUR375MM Floating-Rate Notes Recognized as Debt
-------------------------------------------------------------
Heather Smith at Bloomberg News reports that the commercial court
in Dijon, France, has ruled that Belvedere SA must include
EUR375 million (US$546 million) in floating-rate notes as part of
its liabilities.
Bloomberg says the notes accounted for more than three-quarters of
Belvedere's long-term debt as of June 30 and hadn't been included
as part of the debt to be paid over 10 years under a recovery plan
approved by the court.
Documentation showed "clearly" that the trustee for the
noteholders, Bank of New York Mellon Corp., was "the one and only
direct creditor" for the floating-rate note debt, the court said
in its decision, according to Bloomberg. "We declare each of the
Bank of New York Mellon statements admissible as part of the
liabilities of Belvedere."
Bloomberg recalls Belvedere filed for pre-insolvency protection
from creditors in July 2008 after violating terms of the notes by
repurchasing more of its stock than allowed.
Belvedere will appeal the court's decision, arguing the floating-
rate notes group and the trustee improperly declared themselves to
the bankruptcy court and therefore didn't have to be paid as part
of its recovery plan, Bloomberg discloses citing an e-mailed
statement.
Belvedere SA -- http://www.belvedere.fr/-- is a France-based
company engaged in the production and distribution of beverages.
The Company’s range of products includes vodka and spirits, wines,
and other beverages, under such brands as Sobieski, William Peel,
Marie Brizard, Danzka and others. Belvedere SA operates through
its subsidiaries, including Belvedere Czeska, Belvedere
Scandinavia, Belvedere Baltic, Belvedere Capital Management,
Sobieski SARL and Sobieski USA, among others. It is present in a
number of countries, such as Poland, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Denmark,
France, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, the United States and others. In
addition, the Company holds a minority stake in Abbaye de
Talloires, involved in the hotel and wellness centre activities.
=============
G E R M A N Y
=============
LANDESBANK BADEN: European Commission Approves Bailout
------------------------------------------------------
Matthew Newman and Jann Bettinga at Bloomberg News report that the
European Commission in Brussels approved Landesbank Baden-
Wuerttemberg's rescue and reorganization plan after the bank
agreed to cut assets and change the way it supervises management.
Bloomberg recalls LBBW's owners, including the state of
Baden-Wuerttemberg, agreed in April to inject EUR5 billion
(US$7.3 billion) in capital and cover potential losses of as much
as EUR12.7 billion amid the financial crisis.
The bank said in October it would shed about 2,500 jobs by 2013,
reduce assets by 40% and close or divest subsidiaries as part of a
reorganization to obtain EU approval for the bailout, Bloomberg
recounts.
Headquartered in Stuttgart, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg --
http://www.lbbw.de/-- acts as the central bank to savings banks
in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The bank handles large
transactions (wholesale banking, financial securities, foreign
exchange) too costly for the smaller state savings banks. It also
provides traditional retail banking, real estate and commercial
loans, and portfolio management services. The bank has
approximately 230 branches. Through subsidiaries such as Sud
Private Equity, SudFactoring, and SudLeasing Immobilien, among
others, LBBW also provides leasing, factoring, venture capital,
and equity financing services.
TUI AG: Full-Year Profit Up to US$48MM Following Hapag Stake Sale
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Holger Elfes at Bloomberg News reports that TUI AG said its net
income increased to EUR333.3 milion (US$48 million) in the year
ended September, from EUR33.7 million in the same period a year
earlier, after selling a majority stake in the Hapag-Lloyd
shipping line.
According to Bloomberg, TUI had a gain of EUR1.1 billion on the
sale of about 57% of Hapag to a Hamburg-based group of investors.
That helped offset a loss at TUI Travel Plc, its main asset, which
has cut flights in response to lower tourism demand, Bloomberg
says.
TUI AG -- http://www.tui-group.com/en/-- is a Germany-based
company mainly engaged in the tourism sector, focusing on the
markets of Central, Northern and Western Europe. TUI owns a
network of travel agencies and tour operators, including air
tours, Thomson, First Choice and TUI Deutschland. It also
operates several airlines, including Corsairfly, Thomsonfly and
First Choice Airways, among others. The Company is structured
into three segments: TUI Travel, TUI Hotels and Resorts, and
Cruises. TUI Travel comprises the Company’s distribution, tour
operating, airline and incoming activities and services over 30
million customers in 180 countries. The TUI Hotels and Resorts
division offers a portfolio of 238 hotels, located in Spain,
Greece, Egypt, France, Turkey, Tunisia, the Balearics and the
Caribbean, among others. The Cruises sector comprises Hapag-Lloyd
Kreuzfahrten GmbH and TUI Cruises which provide luxury cruises,
and cruises within the German-speaking countries, respectively.
* * *
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on Sept. 21,
2009, Moody's Investors Service lowered the Corporate Family
Rating and Probability of Default Rating of TUI AG to Caa1 from
B3. At the same time, the unsecured rating and the subordinated
rating were lowered from Caa1 to Caa2 and from Caa2 to Caa3,
respectively. Moody's said the outlook is negative.
===========
G R E E C E
===========
GENERAL BANK: Fitch Cuts Bank Financial Strength Rating to 'D'
--------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service downgraded the bank financial strength
rating of General Bank of Greece SA (Geniki) to D from D+ and
affirmed its deposit ratings at Baa1/Prime-2. The outlook on all
ratings was changed to negative.
The rating action reflects the accelerated weakening in economic
and operating conditions in Greece, and its likely impact on the
bank's financial fundamentals and recovery prospects. For the
nine months to September 2009, the bank reported losses of
EUR51.4 million and this is now the sixth consecutive year in
which it has reported losses.
According to Moody's, the bank's poor earnings record is partly
the result of weak asset quality, as despite improvements noted in
the period 2004-2008, non-performing/impaired loans remain at high
levels and have resumed their deteriorating trend in the past 12
months. Impaired loans accounted for 13.5% of gross loans in
December 2008 and are likely to rise to between 16% and 18% in
2009. The bank has also progressively become more dependent on
Societe Generale (SG, Geniki's 54% major shareholder) to fund its
business and growth; as at September 2009, funding from SG
accounted for 26% of total assets (2006: 14%) with the loans-to-
deposits ratio at 153% (2006: 112%).
Geniki's D BFSR also reflects its currently adequate
capitalisation (following a successful EUR176 million rights issue
in July 2009), the initial results of management's cost--cutting
initiatives and the support provided by SG through its active
involvement in the bank's management, which brings skills,
expertise and international know-how to support Geniki's franchise
development. The SG relationship also gives Geniki access to the
group's global network, expertise and technology and has been
beneficial in the fields of risk management, organizational
structure, operational/IT systems and customer segmentation.
Despite the downgrade of the BFSR to D, Moody's has affirmed
Geniki's deposit ratings at Baa1/Prime-2, given the very high
probability of parental support (from SG) and moderate probability
of systemic support.
The outlook on Geniki's ratings was changed to negative to reflect
Moody's concerns regarding: (i) the longevity and severity of the
economic crisis in Greece; and (ii) the potential impact of such
economic downturn on the bank's financial fundamentals, and
specifically on its asset quality and earnings. If Geniki remains
loss-making and continues to suffer from heavy provisioning
charges as a result of a continued high level of impaired loans,
then the BFSR could be further downgraded.
Moody's previous rating action on Geniki was on 14 April 2009,
when the deposit ratings were downgraded to Baa1/Prime-2 from
A3/Prime-1.
Headquartered in Athens, Greece, General Bank of Greece S.A.
reported total assets of EUR4.804 billion as at end -- September
2009.
* GREECE: S&P Cuts Long-Term Sovereign Credit Rating to BBB+
------------------------------------------------------------
Dow Jones Newswires' John Kell reports Standard & Poor's Ratings
Services downgraded Greece and warned more cuts could come, saying
the nation's planned measures to reduce its high fiscal deficit
were unlikely to lead to a sustainable reduction in the public
debt burden.
S&P lowered Greece's long-term sovereign credit rating by one
notch to BBB+, or three notches into investment grade territory,
and the ratings remain on watch for further downgrade. The report
says the new rating matches Fitch's cut, while Moody's Investors
Service has the rating three notches higher at A1.
According to Mr. Kell, S&P said due to higher revisions to its
projections of Greece's debt and deficit levels, and the
anticipated cost to the government of servicing those obligations,
it saw Greece's fiscal flexibility "diminishing more than we had
previously expected." S&P expects double-digit general government
deficits as a percentage of gross domestic product this year and
next to raise the debt burden sharply, to 126% of GDP in 2010 and
around 138% in 2012.
S&P warned Greece could face further ratings cuts if the
government wasn't able to gain political support to implement a
credible medium-term fiscal consolidation program.
"We believe that the government's efforts to reform the public
finances face domestic obstacles that would likely require
sustained efforts over a number of years to overcome," warned
analyst Marko Mrsnik, according to Mr. Kell.
Prime Minister George Papandreou on Monday said Greece would bring
its deficit down from nearly 13% of gross domestic product this
year to 3% in 2013, the maximum allowed under European Union
rules. According to Mr. Kell, the speech was met with skepticism
by many economists and investors who said it contained few new
concrete proposals to cut spending or raise more tax revenue --
and a downgrade by S&P was feared.
According to Dow Jones, markets responded calmly to the move, with
the euro losing a bit of ground against the dollar. According to
Dow Jones, Jacob Oubina, currency strategist at Forex.com in
Bedminster, N.J., said S&P's move to put Greece on watch for
downgrade last week, along with Fitch Ratings' cut, had more
impact on the euro.
Dow Jones relates Greece thrived after adopting the euro in 2001.
Rules for adopting the currency led to lower interest rates, which
triggered consumer and housing booms. But Greece has been buffeted
by the fallout from the financial crisis. Shipping companies lost
business, and though the economy grew until the first quarter of
this year, it was hit this summer with falling tourism.
