/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/190920.mbx        T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                          E U R O P E

          Friday, September 20, 2019, Vol. 20, No. 189

                           Headlines



G E R M A N Y

GERRY WEBER: Majority of Creditors Back Insolvency Plan
SENVION GMBH: Deal to Buy Service Business to Benefit Siemens
THYSSENKRUPP AG: Egan-Jones Lowers Senior Unsecured Ratings to B+


I R E L A N D

DUNEDIN PARK: Fitch Assigns BBsf Rating on Class D Notes
DUNEDIN PARK: S&P Assigns BB Rating on EUR20.55MM Cl. D Notes
HAYFIN EMERALD III: Fitch Assigns B- Rating on Class F Debt


L U X E M B O U R G

BREEZE FINANCE: S&P Cuts Class A Debt to 'CCC+', Outlook Negative


N E T H E R L A N D S

TELEFONICA EUROPE: S&P Rates Proposed Hybrid Securities 'BB+'


N O R W A Y

NAVICO GROUP: S&P Lowers ICR to 'CCC+' on Liquidity Risks


P O L A N D

TAX CARE: Court Rejects Accelerated Restructuring Motion


R U S S I A

EXPOBANK LLC: Fitch Raises LT IDR to BB-, Off Rating Watch Evolving


S L O V E N I A

ADRIA AIRWAYS: Management, Pilots Ink New Collective Agreement


S P A I N

PIOLIN BIDCO: S&P Assigns Prelim. 'B-' LT ICR, Outlook Positive


U K R A I N E

CENTRENERGO: Economic Court Resumes Bankruptcy Procedure
METINVEST BV: Fitch Raises LongTerm IDRs to BB-, Outlook Stable
METINVEST GROUP: S&P Raises ICR to 'B', Outlook Stable


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

BELMONT HOTEL: Enters Administration, Operations to Continue
BLACKBOURNE: Halts Trading Following Financial Difficulties
LIBERTY GLOBAL: Egan-Jones Lowers Senior Unsecured Ratings to B
LOW & BONAR: Egan-Jones Lowers Senior Unsecured Ratings to B-
MACDET HYGIENE: Goes Into Liquidation, 100+ Jobs Affected

METRO BANK: Fitch Rates GBP3BB EMTN Programme 'BB+'
NATIONWIDE BUILDING: Fitch Rates Add'l. Tier 1 Securities 'BB+'
PERFORM GROUP: S&P Withdraws 'CCC+' Issuer Credit Rating


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Macy's for Sale

                           - - - - -


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G E R M A N Y
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GERRY WEBER: Majority of Creditors Back Insolvency Plan
-------------------------------------------------------
The vast majority of the creditors meeting of GERRY WEBER
International AG (GWI), at the Sept. 18 discussion and voting
meeting, has approved the insolvency plan for the continuation of
the group.  The insolvency plan was approved by all creditor groups
but the current shareholders, which shall leave the company within
the scope of the planned financial restructuring of GWI.

With their approval, the creditor groups make the implementation of
the future concept possible, which includes the financial
restructuring of the fashion company as well as the continuation of
the already launched operational restructuring and repositioning.

Now, the implementation of the insolvency plan is subject to the
approval by the insolvency court, which requires the fulfillment of
certain previously defined precedent conditions as stated in the
insolvency plan.  Within the scope of the ongoing proceedings, the
court may substitute the missing consent by the shareholders in
accordance with Sec. 245 German Insolvency Statute
(Obstruktionsverbot) and thereby support the implementation of the
insolvency plan.

At the Sept. 18 court meeting, one creditor filed a request for
minority protection according to Sec. 251 Insolvency Statue.  The
insolvency court will decide on these requests within the scope of
the plan confirmation.  GWI expects, that this request has no
likelihood of success, since this creditor group is not
disadvantaged by the insolvency plan, as all provided comparative
calculations of GWI show.  Based on the result of the vote, Trustee
Stefan Meyer expects the closure of the insolvency proceedings
under self-administration within this year and that the
restructuring of the company can be continued and closed outside
the insolvency proceedings.

The insolvency plan dictates all measures for the fiscal
restructuring of the group.  As previously communicated, in a first
step, funds managed by Robus Capital Management Ltd. and Whitebox
Advisors LLP shall become sole shareholders of GWI.  For this
purpose, the capital stock of the group will be subject to a
capital reduction from currently EUR45,895,960 to EUR8,733 with a
subsequently capital increase to EUR1,025,000 by issuance of new
shares.  The new shares will be exclusively provided to the
investors, which in turn have committed to provide up to
EUR49.2 million to satisfy creditors and finance operations. Shares
remaining after the capital reduction will be transferred without
indemnity to the funds of the new owners; existing shareholders
will leave the company without compensation.

The creditor groups will receive different offers to satisfy their
claims, specifically tailored to their set of interests.  The
respective insolvency quota contains -- varying by group --
different elements, as for instance a fixed cash quota of 12.0%,
additional proceeds from the future divestments of the group
(logistics center Ravenna Park, remaining shares in HALLHUBER) or
from receiving value recovering financial instruments such as bonds
and convertible bonds.  In total, the calculatory satisfaction
quotas range from about 32% to up to more than 50% of the
respective claims, which is substantially above the quota of a
liquidation and significantly above the average of
self-administration proceedings in Germany.  For the group of
previous shareholders, insolvency law provides no satisfaction
quota as long as creditor claims are not satisfied by 100%.

Before, the creditors of GERRY WEBER Retail GmbH & Co. KG (GWR)
have approved the insolvency plan for the subsidiary of GWI.  Both
insolvency proceedings are chronologically and substantively
coordinated.

Johannes Ehling, Spokesman of the Managing Board of GWI, comments:
"The creditors' approval to our insolvency plan is great news for
all of us and after the countless, partially already implemented
measures, a clear signal to continue the repositioning of our
company with new vigor.  I would like to thank our creditors and,
on behalf of my colleagues in the Managing Board, the entire staff
of GERRY WEBER, for their trust.  For us, the clear vote of the
creditors is equally motivation and responsibility to return GERRY
WEBER on its path to success."

Dr. Christian Gerloff, Chief Representative of GWI continues: "This
insolvency proceeding is a prime example for how insolvency law
measures can provide a new chance for a company with restructuring
potential, without neglecting creditor interests. The vote by the
creditors meeting is a sign of trust in the future of GERRY
WEBER."

Trustee Stefan Meyer of PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH adds: "At today's
discussion and voting meeting, GERRY WEBER has made the decisive
step into a safe and good future.  I am very pleased, that this
renowned company and important regional player with its 40
subsidiaries worldwide and still more than 3,600 employees will
remain within its core structure, while the highly creatively
tailormade insolvency concept provides best possible satisfaction
of creditor claims, which is the key purpose of the insolvency
proceedings.  Creditors will be satisfied with an above average
quota, while they can also freely choose whether to be satisfied by
cash quota or to leave their financial assets in the company to
participate in a value recovery mechanism to profit from the
anticipated positive development.  With this tailormade insolvency
plan we are able to satisfy the various creditor interests ideally.
This good and for the size of the proceedings relatively quickly
implemented result was only possible due to the professional and
trustful collaboration of all participants and the unremitting
efforts of the GERRY WEBER employees, whom I specifically want to
thank."

Background

Since January 25, 2019, GERRY WEBER International AG undergoes
insolvency proceedings under self-administration.  Proceedings were
opened on April 1, 2019.  At the subsidiary GERRY WEBER Retail GmbH
& Co. KG, insolvency proceedings under self-administration were
opened on May 1, 2019.  In both cases, the respective court
appointed lawyer Stefan Meyer of PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH as
trustee.  The Managing Board of GERRY WEBER International AG,
consisting of Johannes Ehling (Spokesman of the Supervisory Board
as well as Chief Sales Officer and Chief Digital Officer), Florian
Frank (Chief Restructuring Officer) and Urun Gursu (Chief Product
Officer) are supported by Chief Representative Dr. Christian
Gerloff (Gerloff Liebler Lawyers), a lawyer well-versed in the
fashion industry.

                     About GERRY WEBER Group

GERRY WEBER International AG, headquartered in Halle/Westphalia, is
a worldwide operating group, uniting four strong brand families
under one roof: GERRY WEBER, TAIFUN and SAMOON. Furthermore, GERRY
WEBER holds a non-strategic stake of 12% in HALLHUBER GmbH.


SENVION GMBH: Deal to Buy Service Business to Benefit Siemens
-------------------------------------------------------------
GTM reports that a Wood Mackenzie analyst says a deal to buy
insolvent German wind-power manufacturer Senvion's service business
would help Siemens Gamesa catch up to rival Vestas in this
increasingly important part of the market.

Senvion this week confirmed it's in exclusive talks with Siemens
Gamesa to sell parts of its service business and other "selected
onshore assets", GTM relates.

Senvion entered voluntary insolvency proceedings in April as the
global wind turbine industry continues to consolidate around a few
major players outside of China, notably Vestas, Siemens Gamesa and
GE, GTM recounts.

Siemens Gamesa has around 90 gigawatts of cumulative capacity
[installed] as of 2018 but only 58 gigawatts of service contracts,"
GTM quotes Shashi Barla, WoodMac's principal analyst for global
wind supply chain and technology, as saying.  A small fraction of
its services contracts cover third-party turbines, GTM states.