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I R E L A N D
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FLEMING GROUP: Rescue Plan Lacks 'Financial Support', Court Hears
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ACC claims Fleming Group survival plan lacks 'financial support'
BreakingNews.ie reports that the Supreme Court heard Tuesday that
the survival scheme for the Fleming construction group does not
contain any commitment of continuing financial support from its
banking creditors.
The report relates in its appeal to the Supreme Court against the
High Court's decision approving a ten-year rescue plan for three
companies in the group, ACC have claimed that there there is no
evidence that other banks, Anglo Irish Bank Bank of Scotland
Ireland and AIB, will provide working capital required to save the
group.
According to the report, lawyers for the examiner George Maloney
have, however, argued that the scheme is dependent on receiving
funding from the banks who have already "overwhelmingly" voted in
favor of the scheme.
The Fleming group has debts of some EUR1 billion, including EUR260
million to Anglo Irish Bank and EUR21.5 million to Dutch-owned
ACC, the report says. The survival scheme was approved by Mr.
Justice Brian McGovern at the High Court and was due to become
effective last month, the report recounts. But as a result of
ACC's appeal, it has been stayed pending the outcome of the
appeal, the report notes.
The scheme provides for a sale of the group’s contracting arm and
other assets to a new company, Donban, for EUR3.6 million, the
report discloses. It also leaves secured bank creditors with
effective control of Fleming's property development business,
which has a number of connected sites in Sandyford, Co Dublin, the
report states.
HARVEST CLO: Moody's Junks Ratings on Two Classes of Notes
----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service took these rating actions on notes
issued by Harvest CLO III plc. The Class A remains Aaa mainly due
to the current high over collateralization levels.
-- EUR77,000,000 Class B Senior Floating Rate Notes due 2021,
Downgraded to Baa1; previously on Mar 4, 2009 Aa2 Placed
Under Review for Possible Downgrade
-- EUR30,750,000 Class C-1 Senior Subordinated Deferrable
Floating Rate Notes due 2021, Downgraded to Ba2; previously
on Mar 19, 2009 Downgraded to Baa3 and Remained On Review for
Possible Downgrade
-- EUR12,000,000 Class C-2 Senior Subordinated Deferrable Fixed
Rate Notes due 2021, Downgraded to Ba2; previously on Mar 19,
2009 Downgraded to Baa3 and Remained On Review for Possible
Downgrade
-- EUR16,750,000 Class D-1 Senior Subordinated Deferrable
Floating Rate Notes due 2021, Downgraded to B2; previously on
Mar 19, 2009 Downgraded to Ba3 and Remained On Review for
Possible Downgrade
-- EUR9,250,000 Class D-2 Senior Subordinated Deferrable Fixed
Rate Notes due 2021, Downgraded to B2; previously on Mar 19,
2009 Downgraded to Ba3 and Remained On Review for Possible
Downgrade
-- EUR15,750,000 Class E-1 Senior Subordinated Deferrable
Floating Rate Notes due 2021, Downgraded to Caa3; previously
on Mar 19, 2009 Downgraded to B3 and Remained On Review for
Possible Downgrade
-- EUR3,000,000 Class E-2 Senior Subordinated Deferrable Fixed
Rate Notes due 2021, Downgraded to Caa3; previously on
Mar 19, 2009 Downgraded to B3 and Remained On Review for
Possible Downgrade
-- EUR10,000,000 Class V Combination Notes due 2021, Downgraded
to B3; previously on Mar 4, 2009 Baa3 Placed Under Review for
Possible Downgrade
The ratings of the Class A, B, C-1, C-2, D-1, D-2, E-1 and E-2
notes address the expected loss posed to investors by their legal
final maturity in June 2021. The rating of the Class V
Combination Notes addresses the expected loss posed to investors
by the legal final maturity (in June 2021) as a proportion of the
rated balance, where the rated balance is equal, at any time, to
the principal amount of the combination notes on the closing date
plus a rated coupon of 2 per cent per annum minus the aggregate of
all payments made from the closing date to such date, either
through interest or principal payments.
This transaction is a managed cash leveraged loan collateralized
loan obligation with exposure to predominantly European senior
secured loans, as well as some mezzanine and second lien loan
exposure representing 21.4% of the collateral assets.
The rating actions reflect Moody's revised assumptions with
respect to default probability and the calculation of the
diversity score as described in the press release dated
February 4, 2009, titled "Moody's updates key assumptions for
rating CLOs." These revised assumptions have been applied to all
corporate credits in the underlying portfolio, the revised
assumptions for the treatment of ratings on "Review for Possible
Downgrade", "Review for Possible Upgrade", or with a "Negative
Outlook" being applied to those corporate credits that are
publicly rated.
Moody's also notes that a material proportion of the collateral
pool consists of debt obligations whose credit quality has been
assessed through Moody's credit estimates. As credit estimates do
not carry credit indicators such as ratings reviews and outlooks,
a stress of a quarter notch-equivalent assumed downgrade was
applied to each of these estimates.
According to Moody's, the rating actions taken on the notes are
also a result of credit deterioration of the underlying portfolio.
This is observed through a decline in the average credit rating as
measured through the portfolio weighted average rating factor
'WARF' (currently 2791), an increase in the amount of defaulted
securities (currently 9% of the portfolio), an increase in the
proportion of securities from issuers rated Caa1 and below
(currently 12% of the portfolio), and a failure of all par value
tests except class A/B par value test. These measures were taken
from the recent trustee report dated 30 November 2009. Moody's
also performed a number of sensitivity analyses, including
consideration of a further decline in portfolio WARF quality
combined with a decrease in the expected recovery rates. Due to
the impact of all the aforementioned stresses, key model inputs
used by Moody's in its analysis, such as par, weighted average
rating factor, and weighted average recovery rate, may be
different from trustee's reported numbers.
In addition to the quantitative factors that are explicitly
modelled, qualitative factors are part of the rating committee
considerations. These qualitative factors include the structural
protections of this transaction, the recent deal performance in
the current market environment, specific documentation features
and the collateral manager's track record. All information
available to rating committees, including macroeconomic forecasts,
input from other Moody's analytical groups, market factors, and
judgments regarding the nature and severity of credit stress on
the transactions, may influence the final rating decision.
THUNDERBIRD INVESTMENTS: S&P Cuts Rating on Class C Notes to 'B+'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its credit ratings on
Thunderbird Investments PLC's class A, B, and C notes series 11.
The downgrades reflect S&P's analysis of the current portfolio
composition and subordination level for all three classes of
notes. S&P based this analysis on updated data that the CDO
manager recently provided to the agency.
Ratings List
Thunderbird Investments PLC
EUR800 Million Secured Floating-Rate Notes Series 11 (Eurobird 1)
Ratings Lowered
Ratings
-------
Class To From
----- -- ----
A BBB A-
B BB+ BBB-
C B+ BB-
===================
K A Z A K H S T A N
===================
ABERA COMPANY: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
--------------------------------------------------------
LLP Micro Credit Company Abera Company is currently undergoing
liquidation. Creditors have until December 23, 2009, to submit
proofs of claim to:
Micro District Samal, 6-63
Astana
Kazakhstan
ALLIANCE BANK: Creditors Approve KZT677 Bln Restructuring Plan
--------------------------------------------------------------
Nariman Gizitdinov at Bloomberg News reports that Alliance Bank
said creditors approved a plan to restructure KZT677 billion
(US$4.5 billion) of debt.
Bloomberg relates Alliance said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement
the restructuring plan was backed by 95.1% of the bank's creditors
and will reduce its debt to about KZT150 billion.
Bloomberg recalls Alliance, then Kazakhstan's fourth-biggest
lender, defaulted in April after it found US$1.1 billion of
liabilities that weren't reflected on its balance sheet.
According to Bloomberg, Maksat Kabashev, the head of Kazakhstan’s
distressed-assets fund, who became CEO of Alliance in February
after the government made an emergency deposit of KZT24 billion as
the financial crisis weakened the nation’s banks, said the bank
plans to complete restructuring by March 1.
Mr. Kabashev, as cited by Bloomberg, said Kazakhstan will get a
67% stake in the bank under the restructuring plan, while
creditors will get 33%.
Based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Alliance Bank OA (LI:ALLB) --
http://www.alb.kz/-- a.k.a Alliance Bank JSC, is a commercial
bank. As at December 31, 2007, Alliance had 24 branches and 199
mini-branches in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Bank is
organized on the basis of three main segments: Retail banking,
which represents private banking services, private customer
current accounts, savings, deposits, investment savings products,
custody, credit and debit cards, consumer loans and mortgages;
Corporate banking, which represents direct debit facilities,
current accounts, deposits, overdrafts, loan and other credit
facilities, foreign currency and derivative products, and
Investment banking, which represents financial instruments
trading, structured financing, corporate leasing, and merger and
acquisitions advice.
* * *
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on June 9,
2009, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it lowered its
short-and long-term counterparty credit ratings on Kazakhstan-
based Alliance Bank JSC to 'D/D' (default) from 'SD/SD' (selective
default).
BATYS TSEMENT: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
--------------------------------------------------------
LLP Batys Tsement is currently undergoing liquidation. Creditors
have until December 23, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:
Jukov Str. 4-6
Uralsk
West Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
BEREKE LLP: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLP Bereke have until December 23, 2009, to submit
proofs of claim to:
Abylai Han Ave. 2
Almaty
Kazakhstan
The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Almaty commenced
bankruptcy proceedings against the company on August 25, 2009,
after finding it insolvent.
The Court is located at:
The Specialized Inter-Regional
Economic Court of Almaty
Baizakov Str. 273b
Almaty
Kazakhstan
EXCUSIVE INT: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
-------------------------------------------------------
LLP Studio Excusive Int. is currently undergoing liquidation.
Creditors have until December 23, 2009, to submit proofs of claim
to:
Begalin Str. 91
Almaty
Kazakhstan
KAZAKHTELECOM JSC: S&P Gives Stable Outlook; Keeps 'BB' Rating
--------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it had revised its
outlook on Kazakhstan's largest telecoms operator Kazakhtelecom
(JSC) to stable from negative. At the same time, the 'BB' long-
term corporate credit and 'kzA' Kazakhstan national scale ratings
on Kazakhtelecom were affirmed. The 'BB' and 'kzA' issue ratings
on Kazakhtelecom's Kazakhstani tenge (KZT) 45.5 billion (about
$306 million) unsecured notes were also affirmed and the '3'
recovery rating on the notes is unchanged.