"That's compared to [market leader] Vestas' 105 gigawatts of
accumulated capacity and 86 gigawatts of service contracts," Mr.
Barla, as cited by GTM, said, noting that a deal with Senvion could
add 14 to 15 gigawatts of service contracts for Siemens Gamesa.

Senvion's services business is seen as its most valuable asset,
with a large installed base of its well-regarded turbines across
North America and Western Europe, GTM notes.

Senvion, GTM says, expects its manufacturing work to continue for
the next few months, with some of its production staff working into
2020.

What will happen to the rest of Senvion's business remains to be
seen, but Mr. Barla said there's cause for optimism for the other
units, even if they aren't a good fit for Siemens Gamesa, GTM
relays.

Senvion employs 3,500 people, including manufacturing sites in
Germany, Portugal, Poland and India.


THYSSENKRUPP AG: Egan-Jones Lowers Senior Unsecured Ratings to B+
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on September 11, 2019, downgraded the
foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings on
debt issued by thyssenkrupp AG to B+ from BB-.

thyssenkrupp AG is a German multinational conglomerate with focus
on industrial engineering and steel production. The company is
based in Duisburg and Essen and divided into 670 subsidiaries
worldwide. It is one of the world's largest steel producers; it was
ranked tenth-largest worldwide by revenue in 2015.





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I R E L A N D
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DUNEDIN PARK: Fitch Assigns BBsf Rating on Class D Notes
--------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Dunedin Park CLO DAC ratings.

Dunedin Park CLO DAC is a securitisation of mainly senior secured
loans (at least 90%) with a component of senior unsecured,
mezzanine and second-lien loans. A total note issuance of EUR409.8
million has been used to fund a portfolio with a target par of
EUR400 million. The portfolio is managed by Blackstone / GSO Debt
Funds Management Europe Limited. The CLO envisages a 4.5-year
reinvestment period and an 8.5-year weighted average life.

Dunedin Park CLO DAC

                Current Rating          Prior Rating
Class X;     LT  AAAsf  New Rating;  previously at AAA(EXP)sf
Class A-1;   LT  AAAsf  New Rating;  previously at AAA(EXP)sf
Class A-2A;  LT  AAsf   New Rating;  previously at AA(EXP)sf
Class A-2B;  LT  AAsf   New Rating;  previously at AA(EXP)sf
Class B-1;   LT  Asf    New Rating;  previously at A(EXP)sf
Class B-2;   LT  Asf    New Rating;  previously at A(EXP)sf
Class C;     LT  BBBsf  New Rating;  previously at BBB(EXP)sf
Class D;     LT  BBsf   New Rating;  previously at BB(EXP)sf
Class Sub.;  LT  NRsf   New Rating;  previously at NR(EXP)sf

KEY RATING DRIVERS

'B+'/'B' Portfolio Credit Quality

Fitch places the average credit quality of obligors in the 'B+'/'B'
range. The Fitch-weighted average rating factor (WARF) of the
identified portfolio is 31.01.

High Recovery Expectations

At least 90% of the portfolio comprises senior secured obligations.
Fitch views the recovery prospects for these assets as more
favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets.
The Fitch-weighted average recovery rate (WARR) of the identified
portfolio is 66.22%.

Limited Interest Rate Exposure

Up to 10% of the portfolio can be invested in fixed-rate assets,
while fixed-rate liabilities represent 5.63% of the target par.
Fitch modelled both 0% and 10% fixed-rate buckets and found that
the rated notes can withstand the interest-rate mismatch associated
with each scenario.

Diversified Asset Portfolio

The covenanted maximum exposure to the top 10 obligors for
assigning the ratings is 27.5% of the portfolio balance. The
transaction also includes limits on maximum industry exposure based
on Fitch's industry definitions. The maximum exposure to the three
largest (Fitch-defined) industries in the portfolio is covenanted
at 40%. These covenants ensure that the asset portfolio will not be
exposed to excessive concentration.

Portfolio Management

The transaction features a 4.5-year reinvestment period and
includes reinvestment criteria similar to other European
transactions. Fitch's analysis is based on a stressed-case
portfolio with the aim of testing the robustness of the transaction
structure against its covenants and portfolio guidelines.

Cash Flow Analysis

Fitch used a customised proprietary cash flow model to replicate
the principal and interest waterfalls and the various structural
features of the transaction, and to assess their effectiveness,
including the structural protection provided by excess spread
diverted through the par value and interest coverage tests.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

A 125% default multiplier applied to the portfolio's mean default
rate, and with this increase added to all rating default levels,
would lead to a downgrade of up to two notches for the rated notes.
A 25% reduction in recovery rates would lead to a downgrade of up
to four notches for the rated notes.

USE OF THIRD PARTY DUE DILIGENCE PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17G -10

Form ABS Due Diligence-15E was not provided to, or reviewed by,
Fitch in relation to this rating action.

DATA ADEQUACY

The majority of the underlying assets or risk-presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other nationally
recognised statistical rating organisations and/or European
Securities and Markets Authority-registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information.

Overall, Fitch's assessment of the asset pool information relied
upon for the agency's rating analysis according to its applicable
rating methodologies indicates that it is adequately reliable.


DUNEDIN PARK: S&P Assigns BB Rating on EUR20.55MM Cl. D Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Dunedin Park CLO
DAC's class X to D European cash flow CLO notes.

The ratings assigned to Dunedin Park CLO's notes reflect S&P's
assessment of:

  -- The diversified collateral pool, which consists primarily of
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior secured term loans and
bonds that are governed by collateral quality tests.

  -- The credit enhancement provided through the subordination of
cash flows, excess spread, and overcollateralization.

  -- The collateral manager's experienced team, which can affect
the performance of the rated notes through collateral selection,
ongoing portfolio management, and trading.

  -- The transaction's legal structure, which is bankruptcy
remote.

  -- The transaction's counterparty risks, which are mitigated and
in line with S&P's counterparty rating framework.

The issuer expects to purchase more than 50% of the effective date
portfolio from Blackstone/GSO Corporate Funding DAC (BGCF). The
assets from BGCF that weren't settled on the closing date will be
subject to participations. The transaction documents require that
the issuer and BGCF use commercially reasonable efforts to elevate
the participations by transferring to the issuer the legal and
beneficial interests in these assets as soon as reasonably
practicable.

S&P said, "We consider that the portfolio is well-diversified,
primarily comprising broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior
secured term loans and senior secured bonds. Therefore, we have
conducted our credit and cash flow analysis by applying our
criteria for corporate cash flow collateralized debt obligations.

"In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR400 million target par
amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread (3.75%), the
reference weighted-average coupon (4.50%), and the target minimum
weighted-average recovery rate as indicated by the collateral
manager. We applied various cash flow stress scenarios, using four
different default patterns, in conjunction with different interest
rate stress scenarios for each liability rating category."

The transaction documentation requires the collateral manager to
meet certain par maintenance conditions during the reinvestment
period, unless the manager has built sufficient excess par in the
transaction such that the principal collateral amount is greater
than or equal to the reinvestment target par of the portfolio after
reinvestment. Typically the definition of reinvestment target par
refers to the initial target par amount after accounting for any
additional issuance and reduction from principal payments made on
the notes. In this transaction, the reinvestment target par balance
may be reduced by a predetermined amount starting from the July
payment date in 2021 but capped at EUR8 million. This feature may
allow for a greater erosion of the aggregate collateral par amount
through trading. Therefore, in our cash flow analysis, we have also
considered scenarios in which the target par amount decreases by
EUR8 million.

Under S&P's structured finance sovereign risk criteria, it
considers that the transaction's exposure to country risk is
sufficiently mitigated at the assigned rating levels.

The transaction's documented counterparty replacement and remedy
mechanisms adequately mitigate its exposure to counterparty risk
under our current counterparty criteria.

S&P also considers the transaction's legal structure to be in line
with its legal criteria.

Following S&P's analysis of the credit, cash flow, counterparty,
operational, and legal risks, it believes its ratings are
commensurate with the available credit enhancement for each class
of notes.

The transaction securitizes a portfolio of primarily senior secured
leveraged loans and bonds, and will be managed by Blackstone/GSO
Debt Funds Management Europe Ltd.

  Ratings List

  Dunedin Park CLO DAC
  
  Class       Rating      Amount
                         (mil. EUR)
  X           AAA (sf)      2.00
  A1          AAA (sf)    248.00
  A2A         AA (sf)      25.50
  A2B         AA (sf)      14.50
  B1          A (sf)       20.00
  B2          A (sf)        8.00
  C           BBB (sf)     23.45
  D           BB (sf)      20.55
  Sub notes   NR           47.80


HAYFIN EMERALD III: Fitch Assigns B- Rating on Class F Debt
-----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Hayfin Emerald III DAC ratings.

Hayfin Emerald CLO III DAC is a securitisation of mainly senior
secured loans (at least 90%) with a component of senior unsecured,
mezzanine, and second-lien loans. Note proceeds are being used to
fund a portfolio with a target par of EUR400 million. The portfolio
is actively managed by Hayfin Capital Management LLP. The CLO has a
4.5-year reinvestment period and an 8.5-year weighted average life
(WAL).