"The outlook revision reflects the improvement of Kazakhtelecom's
liquidity position, following its recent successful refinancing,"
said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Alexander GriazNov.
In November 2009, Kazakhtelecom issued a KZT45.5 billion bond,
which allowed early repayment of the US$350 million syndicated
loan with original maturity in June 2010. The early repayment has
led to a meaningful improvement of Kazakhtelecom's liquidity
position, because it means the company will have minimal
maturities in 2010 and 2011, which can be fully serviced out of
operating cash flow.
The 'BB' rating on Kazakhtelecom is based on the company's stand-
alone credit profile, which S&P assesses at 'BB-', and on its view
that there is a "moderately high" likelihood that the government
of the Republic of Kazakhstan (foreign currency BBB-/Stable/A-3;
local currency BBB/Stable/A-3; Kazakhstan national scale 'kzAAA')
would provide timely and sufficient extraordinary support to
Kazakhtelecom, if Kazakhtelecom encountered periods of financial
distress.
Kazakhtelecom's stand-alone credit profile is constrained by the
weakening macroeconomic conditions in Kazakhstan, declining
profitability, and increasing leverage. It also is a sign of the
company's relatively weak operating performance, reflected among
other things by declining profitability. It also incorporates the
company's exposure to foreign exchange and interest rate risks.
On June 30, 2009, adjusted debt was KZT99 billion.
The key supporting factor for the stand-alone credit profile is
Kazakhtelecom's dominant market position in its key revenue
segments, which include local and long-distance telephony, data
transmission, Internet, and other value-added services.
Kazakhtelecom's improved, expanded network and vertically
integrated business model support its market leadership, which
will be hard to challenge over the next three years.
"We expect Kazakhtelecom to continue to generate stable and
predictable cash flows, based on its dominant position in a market
with very limited competition," said Mr. GriazNov.
S&P also expects the company to carefully manage its capital-
expenditure budget to allow positive free operating cash flow
generation. At this rating level S&P expects the company to
maintain a ratio of debt to EBITDA of less than 2.5x (this ratio
was 2.0x for the 12 months ended June 30, 2009).
An increasing aggressive investment appetite that led to
meaningfully negative free operating cash flow would likely lead
S&P to lower the ratings. S&P would also likely lower the ratings
in case of continuously weak operating performance, marked in
particular by further erosion of profitability.
The possibility of an upgrade is limited over the next 12 months.
In the longer term, it would require meaningful deleveraging,
moderation of the investment appetite, and prudent financial
policy management.
KK COMPANY: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLP Kk Company have until December 23, 2009, to
submit proofs of claim to:
Abylai Han Ave. 2
Almaty
Kazakhstan
The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Almaty commenced
bankruptcy proceedings against the company on August 25, 2009,
after finding it insolvent.
The Court is located at:
The Specialized Inter-Regional
Economic Court of Almaty
Baizakov Str. 273b
Almaty
Kazakhstan
MAGIC STONE: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLP Magic Stone have until December 23, 2009, to
submit proofs of claim to:
The Specialized Inter-Regional
Economic Court of Taldykorgan
Tauelsyzdyk Str. 53
Taldykorgan
Kazakhstan
The court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company on
October 2, 2009.
NIK TEL: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
--------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLP Nik Tel have until December 23, 2009, to submit
proofs of claim to:
Makataev Str. 196-36
Almaty
Kazakhstan
The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Almaty commenced
bankruptcy proceedings against the company on September 2, 2009,
after finding it insolvent.
The Court is located at:
The Specialized Inter-Regional
Economic Court of Almaty
Baizakov Str. 273b
Almaty
Kazakhstan
PRIONA LTD: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLP Priona Ltd. have until December 23, 2009, to
submit proofs of claim to:
Makataev Str. 196-36
Almaty
Kazakhstan
The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Almaty commenced
bankruptcy proceedings against the company on September 2, 2009,
after finding it insolvent.
The Court is located at:
The Specialized Inter-Regional
Economic Court of Almaty
Baizakov Str. 273b
Almaty
Kazakhstan
RIGHT FINANCE: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
--------------------------------------------------------
LLP Right Finance is currently undergoing liquidation. Creditors
have until December 23, 2009, to submit proofs of claim to:
Dostyk Ave. 300/141
Almaty
Kazakhstan
SAN TEREK: Creditors Must File Claims by December 23
----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLP San Terek have until December 23, 2009, to submit
proofs of claim to:
The Specialized Inter-Regional
Economic Court of Almaty
Baizakov Str. 273b
Almaty
Kazakhstan
The court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company on
October 7, 2009.
===================
K Y R G Y Z S T A N
===================
DIABIS LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by January 13
-----------------------------------------------------
LLC Central Asian Branch of Autonomous Non-Profit Organization
Siberian Centre of Technical Diagnostics and Expertise Diabis is
currently undergoing liquidation. Creditors have until January 13,
2010, to submit proofs of claim to:
Gorky Str. 1a
Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan
KYRGYZSTAN JSC: Creditors Must File Claims by January 13
--------------------------------------------------------
JSC Kyrgyzstan is currently undergoing liquidation. Creditors
have until January 13, 2010, to submit proofs of claim to:
Janaryk
Kara-Suusky District
Osh
Kyrgyzstan
Tel: (0-772) 60-20-57
NEAR CUSTOMS: Creditors Must File Claims by January 13
------------------------------------------------------
LLC Near Customs Service is currently undergoing liquidation.
Creditors have until January 13, 2010, to submit proofs of claim:
Inquires can be addressed to (0-778) 05-80-44
===================
L U X E M B O U R G
===================
EUROMAX IV: S&P Downgrades Rating on Class D Notes to 'CCC+'
------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its credit ratings on
the class A1, A2, B, C, and D notes, and class F2 combination
notes issued by EUROMAX IV MBS S.A., a cash flow collateralized
debt obligation of asset-backed securities transaction. At the
same time, S&P affirmed the rating on the class F1 combination
notes.
These rating actions follow S&P's assessment of the decline of the
event-of-default overcollateralization ratio to 103.9%, as
reported by the trustee in November 2009, from a level of 112.8%
reported in August 2009. The ratio value was reported as 120.1%
on the effective date in October 2006. A drop of the OC ratio to
below 100% would constitute an event of default. As outlined in
the transaction documents, following an event of default, the most
senior class of noteholders (currently the class A1 noteholders)
can direct the trustee to accelerate the repayment of the notes.
As outlined in the transaction documents, the collateral
administrator calculates the event-of-default OC ratio by using an
adjusted collateral balance and dividing it by the outstanding
notional amount of the class A1 and A2 notes. When calculating
the collateral balance, adjustments are made to, among others, the
principal balance of assets rated 'BB+' and lower, assets
purchased at a price of less than 90% of par, and defaulted
assets. S&P is lowering the ratings on the class A1 to D and F2
notes as a result of the close proximity of the event-of-default
OC ratio to its trigger level, and the surrounding uncertainty
with respect to an acceleration of the notes that arises following
a drop of the test result to below 100%.
According to S&P's analysis, EUROMAX IV MBS is a CDO of ABS
transaction backed primarily by European retail and commercial
mortgage backed assets. The underlying portfolio also contains a
significant share of CDO assets. Geographically, the portfolio is
concentrated in Germany, the U.K., and The Netherlands, which
together account for over 75% of the portfolio. EUROMAX IV MBS
closed on Oct. 11, 2005.
Ratings List
EUROMAX IV MBS S.A.
EUR206.45 Million Secured Floating-Rate Notes
Ratings Lowered
Ratings
-------
Class To From
----- -- ----
A1 single A- AAA
A1 delayed A- AAA
A1 floating A- AAA
A2 BBB AA-
B BB BBB
C BB- BB+
D CCC+ B-
F2 combo BB- BB+
Rating Affirmed
Class Rating
----- ------
F1 combo CCC
=====================
N E T H E R L A N D S
=====================
EUROPE CAPITAL: Moody's Cuts Rating on Class V Notes to 'Caa2'
--------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service took these rating actions on notes
issued by Leveraged Finance Europe Capital IV B.V.:
-- EUR30,000,000 Revolving Facility Notes, Downgraded to Aa2;
previously on October 25, 2006 Definitive Rating Assigned
Aaa;
-- EUR26,000,000 Class I-D Senior Floating Rate Delayed Funding
Notes due 2022 Notes, Downgraded to Aa2; previously on
October 25, 2006 Definitive Rating Assigned Aaa;
-- EUR158,300,000 Class I-N Senior Floating Rate Notes due 2022,
Downgraded to Aa2; previously on October 25, 2006 Definitive
Rating Assigned Aaa;
-- EUR26,300,000 Class II Senior Floating Rate Notes due 2022,
Downgraded to Baa3; previously on March 4, 2009 Aa2 Placed
Under Review for Possible Downgrade;
-- EUR11,700,000 Class III Deferrable Mezzanine Floating Rate
Notes due 2022, Downgraded to Ba3; previously on March 19,
2009 Downgraded to Baa3 and Remained On Review for Possible
Downgrade;
-- EUR19,900,000 Class IV Deferrable Mezzanine Floating Rate
Notes due 2022, Downgraded to Caa1; previously on March 19,
2009 Downgraded to B1 and Remained On Review for Possible
Downgrade;
-- EUR7,400,000 Class V Deferrable Mezzanine Floating Rate Notes
due 2022 (current balance EUR6,040,385), Downgraded to Caa2;
previously on March 19, 2009 Downgraded to Caa1 and Remained
On Review for Possible Downgrade.
Moody's has also withdrawn the rating assigned to the EUR25.4
million Class Q Combination Notes:
-- EUR25,400,000 Class Q Combination Notes due 2022, Withdrawn;
previously on October 25, 2006 Assigned Aaa.
These notes were split back into their original components and
thus are no longer outstanding under Combination notes format.
This transaction is a managed cash collateralized loan obligation
with exposure to predominantly European senior secured loans, as
well as 8.39% exposure to mezzanine loans.
The rating actions reflect Moody's revised assumptions with
respect to default probability and the calculation of the
diversity score as described in the press release dated
February 4, 2009, titled "Moody's updates key assumptions for
rating CLOs." These revised assumptions have been applied to all
corporate credits in the underlying portfolio, the revised
assumptions for the treatment of ratings on "Review for Possible
Downgrade", "Review for Possible Upgrade", or with a "Negative
Outlook" being applied to those corporate credits that are
publicly rated.
Moody's also notes that, for the purpose of monitoring this
transaction, a material proportion of the collateral pool consists
of debt obligations whose credit quality has been assessed through
Moody's credit estimates. As credit estimates do not carry credit
indicators such as ratings reviews and outlooks, a stress of a
quarter notch-equivalent assumed downgrade was applied to each of
these estimates.
According to Moody's, the rating actions taken on the notes are
also a result of credit deterioration of the underlying portfolio.
This is observed through a decline in the average credit rating as
measured through the portfolio weighted average rating factor
'WARF' (currently 2679), an increase in the amount of defaulted
securities (currently 5% of the portfolio), an increase in the
proportion of securities from issuers rated Caa1 and below
(currently 6.5% of the portfolio), and a failure of the Class V
par value test. These measures were taken from the recent trustee
report dated 3 November 2009. Moody's also performed a number of
sensitivity analyses, including consideration of a further decline
in portfolio WARF quality. Due to the impact of aforementioned
stresses, key inputs used by Moody's in its analysis, such as par,
weighted average rating factor, and the weighted average recovery
rate may be different from trustee's reported numbers.
In addition to the quantitative factors that are explicitly
modeled, qualitative factors are part of the rating committee
considerations. These qualitative factors include the structural
protections in each transaction, the recent deal performance in
the current market environment, the legal environment, specific
documentation features, and the collateral manager's track record.
All information available to rating committees, including
macroeconomic forecasts, input from other Moody's analytical
groups, market factors, and judgments regarding the nature and
severity of credit stress on the transactions, may influence the
final rating decision.
LEVERAGED FINANCE: Moody's Cuts Ratings on Two Notes to 'Caa3'
--------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service took these rating actions on notes
issued by Leveraged Finance Europe Capital I B.V. The Class I
notes remain Aaa mainly due to the current over collateralization,
and the fact that the deal has finished its reinvestment period
and will start to delever in the near future.
-- EUR64.5M Class II Senior Floating Rate Notes, Downgraded to
Baa3; previously on Mar 4, 2009 Aa3 Placed Under Review for
Possible Downgrade
-- EUR14M Class III-A Mezzanine Fixed Rate Notes, Downgraded to
Caa1; previously on Mar 20, 2009 Downgraded to Ba3 and
Remained On Review for Possible Downgrade
-- EUR4M Class III-B Mezzanine Floating Rate Notes, Downgraded
to Caa1; previously on Mar 20, 2009 Downgraded to Ba3 and
Remained On Review for Possible Downgrade
-- EUR15M Class IV-A Mezzanine Fixed Rate Notes (currently --
EUR13.6M outstanding), Downgraded to Caa3; previously on
Mar 20, 2009 Downgraded to Caa1 and Remained On Review for
Possible Downgrade
-- EUR4M Class IV-B Mezzanine Floating Rate Notes (currently --
EUR3.7M outstanding), Downgraded to Caa3; previously on
Mar 20, 2009 Downgraded to Caa1 and Remained On Review for
Possible Downgrade
This transaction is a managed cash collateralized loan obligation
with exposure to predominantly European senior secured loans, as
well as some mezzanine loan exposure.
The rating actions reflect Moody's revised assumptions with
respect to default probability and the calculation of the
diversity score as described in the press release dated
February 4, 2009, titled "Moody's updates key assumptions for
rating CLOs." These revised assumptions have been applied to all
corporate credits in the underlying portfolio, the revised
assumptions for the treatment of ratings on "Review for Possible
Downgrade", "Review for Possible Upgrade", or with a "Negative
Outlook" being applied to those corporate credits that are
publicly rated.
Moody's also notes that, for the purpose of monitoring this
transaction, a material proportion of the collateral pool consists
of debt obligations whose credit quality has been assessed through
Moody's credit estimates. As credit estimates do not carry credit
indicators such as ratings reviews and outlooks, a stress of a
quarter notch-equivalent assumed downgrade was applied to each of
these estimates.
According to Moody's, the rating actions taken on the notes are
also a result of credit deterioration of the underlying portfolio.
This is observed through a decline in the average credit rating as
measured through the portfolio weighted average rating factor
'WARF' (currently 2698), an increase in the amount of defaulted
securities (currently 6.3% of the portfolio), an increase in the
proportion of securities from issuers rated Caa1 and below
(currently 2.3% of the portfolio), and a failure of Class IV
Mezzanine Par Value Test. These measures were taken from the
recent trustee report dated 30 October 2009. Moody's also
performed a number of sensitivity analyses, including
consideration of a further decline in portfolio WARF quality. Due
to the impact of all the aforementioned stresses, key model inputs
used by Moody's in its analysis, such as par, weighted average
rating factor, and weighted average recovery rate, may be
different from trustee's reported numbers.
In addition to the quantitative factors that are explicitly
modelled, qualitative factors are part of the rating committee
considerations. These qualitative factors include the structural
protections in each transaction, the recent deal performance in
the current market environment, the legal environment, specific
documentation features and the collateral manager's track record.
All information available to rating committees, including
macroeconomic forecasts, input from other Moody's analytical
groups, market factors, and judgments regarding the nature and
severity of credit stress on the transactions, may influence the
final rating decision.
===========
N O R W A Y
===========
NTM REFICTIO: Files Bankruptcy Petition, Petromena Says
-------------------------------------------------------
Jonas Bergman at Bloomberg News reports that Petromena ASA said
NTM Refictio III AS filed a bankruptcy petition and that the board
is considering the situation and possibilities for reaching an
agreement with creditors.
===========
R U S S I A
===========
BESH-MET LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
-------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Besh-Met (TIN 2632080660, PSRN 1062632019515)
(Scrap and Waste Metal Processing)have until December 20, 2009, to
submit proofs of claims to:
Ye.Polyakov
Insolvency Manager
Office 206
Koroleva Str. 3
357634 Yessentuki
Russia
The Arbitration Court of Stavropolskiy commenced bankruptcy
proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The
case is docketed under Case No ?63–6296/09-S5–28.
The Debtor can be reached at:
LLC Besh-Met
Lermontavskiy razyezd
Pyatigorsk
Russia
BTA BANK: Moody's Reviews 'Caa2' Long-Term Deposit Ratings
----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has placed on review for possible
downgrade the Caa2 long-term local and foreign currency deposit
ratings and the Caa2 foreign currency senior unsecured debt rating
of BTA Bank (Russia). The bank's E financial strength rating and
Not-Prime short-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings
were left unchanged as they are positioned at their lowest
possible levels. Concurrently, Moody's Interfax Rating Agency
placed on review for possible downgrade BTA Russia's National
Scale Rating of B3.ru. Moscow-based Moody's Interfax is majority-
owned by Moody's, a leading global rating agency.
The rating action was triggered by BTA Russia's recent offer to
holders of its Eurobonds maturing on 21 December 2009 to change
the terms and conditions of the respective loan agreement,
primarily with a view to extending the maturity period of these
bonds. Moody's understands that, following BTA Russia's
repurchase of US$30 million of these Eurobonds (out of the
US$100 million originally issued), the total amount of notes
currently circulating on the market is approximately
US$70 million, or around 7% of BTA Russia's total liabilities as
at 1 November 2009.
According to the proposed terms of the debt exchange, BTA Russia
would pay the bondholders 10% of the bonds' principal on 15
January 2010, whereas the remainder principal amount would
amortize over the course of the next two years through a payment
of 22.5% of the bonds' nominal principal value semi-annually. The
coupon rate applying to the outstanding principal amount would
remain the same as for the originally issued Eurobonds (9.875%
p.a.), but this would be paid quarterly (versus semi-annually as
per the original loan agreement). In addition, the proposed terms
of the debt exchange offer one-off bonus payments to those
investors that have submitted their consent with the terms of the
bonds restructuring before 4pm London time on 21 December 2009
(2.5% of their nominal bond holding) and before 4pm London time on
31 December 2009 (1.5% of their nominal bond holding). For the
exchange to become valid, the consent of no less than 75% of the
bondholders participating in the vote would need to be received.
Although the proposed transaction presumes no discount to par
value of the debt, Moody's believes that this exchange offer
highlights BTA Russia's tight liquidity position, characterized by
a high dependence on the funding provided by the Central Bank of
Russia (this comprised 38% of the bank's total liabilities at 1
November 2009) and the maturity mismatch of the bank's assets and
liabilities, whereby the long-term loans, often of an investment
nature, are funded by liabilities of shorter term. Moody's is of
the opinion that the offer made by BTA Russia represents a
distressed exchange (see Moody's Special Comment, "Moody's
Approach to Evaluating Distressed Exchanges," March 2009).
Moody's is concerned that the potential failure of BTA Russia to
honour its liabilities with regard to its Eurobond payments, in
the event that its debt restructuring offer ultimately fails to go
ahead, could lead to BTA Russia's default on its obligations under
this Eurobond issue, as well as to possible claims for accelerated
payments on the part of the bank's other creditors. (However, the
bank asserts that it has already reached a preliminary agreement
with a number of such creditors for them to waive their rights to
require early redemption of the respective loans in the event of
BTA Russia's failing to make payment on the Eurobonds as per the
original agreement.) Such a scenario could, in its turn, trigger
financial rehabilitation, administration and possibly a bankruptcy
procedure.