Hayfin Emerald CLO III DAC

             Current Rating         Prior Rating
Class X;   LT  AAAsf  New Rating;  previously at AAA(EXP)sf
Class A;   LT  AAAsf  New Rating;  previously at AAA(EXP)sf
Class B-1; LT  AAsf   New Rating;  previously at AA(EXP)sf
Class B-2; LT  AAsf   New Rating;  previously at AA(EXP)sf
Class C;   LT  A+sf   New Rating;  previously at A+(EXP)sf
Class D;   LT  BBB-sf New Rating;  previously at BBB-(EXP)sf
Class E;   LT  BB-sf  New Rating;  previously at BB-(EXP)sf
Class F;   LT  B-sf   New Rating;  previously at B-(EXP)sf
Class M;   LT  NRsf   New Rating;  previously at NR(EXP)sf
Sub.;      LT  NRsf   New Rating;  previously at NR(EXP)sf

KEY RATING DRIVERS

'B' Portfolio Credit Quality

Fitch places the average credit quality of obligors to be in the
'B' category. The Fitch weighted average rating factor (WARF) of
the identified portfolio is 33.0.

High Recovery Expectations

At least 90% of the portfolio will comprise senior secured
obligations. Fitch views the recovery prospects for these assets as
more favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine
assets. The Fitch weighted average recovery rate (WARR) of the
identified portfolio is 67.0%.

Diversified Asset Portfolio

The transaction includes various Fitch test matrices corresponding
to two top 10 obligors concentration limits (17% and 26.5%). The
manager can interpolate within and between two matrices. The
transaction also includes various concentration limits, including
the maximum exposure to the three largest (Fitch-defined)
industries in the portfolio at 40%. These covenants ensure that the
asset portfolio will not be exposed to excessive concentration.

Portfolio Management

The transaction has a 4.5-year reinvestment period and includes
reinvestment criteria similar to those of other European
transactions. Fitch analysis is based on a stressed-case portfolio
with the aim of testing the robustness of the transaction structure
against its covenants and portfolio guidelines.

Cash Flow Analysis

Up to 10% of the portfolio can be invested in fixed-rate assets,
while fixed-rate liabilities represent 2.5% of the target par.
Fitch modelled both 0% and 10% fixed-rate buckets and found that
the rated notes can withstand the interest rate mismatch associated
with each scenario.

Fitch used a customised proprietary cash flow model to replicate
the principal and interest waterfalls and the various structural
features of the transaction, and to assess their effectiveness,
including the structural protection provided by excess spread
diverted through the par value and interest coverage tests.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

A 125% default multiplier applied to the portfolio's mean default
rate, and with this increase added to all rating default levels,
would lead to a downgrade of up to two notches for the rated notes.
A 25% reduction in recovery rates would lead to a downgrade of up
to four notches for the rated notes.




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L U X E M B O U R G
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BREEZE FINANCE: S&P Cuts Class A Debt to 'CCC+', Outlook Negative
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its issue-level rating on Breeze Finance
S.A.'s (Breeze Three or the project) Class A (senior) debt to
'CCC+' from 'B-'; the '4' recovery rating is unchanged. At the same
time, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'D' rating on Breeze Three's
class B debt; the '6' recovery rating is unchanged.

Breeze Three is a Luxembourg-based special-purpose vehicle that
issued EUR287 million of 20-year, class A notes, EUR84 million of
class B notes, and EUR84 million of class C notes (not rated) in
2007. Breeze Three used the proceeds of the debt to make loans to a
portfolio of 39 wind projects in Germany (through intermediary
German borrower Breeze Three Energy GmbH & Co. KG) and four in
France (through intermediary French borrower Energie Eolienne
Derval SNC). In addition, project management used proceeds to
refinance existing debt, fund a six-month debt service reserve
account (DSRA) for the class A notes, and a three-month DSRA for
the class B notes. The class B DSRA is fully depleted. The
project's total installed capacity is 347.4 megawatts (MW). The
wind projects have been fully operational since 2008. They are
fully cross-collateralized and benefit from supportive regulatory
regimes for renewable energy in Germany and France.

  -- The overall portfolio includes 43 wind farms and 203 turbines
distributed in 30 different sites in two countires, providing a
moderate diversification

  -- Operations are stable, with availability being above 95%
historically, despite an average age in the portfolio of 15 years

  -- The project is exposed to wind resource risk. Wind supply has
been below historical average over the past few years, and wind
power generation has been significantly irregular over the past
seven years. The yearly volatility due to the wind conditions has
led to changes of 15% in generation in some years

  -- Breeze Three is exposed to a material seasonality in cash
flows. Debt service was split 50% on each payment date, but
production is volatile, with 63% of annual historical production
for the first debt service

  -- Under S&P's forecast, the project would rely on the debt
service reserve account (DSRA) to repay the Class A bonds

  -- The class A DSRA is not replenished ahead of subordinated debt
service. Because subordinated debt is not serviced in full, if the
project draws down the class A DSRA, it will replenish the account

Breeze Three's operational performance continues to deteriorate
because of increased operating costs and volatile energy
production. The portfolio has posted weak performance in 2018
following lower-than-expected revenues and close to levels from
2016--theweakest year since starting operations in 2007. At the
same time, expenses in 2018 have been close to the highest levels
incurred since the entrance into operations. The wind production in
the first half of 2019 has stabilized. However, the reported
provisional expenses for the same period are 12% above the same
period a year earlier.

S&P said, "We see a declining trend in energy production because of
wind conditions, combined with increasing operating expenses. We
have revised our operational expectations, and now expect the
project to depend more on the DSRA to repay the Class A bonds. In
our view, Breeze Three might not be able to repay the notes on time
absent favorable wind conditions and decreasing operating and
maintenance expenses." This capacity is weakened because of the
seasonality of its cash flows, not fully mitigated by the DSRA,
which is funded after junior debt service.

Breeze Three Energy has announced that, in light of the substantial
deferrals on the Class B and Class C bonds, it is considering a
restructuring. This might encompass a sale of its business or
shares, along with an early repayment of part of its financing
subject to a waiver of the remaining part to be agreed between the
parties. The restructuring's timing is uncertain, but we understand
it could happen in the next 6-12 months.

The proposal would be presented individually to each type of
bondholders (Class A, B, and C). The restructuring will require 75%
approval of each group individually. S&P understands bondholders
might own debt in more than one class, which could make the
approval process more challenging, in its view.

S&P said, "The negative outlook reflects the potential
restructuring, which, depending on its conditions, we could view as
distressed. Should the project announce what we consider a
distressed restructuring, we would lower our rating on the debt to
'CC'. Upon the restructuring, should we view it as distressed, we
would lower our rating to 'D'.

"We could also lower the rating if the balance of the class A DSRA
falls below EUR3 million, which would lead us to belie a default
would be possible within the following next 12 months.

"At this stage we see limited scope for an upgrade to 'B-', because
it would require material operational improvement, external support
or additional mitigating factors to the issuer's cash flow
seasonality."




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N E T H E R L A N D S
=====================

TELEFONICA EUROPE: S&P Rates Proposed Hybrid Securities 'BB+'
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'BB+' long-term issue rating to the
proposed hybrid securities to be issued by Telefonica Europe B.V.,
the Dutch finance subsidiary of Spain-based telecommunications
group Telefonica S.A., which will guarantee the proposed
securities.

S&P said, "We understand the group may use the securities' proceeds
to manage its layer of hybrid capital or for general corporate
purposes. We think Telefonica's preference is not to permanently
increase its stock of hybrids by way of this transaction, although
we understand that, at this point, the group could retain the
flexibility to do so. Our ratio of outstanding hybrids to S&P
Global Ratings-adjusted capitalization is about 13% for 2019-2020,
including the proposed issuance. This is well below the 15% limit
on hybrid capitalization that, if exceeded, would lead us to
subject the group's financial policies to further scrutiny.

"At this time, the transaction does not lead us to reassess any of
the existing hybrids as having minimal equity content. We would
determine whether to reduce equity content on other hybrids only
after Telefonica has taken a definitive decision on the use of
proceeds.

"We classify the proposed hybrids as having intermediate equity
content until the first reset date because they meet our criteria
in terms of their subordination, permanence, and optional
deferability during this period. Consequently, when we calculate
Telefonica S.A.'s adjusted credit ratios, we will treat 50% of the
principal outstanding and accrued interest under the proposed
hybrids as equity rather than debt, and 50% of the related payments
on these securities as equivalent to a common dividend."

The two-notch difference between S&P's 'BB+' issue rating on the
proposed hybrid securities and its 'BBB' issuer credit rating (ICR)
on Telefonica S.A. signifies that it has made the following
downward adjustments from the ICR:

-- One notch for the proposed securities' subordination, because
S&P's long-term ICR on Telefonica S.A. is investment grade; and

-- An additional notch for payment flexibility due to the optional
deferability of interest.

S&P said, "The notching of the proposed securities points to our
view that there is a relatively low likelihood that Telefonica
Europe will defer interest payments. Should our view change, we may
significantly increase the number of downward notches that we apply
to the issue rating. We may lower the issue rating before we lower
the ICR."

KEY FACTORS IN S&P's ASSESSMENT OF THE SECURITIES' PERMANENCE

Although the proposed securities are perpetual, Telefonica Europe
can redeem them between the first call date (which falls more than
eight years from issuance) and the first reset date, and every year
thereafter. If any of these events occur, the group intends to
replace the proposed instruments, although it is not obliged to do
so. In S&P's view, this statement of intent and the group's track
record mitigates the likelihood that it will repurchase the
securities without replacement.