The rating agency cautions that if such a negative scenario were
to materialize, the potential losses of BTA Russia's creditors
could rise, as the sales proceeds from the immediate realization
of the bank's assets might not be sufficient to cover all
creditors' claims in full. Therefore, if BTA Russia ultimately
fails to reach the debt restructuring agreement with the holders
of its Eurobonds, Moody's will consider a further downgrade of the
bank's deposit and debt ratings.
Conversely, a successful completion of the debt restructuring
transaction could benefit BTA Russia's liquidity position, which
could potentially result in Moody's affirming the bank's Caa2
deposit and debt ratings. At the same time, Moody's notes that
even in such a scenario it could consider further negative actions
on BTA Russia in the event of a further weakening of the bank's
financial fundamentals, in particular liquidity and asset quality,
and the rating agency's perception of the increased losses for
creditors in the future.
Moody's review of BTA Russia's debt and deposit ratings will be
concluded based on the outcome of the proposed debt restructuring
transaction and will include an assessment of the ultimate impact
of this transaction on the bank's liquidity position.
Moody's previous rating action on BTA Russia was on 4 September
2009 when the rating agency assigned E/Caa2/NP/B3.ru ratings to
the bank and a Caa2 rating to its foreign currency debt with
negative outlook on the bank's Caa2 long-term local and foreign
currency deposit ratings and its Caa2 foreign currency debt
rating.
Headquartered in Moscow, BTA Bank (Russia) reported total IFRS
assets of US$2.4 billion as at YE2008 (YE2007: US$1.4 billion)
and total shareholders' equity of US$475 million (YE2007:
US$268 million). The bank reported net profits for 2008 of
US$5.2 million, compared to US$26.0 million a year earlier.
DOBROSTROY LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
---------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Dobrostroy (TIN 2130003366) have until
December 20, 2009, to submit proofs of claims to:
A. Saperov
Temporary Insolvency Manager
Kuznechnaya Str. 38
Mariinskiy Posad
429570 Chuvashia
Russia
The Arbitration Court of Chuvashia commenced bankruptcy
supervision procedure. The case is docketed under Case No. ?79–
11741/2009.
EUROPEAN TRUST: Moody's Reviews 'E+' Bank Strength Rating
---------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has placed the E+ bank financial
strength rating and B3 long-term global local and foreign currency
deposit ratings of European Trust Bank on review for possible
downgrade. The bank's Not Prime short-term ratings have been
affirmed. Concurrently, Moody's Interfax Rating Agency placed the
bank's Baa3.ru long-term National Scale Rating on review for
possible downgrade. Moscow-based Moody's Interfax is majority
owned by Moody's.
Moody's rating action is driven by concerns with regard to ETB's
asset quality as well as recently increased market risks related
to real estate-linked private equity funds. The rating agency
cautions that the bank's capital adequacy may not be sufficient to
absorb the credit and market risks arising from its asset quality
deterioration and exposure to private equity funds. Furthermore,
the bank's liquidity is relatively weak and characterized by a
relatively high dependence on funding from the Central Bank of
Russia, while the liquidity of private equity instruments is
uncertain.
Moody's expects that ETB's credit losses and loan loss provision
charges are likely to increase significantly going forward. The
increase in credit losses is likely to be driven by the overall
deterioration in the operating and economic environment in Russia
and the high levels of exposure to real estate-related private
equity funds. The rating agency notes that the bank's indirect
exposure to the real estate and construction sector -- which has
been particularly affected by the crisis -- is significant and
exceeds 100% of its Tier 1 capital.
"ETB's capitalization has historically been kept at a fairly
adequate level and the Tier 1 capital ratio stood at 14% in
accordance with Russian Accounting Standards as at 30 September
2009," said Elena Redko, a Moscow-based Moody's Analyst and lead
analyst for this issuer. "However, the bank's economic capital is
undermined by its exposure to real estate private equity funds,
which accounted for over 100% of its Tier 1 equity as at 30
September 2009. Going forward, given the increasingly tough
operating conditions, the decline in revenues observed in 2009 and
the insufficient level of provisioning, further pressure on
capital is expected to materialize in 2010."
Moody's has applied a number of scenarios (base-case and stressed)
to ETB's loan books and equity portfolio, which indicated that the
bank's capital adequacy may decline rapidly as its asset quality
deteriorates. As the fair value of private equity funds cannot be
readily determined, Moody's applied significant haircuts and thus
the expected losses were the major drivers of the stress-test
projections. Moody's also notes that the bank is likely to report
a low level of pre-provision income given its historically
moderate recurring revenue generation capacity and high volume of
operating expenses; as a result, its capital is unlikely to be
sufficient to absorb impairments in the loan book and private
equity funds portfolio in 2010.
Moody's review will focus on ETB's ability to decrease its
exposure to risky equity instruments, the actual performance of
its loan book and its ability to refinance its funding with the
CBR. If the liquidity of the bank's equity instruments is proven
with no negative repercussions for its capital and the loan book
performs adequately, Moody's is likely to conclude the review by
confirming the bank's ratings. Conversely, in the event of a
failure maintain healthy asset quality and capital levels and/or a
decline in the fair value of the bank's equity instruments with
material mismatches in its liquidity position, Moody's could be
prompt to downgrade the bank's ratings.
Moody's previous rating action on ETB was on 8 August 2008 when
the rating agency assigned first-time ratings of B3/Not
Prime/E+/Baa3.ru (Stable).
These ratings of European Trust Bank were placed on review for
possible downgrade:
- Bank financial strength rating of E+
- Long-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings of B3
- Long-term National Scale Rating of Baa3.ru
Headquartered in Moscow, Russia, ETB reported total consolidated
IFRS assets of RUB11.3 billion (US$384 million) as at 31 December
2008 and consolidated net income of RUB21 million (US$0.7 million)
for the year then ended.
GAZPROM JSC: S&P Gives Negative Outlook; Affirms Corporate Rating
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it has revised its
outlook to negative from stable and affirmed its 'BBB-' corporate
credit rating and its 'ruAA+' Russia national scale rating on JSC
Gazprom Neft. S&P's negative outlook on Gazprom Neft primarily
reflects the risk that over the next 12-18 months S&P's perception
of the stand-alone credit profile may decline to 'BB', from 'BB+'
currently. S&P view the risk of such a decline as linked to any
combination of these:
Failure in the near term to fully consolidate liquidity. Any
significant further deterioration of key financial metrics,
including adjusted FFO to debt falling below approximately 50%.
Any sizable debt-financed acquisition not offset clearly enough by
tangible near-term parental support. S&P has reviewed Gazprom
Neft's stand-alone credit profile, which S&P still considers
commensurate with 'BB+' credit quality but with a risk of being
lowered to 'BB'. "Continuing M&A activity, recent and potential,
and the company's debt burden and liquidity are the primary
drivers for this view," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst
Emmanuel Dubois Pelerin. Specifically, S&P has taken into
account: A sharp increase in adjusted debt to $6.7 billion on
Sept. 30, 2009, from US$4.0 billion on Dec. 31, 2008. On an
adjusted basis, S&P expects FFO to cover approximately 60% of
debt, which is still healthy (versus over 120% every year over
2003-2008). An increasingly adverse term structure of debt. A
continuous flow of cash- and debt-financed, sometimes complex
acquisitions and S&P's lack of confidence in a sharp reduction in
acquisitions going forward given the company's track record and
very ambitious long-term growth goals. 2008-2009 acquisitions
were made despite an unfavorable outlook for hydrocarbon prices,
challenging debt capital markets, continuously high dividend
outflows, and Russia's economic and exchange-rate challenges, in
late 2008 and early 2009.
S&P continues to see the company's business-risk and financial-
risk profiles as "fair" and "significant," respectively. On the
business side, S&P will continue to monitor the degree to which
the company is stabilizing its consolidated upstream production
after a prolonged decline. S&P's expectations of extraordinary
support from its 96%-owner OAO Gazprom (BBB/Negative/A-3), which
warrant a one-notch elevation above the stand-alone credit
profile, are unchanged.
REGINA CONFECTIONARY: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
---------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Regina Confectionary (TIN 1660027593) have until
December 20, 2009, to submit proofs of claims to:
A. Khayrutdinov
Temporary Insolvency Manager
Post User Box 70
Kazan
420111 Tatarstan
Russia
Tel: (843)238-51-73.
The Arbitration Court of Tatarstan will convene at 2:30 p.m. on
December 16, 2009, to hear bankruptcy supervision procedure. The
case is docketed under Case No. ?65–24077/2009-SG4–21.
The Court is located at:
The Arbitration Court of Tatarstan
Courtroom 6
Building 1
Kremlin
Kazan
Tatarstan
Russia
The Debtor can be reached at:
LLC Regina Confectionary
Zhurnalistov Str. 5-/3/17
Kazan
Tatarstan
Russia
REM-LES-STROY: A. Saranin Named Temporary Insolvency Manager
------------------------------------------------------------
The Arbitration Court of Tomskaya appointed A. Saranin as
Temporary Insolvency Manager for LLC Rem-Les-Stroy (TIN
7002011307, PSRN 1057000378544) (Construction). The case is
docketed under Case No. ?67–8597/09. He can be reached at:
Post User Box 3020
634003 Tomsk
Russia
The Debtor can be reached at:
LLC Rem-Les-Stroy
Pervomayskaya Str. 16
Asino
636843 Tomskaya
Russia
RUS' LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
---------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Rus' (TIN 5611029316, PSRN 1035607506186)
(Construction) have until December 20, 2009, to submit proofs of
claims to:
A. Pakhomov
Temporary Insolvency Manager
Leninskaya Str. 3/1
460000 Orenburg
Russia
The Arbitration Court of Orenburgskaya will convene on February 2,
2010, to hear bankruptcy supervision procedure. The case is
docketed under Case No. A47–6411/2009.
The Debtor can be reached at:
LLC Rus'
Shevchenko Str. 20V
460005 Orenburg
Russia
VEST CONSTRUCTION: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Vest Construction Company (TIN 7704613863, PSRN
5067746399771) have until December 20, 200, to submit proofs of
claims to:
I. Kulakov
Temporary Insolvency Manager
Office 206
Suvorova Str. 111a
440000 Penza
Russia
The Arbitration Court of Moscow commenced bankruptcy supervision
procedure. The case is docketed under Case No. ?40–79710/09–74-
390B.