The coupon to be paid on the proposed securities equals the sum of
the applicable swap rate plus a margin, with the applicable swap
rate resetting every eight years from issuance. The margin to be
paid on the proposed securities will increase by 25 basis points
(bps) not earlier than 10 years after the issue date, and by a
further 75bps 20 years after the first reset date. S&P views the
cumulative 100bps as a moderate step up, providing Telefonica
Europe with an incentive to redeem the instruments after about 28
years.

Consequently, S&P will no longer recognize the proposed securities
as having intermediate equity content after the first reset date.
This is because the remaining period until its economic maturity
would, by then, be less than 20 years.

KEY FACTORS IN S&P's ASSESSMENT OF THE SECURITIES' SUBORDINATION

The proposed securities will be deeply subordinated obligations of
Telefonica Europe, and will have the same seniority as the hybrids
issued in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. As such, they
will be subordinated to senior debt instruments, and are only
senior to common and preferred shares. S&P understands that the
group does not intend to issue any such preferred shares.

KEY FACTORS IN S&P's ASSESSMENT OF THE SECURITIES' DEFERABILITY

S&P said, "In our view, Telefonica Europe's option to defer payment
of interest on the proposed securities is discretionary and it may
therefore choose not to pay accrued interest on an interest payment
date. However, if an equity dividend or interest on equal-ranking
securities is paid, or if common shares or equal-ranking securities
are repurchased, any outstanding deferred interest payment would
have to be settled in cash.

"That said, this condition remains acceptable under our rating
methodology because once the issuer has settled the deferred
amount, it can choose to defer payment on the next interest payment
date."

The issuer retains the option to defer coupons throughout the
securities' life, although Telefonica intends to not defer coupons
for more than five years. The deferred interest on the proposed
securities is cash cumulative and compounding.




===========
N O R W A Y
===========

NAVICO GROUP: S&P Lowers ICR to 'CCC+' on Liquidity Risks
---------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings said it lowered its long-term issuer credit and
first-lien term loan ratings on Navico Group AS to 'CCC+' from 'B'.
The outlook is negative.

The downgrade follows Navico's weakening liquidity position, S&P's
anticipation of negative FOCF in 2019, and very high leverage
following its downward revision of adjusted EBITDA to $20 million
in 2019 compared with $47 million in its previous base-case
scenario.

S&P's EBITDA revision for 2019 reflects the following factors:

-- Organic revenue decline of 3%, after an 8.3% decline in the
first half year 2019 due to weaker-than-expected sales for certain
products under Lowrance brand. Unlike in S&P's previous base-case
scenario, it no longer expects a material rebound in the second
half because of Navico's delayed new products launch and expansion
into adjacent markets, which it thinks are key factors in
stabilizing revenue;

-- An unfavorable product mix, driven by weaker Lowrance sales and
lower production use, stressing gross margin; and

-- Operating expenditure increased by 16% because of the merger of
C-Map. In addition, S&P expects about $9.0 million of expenses
related to the integration of C-Map and other organizational
restructuring, compared to $4.4 million exceptional income in
2018.

S&P said, "As a result, we forecast a negative FOCF of about $12
million in 2019, compared to about positive $11 million in our
previous base-case scenario, and debt to EBITDA above 10x, compared
with 5x in our previous base-case scenario. Also, we expect
Navico's liquidity sources to be below uses in the next 12 months,
considering the low cash balance, almost fully drawn revolving
credit facility (RCF), and no imminent actionable funding plans,
although we expect Navico's financial sponsors could offer
additional support to ease the pressure.

"We continue to believe that Navico benefits from a strong market
position as No. 2 in the recreational marine electronics market,
worth about $1.4 billion, and that its revenues could recover in
the first half year 2020 once a number of new products are
launched. However, key risks remain in the volatility in the
business, which limits revenue visibility and margin stability; and
competition with much larger players, such as Garmin.

"The negative outlook on Navico reflects our view that we could
lower the rating if liquidity deteriorates further.

"Although there is no significant debt maturity until 2023, we
could lower the rating if liquidity weakened further compared with
our base-case scenario. This could follow a more pronounced revenue
and margin decline if the company further delays its new product
launch, or the new products are not as well received in the market
as expected.

"We could revise the outlook to stable if Navico's liquidity
coverage ratio improves to about 1x. This could happen if the
company's sales of new display product and expansion in adjacent
markets are better than we expect, or if it gets additional
liquidity."




===========
P O L A N D
===========

TAX CARE: Court Rejects Accelerated Restructuring Motion
--------------------------------------------------------
Konrad Krasuski at Bloomberg News reports that Idea Bank says in
regulatory filing the Warsaw court rejected a motion for
accelerated restructuring proceedings of its accounting services
unit Tax Care.

According to Bloomberg, Idea Bank says Tax Care will appeal the
court's decision, which is not final.