The Debtor can be reached at:
LLC Vest
Building 23B
Luzhnetskay Embankment 2/4
119270 Moscow
Russia
ZHIL-STROY: Creditors Must File Claims by December 20
-----------------------------------------------------
Creditors of LLC Zhil-Stroy-Rekonstruktsiaya (TIN 3525102079)
(Construction) have until December 20, 2009, to submit proofs of
claims to:
S. Kurenkov
Temporary Insolvency Manager
Post User Box 24
160028 Vologda
Russia
The Arbitration Court of Vologodskaya will convene at 10:00 a.m.
on March 10, 2010, to hear bankruptcy supervision procedure. The
case is docketed under Case No. ?13–13397/2009.
The Debtor can be reached at:
LLC Zhil-Stroy-Rekonstruktsiaya
Preobrazhenskoog Str. 28
Vologda
Russia
=========
S P A I N
=========
CAIXA PENEDES: Fitch Junks Ratings on Class C Notes From 'B'
------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Caixa Penedes PYMES 1 TdA, Fondo de
Titulizacion de Activos and removed them from Rating Watch
Negative. The notes were placed on RWN in August 2009 pending the
full analysis following the release of Fitch's revised criteria
for rating European granular pools of small corporate loans. The
rating actions taken are:
Caixa Penedes PYMES 1:
-- EUR430,691,877 Class A (ISIN ES0357326000) downgraded to 'AA'
from 'AAA'; removed from RWN; assigned Negative Outlook and
Loss Severity Rating 'LS-1'
-- EUR44,600,000 Class B (ISIN ES0357326018) downgraded to 'BB'
from 'BBB'; removed from RWN; assigned Negative Outlook and
Loss Severity Rating 'LS-3'
-- EUR19,400,000 Class C (ISIN ES0357326026) downgraded to 'CCC'
from 'B'; removed from RWN
The downgrades are the result of the implementation of Fitch's
revised SME CDO rating criteria, coupled with concentration in the
real estate-related sector and increasing arrears levels and
defaults amid difficult economic conditions. These factors have
outweighed the benefit of some degree of de-leveraging of the
transaction.
As of the 31 October 2009 investor report, 32 loans were in
default (defined as over 18 months delinquent), representing 0.6%
of the outstanding portfolio balance. In addition, six to 12
months delinquency and 12 to 18 months delinquency increased to
1.69% and 1.35% respectively, from 1.29% and 0.21% in October
2008. The portfolio is concentrated in the real estate and the
building and materials industries at a combined 50.7%, but
benefits from 91% real-estate collateralization with a moderate
weighted average LTV ratio of 46%.
The reserve fund at EUR12.7 million (at 95% of its initial
balance) is below the minimum requirement. While it provides 2.6%
subordination for Class C currently, Class C is vulnerable to a
default of the top few obligors.
As of October 2009, the portfolio contained 3,508 performing loans
totalling approximately EUR484 million, at 61% of its initial
balance. The portfolio remains quite granular with the largest
obligor exposure and top 10 exposures at 0.6% and 4.3%
respectively.
Using its Rating Criteria for European SME CLOs, Fitch has assumed
the probability of default of the unrated SME loans to be
commensurate with the 'B' rating category. Based on observed
delinquencies and the origination process of the respective banks
in Spain, the benchmark probability of default is adjusted upward
or downward. Delinquent loans are notched down depending on the
time the loans have been in arrears. Recoveries for loans secured
by first lien real estate is adjusted for property indexation and
market value stress based on the criteria but second lien
mortgages are treated as senior unsecured loans.
TDA IBERCAJA: S&P Assigns 'CCC-' Prelim. Rating on Class C Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its preliminary credit
ratings to TDA IBERCAJA 7, Fondo de Titulización de Activos'
EUR2.07 billion floating-rate notes.
A EUR2 billion portfolio of first-ranking residential mortgage
loans originated by Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Zaragoza,
Aragón y Rioja (A/Stable/A-1) will back the notes. Ibercaja
focuses on low-risk residential mortgage lending to individuals;
this underpins the savings bank's good-quality asset track record.
This will be Ibercaja's seventh securitization of its mortgage
loan book within the TDA Ibercaja program. This does not take
into consideration TDA IBERCAJA ICO-FTVPO, Fondo de Titulizacion
Hipotecaria, which closed in July 2009, as that was Ibercaja's
first securitization of subsidized mortgage loans. TDA IBERCAJA
7 will acquire credit rights backed by prime mortgage loans. To
fund this purchase, it will issue two classes of floating-rate
notes (classes A and B). At closing, the subordinated class C
notes will fund a reserve fund at 3.5% of the original principal
balance of classes A and B. The rating on each class of
securities is preliminary as of and subject to change at any time.
S&P expects to assign initial credit ratings on the closing date
subject to a satisfactory review of the transaction documents and
legal opinion.
Ratings List
TDA IBERCAJA 7, Fondo de Titulización de Activos
EUR2.07 Billion Floating-Rate Notes
Prelim.
Prelim. amount
Class rating (mil. EUR)
----- ------- ----------
A AAA 1,900
B BB 100
C CCC- 70
===========
S W E D E N
===========
GENERAL MOTORS: Spyker In Last-Ditch Talks to Acquire Saab
----------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Ward at The Financial Times reports that executives from
Spyker Cars were in Stockholm on Wednesday trying to thrash out a
deal to buy Saab Automobile after General Motors said the Dutch
sports car maker was the only remaining bidder for its struggling
Swedish unit.
According to the FT, people involved in the negotiations voiced
cautious optimism that an agreement would be reached before the
end-of-year deadline set by GM, after which the U.S. carmaker has
threatened to put Saab into liquidation.
The FT notes sticking points remain over financing, however, with
the biggest stumbling block proving to be a EUR400 million (US$654
million) loan from the European Investment Bank that Saab needs to
stay afloat.
Spyker, known for its hand-built, high-performance cars, is now
trying to establish whether the money is still available or if
fresh approval is needed, the FT says.
The FT recalls Ed Whitacre, acting chief executive of GM, revealed
on Tuesday that Spyker was the last remaining bidder for Saab,
after several other interested parties had been ruled out, and
reiterated that the company would be wound down if no buyer was
found.
About General Motors
General Motors Company -- http://www.gm.com/-- is one of the
world's largest automakers, tracing its roots back to 1908. With
its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in
every major region of the world and does business in some 140
countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks
in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through these
brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel,
Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's largest national market is the United
States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada,
Russia and Germany. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader
in vehicle safety, security and information services.
GM acquired its operations from General Motors Company, n/k/a
Motors Liquidation Company, on July 10, 2009, pursuant to a sale
under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. Motors Liquidation or
Old GM is the subject of a pending Chapter 11 reorganization case
before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New
York.
At September 30, 2009, GM had US$107.45 billion in total assets
against US$135.60 billion in total liabilities.
About Motors Liquidation
General Motors Corporation and three of its affiliates filed for
Chapter 11 protection on June 1, 2009 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Lead Case
No. 09-50026). General Motors changed its name to Motors
Liquidation Co. following the sale of its key assets to a company
60.8% owned by the U.S. Government.
The Honorable Robert E. Gerber presides over the Chapter 11 cases.
Harvey R. Miller, Esq., Stephen Karotkin, Esq., and Joseph H.
Smolinsky, Esq., at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, assist the Debtors
in their restructuring efforts. Al Koch at AP Services, LLC, an
affiliate of AlixPartners, LLP, serves as the Chief Executive
Officer for Motors Liquidation Company. GM is also represented by
Jenner & Block LLP and Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP as
counsel. Cravath, Swaine, & Moore LLP is providing legal advice
to the GM Board of Directors. GM's financial advisors are Morgan
Stanley, Evercore Partners and the Blackstone Group LLP.
Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., publishes General Motors
Bankruptcy News. The newsletter tracks the Chapter 11 proceeding
undertaken by General Motors Corp. and its various affiliates.
(http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000)
===========================
U N I T E D K I N G D O M
===========================
BORDERS U.K.: MCR In Advanced Talks with Potential Buyers
---------------------------------------------------------
Jonathan Browning at Bloomberg News reports that MCR, the joint
administrators for Borders U.K. Ltd., said it is in "advanced
stages of negotiations" with parties about buying some of the
company's stores and assets.
According to Bloomberg, MCR said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement
if the administrators cannot agree on a sale this week, all stores
will close on Dec. 22, with staff employment ending Dec. 24.
The administrators have said 1,150 employees will be affected,
Bloomberg relates.
Bloomberg recalls HMV Group Plc Chief Executive Officer Simon Fox
said on Dec. 11 the company is considering buying "one or two"
Borders stores to add to its Waterstone's unit.
Borders U.K. Ltd. -- http://www.borders.co.uk/-- offers books,
magazines, music, and DVDs through some 45 stores throughout the
UK. (About a fifth of the locations are in London.) Once a unit
of US bookseller Borders Group, the company collapsed into
administration in late 2009. It is owned by Valco Capital
Partners, the private equity arm of restructuring firm Hilco.
CATTLES PLC: Shareholders Mull Legal Action Against Ex-Directors
----------------------------------------------------------------
Jane Croft at The Financial Times reports that shareholders of
Cattles plc, which is being investigated by the Financial Services
Authority over how it accounted for bad loans, are considering
taking legal action against former directors of the company.
It emerged Cattles had underestimated the provisions it should
have made in relation to bad debts, the FT notes. The company,
the FT discloses, has admitted to a breakdown in internal
controls, which resulted in its impairment policies being
incorrectly applied. Its shares were suspended in April this year
following the discovery of the accounting errors and the company
said it may have to take up to a further GBP850 million of
impairment provisions, the FT recalls. PwC, the company's
auditors, resigned earlier this month and have been replaced by
Grant Thornton, the FT recounts.
The FT relates on Tuesday David Greene, head of litigation at
Edwin Coe, said the law firm had hired barristers and forensic
accountants and was examining whether legal action could be taken
against former directors or against PwC as former auditors. In
particular, the lawyers are examining the prospectus issued by
Cattles in relation to its successful GBP200 million rights issue
last year, the FT notes.
"Shareholders remain angry at the collapse of the shares and the
continuing uncertainty as to the future of the company," the FT
quoted Mr. Greene as saying. "We have been contacted by both
institutional and individual shareholders to consider their rights
in relation to the announcements made to the market and the
information given to investors in the rights issue in early 2008
as to the company's asset position."
Cattles plc -- http://www.cattles.co.uk/-- is a financial
services company specializing in providing consumer credit to non-
standard customers in United Kingdom. The Company also provides
debt recovery services to external clients and its consumer credit
business, and working capital finance for small- and medium-sized
businesses. It also has a car retail operation, which is an
introducer of hire purchase customers to its consumer credit
business. Its business divisions include Welcome Financial
Services, The Lewis Group and Cattles Invoice Finance. Welcome
Financial Services consists of three businesses: Welcome Finance,
Shopacheck and Welcome Car Finance. Shopacheck provides short-
term home collected loans to some 260,000 customers through 52
branches. The Lewis Group provides debt recovery and
investigation services, serving both external clients and Welcome
Financial Services. In September 2007, it announced the
acquisition of a debt portfolio of United Kingdom credit card,
loan and overdraft receivables.
LANSDOWNE MORTGAGES: Fitch Lowers Ratings on Two Tranches to 'B'
----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded four tranches of Lansdowne Mortgages
Securities No.2 plc and three junior tranches of Lansdowne
Mortgages Securities No.1 plc. The agency simultaneously affirmed
the ratings of the remaining notes of both transactions. A full
rating breakdown is provided at the end of this comment.
The Irish RMBS transactions are backed by mortgage loans
originated by Start Mortgages Limited, which Fitch considers to be
non-conforming collateral.
The downgrades primarily reflect the high volume of loans
currently in arrears. These loans represent a significant future
risk to the transactions' cash flows. Although at present both
transactions are generating excess revenue, this is in part due to
the lack of any foreclosure activity on loans that are
substantially in arrears, which means the transactions are not
realizing any losses. However, given the large pipeline of loans
in arrears, particularly the large proportion of loans more than
nine months in arrears, Fitch is concerned that there is a
significant likelihood of high losses in the future. The agency
expects house prices in Ireland to continue to decline, with a
total fall of 45% from their peak in 2006.
The high level of loans in arrears also represents a potential
risk to the future level of collections. Because the non-
conforming market in Ireland has effectively closed down to new
originations, borrowers who are in arrears have extremely limited
refinancing opportunities. Fitch therefore expects that the
performing loans are more likely to prepay, leaving a growing
portion of non-performing loans in the pool. The level of
collections, and therefore the servicing strategy, will be
critical to the transactions' future performance.
All classes of Lansdowne 1 benefited from high prepayment rates
early in the life of the deal resulting in a growth in credit
enhancement levels. However, the prepayment rate has decreased
significantly in the last year. Loans that are three months or
greater in arrears increased to 35% of the current balance as of
October 2009, compared with 19% in October 2008. The increase is
primarily due to the deteriorating macro economic environment in
Ireland. The annualized prepayment rate decreased to 3.6% in
October 2009 from 15.7% in October 2008.
Only 10 properties have been repossessed and sold to date, and as
a result the transaction has not seen any reserve fund draw to
date. On the last interest payment date the transaction had
GBP218,125 of excess spread after covering principal losses. The
excess spread should significantly increase on the next IPD
because the class X note of Lansdowne 1 expired on the last IPD.
Since few properties have been repossessed it is possible that
loss severities in future may vary significantly from those
observed to date.
Lansdowne 2's notes have not benefited as much as Lansdowne 1's
notes from deleveraging due to lower prepayment rates. At end
October 2009, 32% of Lansdowne 1's original pool was still
outstanding against 46% for Lansdowne 2. The arrears and
prepayment trends of Lansdowne 2 are similar to those in Lansdowne
1. Loans that are three months or greater in arrears increased to
35% in October 2009 from 20% in October 2008, whilst the
annualised prepayment rate decreased to 1.6% from 14.8% over the
same period.
Fitch used its EMEA RMBS surveillance criteria, employing its
credit cover multiple methodology, to assess the level of credit
support available to each class of notes with respect to both
transactions.
The rating actions are:
Lansdowne Mortgages Securities No. 1 plc:
-- Class A2 (ISIN XS0250832614) affirmed at 'AAA'; Outlook
Stable; assigned Loss Severity (LS) Rating of 'LS-2'
-- Class X (ISIN XS0250833000) expired in September 2009
-- Class M1 (ISIN XS0250833695) affirmed at 'AA+'; Outlook
revised to Stable from Positive; assigned 'LS-3'
-- Class M2 (ISIN XS0250834073) downgraded to 'A' from 'AA-';
Outlook Negative; assigned 'LS-4'
-- Class B1 (ISIN XS0250834404) downgraded to 'BB' from 'BBB+';
Outlook Negative; assigned 'LS-3'
-- Class B2 (ISIN XS0250835120) downgraded to 'B' from 'BB+';
Outlook Negative; assigned 'LS-5'
Lansdowne Mortgage Securities No. 2 plc:
-- Class A2 (ISIN XS0277482286) downgraded to 'AA+' from 'AAA';
Outlook Stable; assigned 'LS-2'
-- Class X (ISIN XS0277482443) affirmed at 'AAA'; Outlook Stable
-- Class M1 (ISIN XS0277482526) downgraded to 'A' from 'AA';
Outlook Stable; assigned 'LS-4'
-- Class M2 (ISIN XS0277482955) downgraded to 'BBB' from 'A';
Outlook Stable; assigned 'LS-5'
-- Class B (ISIN XS0277483417) downgraded to 'B' from 'BBB';
Outlook Negative; assigned 'LS-4'
LLOYDS TSB: Fitch Upgrades Ratings on Tier 1 Security to 'BB+'
--------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded one tier 1 security issued by Lloyds
TSB Bank plc (rated 'AA-'/Stable Outlook) to 'BB+' from 'B' and
removed the Rating Watch Negative. Fitch has simultaneously
revised the rating watches of various tier 1 and upper tier 2
securities issued or guaranteed by HBOS plc ('AA-'/Stable Outlook)
or Bank of Scotland plc (rated 'AA-'/Stable Outlook), both of
which are subsidiaries of Lloyds Banking Group (rated 'AA-'/Stable
Outlook), to Evolving from RWN. The tier 1 and upper tier 2
securities are rated 'B' and 'B+' respectively. (Fitch does not
rate all hybrid securities issued by LBG and its banking
subsidiaries.)
In addition, Fitch has assigned equity credit to the dated
enhanced capital notes -- affirmed at 'BB' -- issued by
subsidiaries of LBG. Under Fitch's 'weakest link' approach, the
rating reflects the weakest feature of the securities. The agency
considers effective maturity to be the weakest link for these
securities. As a result, most ECNs have received equity credit of
class D (75%) which will diminish as the securities move towards
maturity.
The upgrade of the LTSB tier 1 security reflects the lower risk of
non-performance following the substantial recapitalization of LBG
that was first announced on 3 November 2009. The rating considers
LBG's standalone financial strength, as reflected in its
Individual Rating of 'C', as well as the security's subordinated
nature and the risk of coupon deferral under certain
circumstances.
The RWE assigned to the HBOS' and BoS' tier 1 and upper tier 2
securities reflects residual uncertainties around non-performance
risk on these securities. The triggers that might cause coupon
deferral on these instruments are generally linked either directly
or indirectly to regulatory capital and distributable reserves of
either LBG or of HBOS. The capital raising first announced by LBG
on 3 November 2009 has substantially strengthened LBG's regulatory
capital base. The capital is freely available to be down-streamed
to HBOS, BoS or any other subsidiary that needs it, in order to
meet regulatory capital needs. As a result, the regulatory
capital triggers are much less of a concern.
However, Fitch is not yet in a position to ascertain with
sufficient certainty the level of distributable reserve levels at
LBG or HBOS. This is partly because some of the factors that
might affect the calculation of holding company distributable
reserves (for example, impairment testing on the carrying value of
investments in subsidiaries, one of which is the heavily loss-
making BoS), are only audited and publicly disclosed annually. In
mitigation, the burden on holding company (LBG and HBOS) cashflow
has been eased by recent capital management exercises.
Additionally, there are various technical ways that distributable
reserves can be created, which might be employed by LBG if
necessary. Fitch expects to resolve the respective rating watches
in Q110, shortly after the annual accounts of LBG and HBOS have
been issued.
The rating actions affect various tier 1 and upper tier 2
securities rated by Fitch (sometimes referred to as 'must-pay'
hybrids) which have not been required to defer coupons under
European Commission burden sharing requirements. On 3 November,
Fitch downgraded various tier 1 and upper tier 2 securities issued
by LBG and its subsidiaries to 'CC' and 'CCC' respectively that
have been required, as a result of the EC burden sharing
requirements, to defer coupons for two years from 31 January 2010.
The rating actions on existing upper tier 2 and tier 1 debt
securities are:
Lloyds TSB Bank tier 1
-- XS0156923913 upgraded to 'BB+' from 'B'; removed from Rating
Watch Negative
Bank of Scotland plc tier 1
-- XS0125681345: 'B'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- XS0125686229: 'B'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- XS0109227552: 'B'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- XS0109138536: 'B'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- XS0109227719: 'B'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- XS0109139344: 'B'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- USG43648AA57: 'B'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- US40411CAA09: 'B; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- GB0058322420: 'B'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- GB0058327924: 'B'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
Bank of Scotland Upper tier 2
-- XS0111627112: 'B+'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- XS0111599311: 'B+'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
HBOS plc Upper tier 2
-- XS0125599687: 'B+'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- XS0138988042: 'B+'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- XS0158313758: 'B+'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
-- XS0166717388 'B+'; rating watch changed to RWE from RWN
These securities were affirmed:
Lloyds Banking Group plc
-- LBG Capital No.1 Enhanced Capital Notes affirmed at 'BB'
-- LBG Capital No.2 Enhanced Capital Notes affirmed at 'BB'
NORTHERN ROCK: Richard Pym to Chair "Bad" Bank
----------------------------------------------
Sharlene Goff at The Financial Times reports that Richard Pym,
former chief executive of Bradford & Bingley, is to become
chairman of Northern Rock's "bad" bank.
According to the FT, Northern Rock will next month split into two
parts -- a "good" bank, which will comprise GBP20 billion of
retail deposits and a chunk of low-risk mortgages, and a "bad"
bank, or asset company, which will be made up of the remaining
mortgage loans. The FT recalls the bank was granted approval for
the split from the European Commission last month and the
restructuring is set to take place on January 1, 2010.
The FT says Mr. Pym's appointment suggests that the new asset
company will eventually be amalgamated with the mortgage book of
B&B, which was taken under government control when the former
building society ran into difficulties last year.
Northern Rock, as cited by the FT, said it had been asked by the
government to explore options relating to a possible merger of the
two closed loan books.
About Northern Rock
Headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Northern Rock plc
-- http://www.northernrock.co.uk/-- deals with mortgages, savings
accounts, loans and insurance. The company also promotes secured
loans to its existing mortgage customers. The company had more
than US$200 billion in assets at the end of June 2007.
* * *
As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on Dec. 11,
2009, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it affirmed its
'A/A-1' counterparty credit ratings on U.K. bank Northern Rock
PLC. At the same time, the 'A' issue ratings on Northern Rock's
long-term senior unsecured debt were affirmed. Furthermore, these
ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed with
negative implications on March 6, 2009. Additionally, the rating
on Northern Rock's dated subordinated lower Tier 2 debt was raised
to 'BB' from 'CCC'. The ratings on its perpetual subordinated
debt and preference shares were unaffected. The outlook is
stable. The upgrade of the dated subordinated lower Tier 2 debt
to 'BB' from 'CCC' reflects S&P's view that the risk of nonpayment
of coupons has diminished somewhat.
PREMIUM BARS: Orchid Group Completes Purchase of 43 Businesses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Eat Out Magazine reports that the Orchid Group has completed the
acquisition of 43 businesses from Premium Bars & Restaurants plc.
According to the report, the acquisition includes The Living Room
and Prohibition brands as well as a number of bars, restaurants
and nightclubs across the country, employing over 1,500 people.
The report says over the next 12 months, Orchid intends to roll
out a GBP3 million capital investment program across the estate,
further leveraging its operating disciplines and maximizing the
skill sets and talents of the acquired businesses.
The report recalls Premium Bars & Restaurants plc was placed in
administration in August 2009 after shareholders the Reuben
brothers failed to buy the business after bidding around
GBP50 million.
Premium Bars & Restaurants plc -- http://www.pbr.uk.com/-- is a
leisure company incorporated in the UK in 1997. The company has a
diverse portfolio of over 50 bars, restaurants and clubs in the
UK, as well as two hotels, The Waterside on Newcastle's quayside
and The Rex in Whitley Bay. Its bars and restaurants trade under
the names of The Living Room, Prohibition Bar & Grill and Bel and
The Dragon.
ROYAL BANK: EU Commission Approves Restructuring Plan
-----------------------------------------------------
Ben Moshinsky at Bloomberg News reports that Royal Bank of
Scotland Group Plc won European Union approval for a restructuring
plan that requires it to sell assets including branches and
trading units.
Bloomberg relates the European Commission in Brussels said in an
e-mailed statement Monday the program, under which the U.K.
government would cover 90% of losses from about GBP281 billion
(US$411.8 billion) of the bank's assets, meets guidelines on state
aid.
"RBS will itself pay a sufficient share of the restructuring
costs, and distortions of competition will be limited by
substantial divestments," Bloomberg quoted European Competition
Commissioner Neelie Kroes as saying in the statement. "In case
RBS does not deliver on its balance-sheet reduction targets by
2013, the commission will be able to intervene again, and more
divestments will be required."
Bloomberg recalls the U.K. Treasury pumped GBP25.5 billion of
capital into RBS in November, adding to an initial capital
injection during the financial crisis, making it the costliest
bailout of any bank worldwide. The bank agreed to sell branches
in England and Wales as well as the Sempra commodities trading
division to allay competition concerns, Bloomberg discloses.
RBS is 70%-owned by the government.
About RBS
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE:RBS) --
http://www.rbs.com/-- is a holding company of The Royal Bank of
Scotland plc (Royal Bank) and National Westminster Bank Plc
(NatWest), which are United Kingdom-based clearing banks. The
company's activities are organized in six business divisions:
Corporate Markets (comprising Global Banking and Markets and
United Kingdom Corporate Banking), Retail Markets (comprising
Retail and Wealth Management), Ulster Bank, Citizens, RBS
Insurance and Manufacturing. On October 17, 2007, RFS Holdings
B.V. (RFS Holdings), a company jointly owned by RBS, Fortis N.V.,
Fortis SA/NV and Banco Santander S.A. (the Consortium Banks) and
controlled by RBS, completed the acquisition of ABN AMRO Holding
N.V. (ABN AMRO). In July 2008, the company disposed its entire
interest in Global Voice Group Ltd.
* * *
As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on Nov. 9,
2009, Fitch Ratings placed The Royal Bank of Scotland Group's (RBS
Group) and The Royal Bank of Scotland's Individual Ratings of 'E'
on Rating Watch Positive.
The rating actions follow the recent announcement of an additional
GBP25.5 billion capital injection by end-2009 from the UK
government, confirmation of the group's participation in the UK
government's asset protection scheme and the divestitures required
by the European Commission for approving state aid.
TORITH LTD: In Administration; 110 Jobs Affected
------------------------------------------------
Craig McManamon at The Courier reports that Torith Limited has
gone into administration, resulting in the loss of around 110
jobs.
Ernst & Young is handling the administration process, the report
discloses.
"The group has been impacted by the recent economic downturn which
has led to a declining order book and the directors concluding
that the group can no longer continue to trade," the report quoted
Andrew Davison, joint administrator, as saying. "While we are in
the process of assessing the current state of the business,
unfortunately it is likely that we will have to make a significant
number of redundancies."
Torith Limited is a Fife-based construction and engineering firm.
* UK: Moulton Mulls GBP142.4 Million Fund IPO for Distressed Bets
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Elisa Martinuzzi and Armorel Kenna at Bloomberg News report that
Jon Moulton, the British financier who quit Alchemy Partners in
September, plans an initial public offering to raise GBP142.4
million for a fund that will invest in distressed companies.
Bloomberg relates Better Capital Ltd. said in a Regulatory News
statement Mr. Moulton will lead a team that will advise the
company on its investments.
===============
X X X X X X X X
===============
* Upcoming Meetings, Conferences and Seminars
---------------------------------------------
Feb. 21-23, 2010
INSOL
International Annual Regional Conference
Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE
Contact: 44-0-20-7929-6679 or http://www.insol.org/
Apr. 29-May 2, 2010
AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE
Annual Spring Meeting
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Maryland
Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/
June 17-20, 2010
AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE
Central States Bankruptcy Workshop
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Traverse City, Michigan
Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/
July 7-10, 2010
AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE
Northeast Bankruptcy Conference
Ocean Edge Resort, Brewster, Massachusetts
Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/
July 14-17, 2010
AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE
Southeast Bankruptcy Conference
The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, Amelia, Fla.
Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/
Aug. 5-7, 2010
AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE
Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop
Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, Cambridge, Maryland
Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/
Oct. 6-8, 2010
TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
TMA Annual Convention
JW Marriott Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida
Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/
Dec. 2-4, 2010
AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE
22nd Annual Winter Leadership Conference
Camelback Inn, Scottsdale, Arizona
Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/
Mar. 31-Apr. 3, 2011
AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE
Annual Spring Meeting
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Maryland
Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/
June 9-12, 2011
AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE
Central States Bankruptcy Workshop
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa
Traverse City, Michigan
Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/
Dec. 1-3, 2011
AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE
23rd Annual Winter Leadership Conference
La Quinta Resort & Spa, La Quinta, California
Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/
*********
Monday's edition of the TCR delivers a list of indicative prices
for bond issues that reportedly trade well below par. Prices are
obtained by TCR editors from a variety of outside sources during
the prior week we think are reliable. Those sources may not,
however, be complete or accurate. The Monday Bond Pricing table
is compiled on the Friday prior to publication. Prices reported
are not intended to reflect actual trades. Prices for actual
trades are probably different. Our objective is to share
information, not make markets in publicly traded securities.
Nothing in the TCR constitutes an offer or solicitation to buy or
sell any security of any kind. It is likely that some entity
affiliated with a TCR editor holds some position in the issuers'
public debt and equity securities about which we report.
Each Tuesday edition of the TCR contains a list of companies with
insolvent balance sheets whose shares trade higher than US$3 per
share in public markets. At first glance, this list may look like
the definitive compilation of stocks that are ideal to sell short.
Don't be fooled. Assets, for example, reported at historical cost
net of depreciation may understate the true value of a firm's
assets. A company may establish reserves on its balance sheet for
liabilities that may never materialize. The prices at which
equity securities trade in public market are determined by more
than a balance sheet solvency test.
A list of Meetings, Conferences and Seminars appears in each
Thursday's edition of the TCR. Submissions about insolvency-
related conferences are encouraged. Send announcements to
conferences@bankrupt.com
Each Friday's edition of the TCR includes a review about a book of
interest to troubled company professionals. All titles are
available at your local bookstore or through Amazon.com. Go to
http://www.bankrupt.com/booksto order any title today.
*********
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. Valerie C. Udtuhan, Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine
C. Tumanda, Joy A. Agravante and Peter A. Chapman, Editors.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2754.
This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic
re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior
written permission of the publishers.
Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
be reliable, but is not guaranteed.
The TCR Europe subscription rate is US$625 per half-year,
delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members
of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or
balance thereof are US$25 each. For subscription information,
contact Christopher Beard at 240/629-3300.
* * * End of Transmission * * *