Separately, the court has set a supervisor for Tax Care's
bankruptcy proceedings, Bloomberg discloses.

The restructuring of Tax Care that advertised itself as the biggest
accountancy office in Poland was part of the overhaul process of
Idea Bank after the lender wrote off PLN355 million of Tax Care's
value in its FY2018 earnings, reporting record-ever loss for Polish
bank of PLN1.89 billion, Bloomberg notes.




===========
R U S S I A
===========

EXPOBANK LLC: Fitch Raises LT IDR to BB-, Off Rating Watch Evolving
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings upgraded Expobank LLC's Long-Term Issuer Default
Ratings to 'BB-' from 'B+', and removed them from Rating Watch
Evolving. The Outlook is Stable.

The resolution of the RWE follows its assessment of Expo after its
acquisition of Kurskprombank (KPB), a regional Russian bank, in
late April 2019. The acquisition of KPB is capital-accretive and
positive for geographic diversification, while risks stemming from
some of KPB's loans, which Fitch considers potentially high-risk,
could be absorbed by Expo's profitability and capital buffers.

The upgrade also reflects Expo's demonstrated good performance,
reasonable asset quality, healthy capitalisaiton and comfortable
liquidity, which are all in line with its expectations.

The implementation of a consistent and credible fiscal policy
framework in Russia, which should deliver improved macroeconomic
stability and better resilience to shocks, will also be beneficial
for the bank's credit profile.

The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch's expectation that Expo's metrics
should remain relatively stable in the medium-term, as it completes
the integration of KPB.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The IDRs of Expo are driven by its intrinsic strength as reflected
by its Viability Rating (VR). The VR reflects the bank's reasonable
asset quality and profitability metrics, adequate capitalisation,
stable funding profile and ample liquidity. The VR also reflects
Expo's modest franchise in a Russian concentrated banking sector
and the bank's shifting strategy that is influenced by acquisitions
of other banks.

Expo on a consolidated basis (including KPB) reported reasonable
asset quality metrics as of end-1H19, as the impaired loans (Stage
3 loans under IFRS 9) were a low 1.9% of gross loans, and fully
reserved. The majority of KPB's loans were recognised as Stage 1
loans at the time of acquisition but Fitch considers them to be of
weaker quality than Expo's, due mostly to high leverage and weak
financial standing of some borrowers.

Its analysis of Expo's 43-largest loans (including those booked by
KPB) constituting 50% of gross loans or 75% of corporate loans,
revealed potentially high-risk exposures on top of those already
recognised as impaired. Fitch estimates these high-risk loans at 6%
of consolidated gross loans. Retail loans (35% of gross loans) are
mostly car finance. They are of good quality with annualised credit
losses at about 1% in 6M19.

Expo's profitability remained moderate with the operating profit to
risk-weighted assets (RWAs) ratio equal to 1.9% in 1H19, annualised
(slightly down from 2.1% in 2018). Profitability was supported by a
reasonable net interest margin of 6.3% in 1H19 (annualised) and
increased non-interest income (34% of gross revenues). Net
profitability was also positively impacted by the acquisition of
KPB with a RUB1.6 billion non-recurring gain on acquisition, which
was only partially offset by RUB851 million of reserves created
against KPB's loans. Excluding these one-offs consolidated returns
on average assets (ROAA) and equity (ROAE) would be around 3.8% and
22.7% respectively.

Capitalisation was adequate as the ratio of Fitch Core Capital
(FCC)-to-RWAs was equal to 13.6% at end-1H19. Regulatory
capitalisation on a consolidated basis was tighter due to more
conservative provisioning of loans under the local accounting
standards, with the Tier 1 capital ratio standing at 11% at the
same date vs. a minimum of 8.125%, including buffers. Higher-risk
exposures within Expo's largest loans, net of reserves, accounted
for 19% of the regulatory consolidated Tier 1 capital, albeit the
bank can reserve them in full without breaching the regulatory
minimum.

Expo is predominantly funded by customer accounts (93% of total
liabilities at end-1H19), the majority of which are retail deposits
(55% of total liabilities). Concentration of customer accounts was
moderate with the 10-largest depositors accounting for 23% of the
total at end-1H19. Liquidity buffer (cash, short-term interbank
placements and unpledged securities) was sufficient to repay a
reasonable 26% of total customer accounts, net of potential
near-term repayments of wholesale funding, during the next 12
months.

SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR

The Support Rating of '5' and Support Rating Floor of 'No Floor'
reflect Fitch's view that support from the Russian authorities
cannot be relied upon due to the bank's limited systemic
importance. Support from the bank's private shareholders cannot be
reliably assessed and therefore is not factored into the ratings.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Expo's ratings may come under pressure should, contrary to its
expectations, asset quality deteriorate significantly leading to
negative profitability and capital erosion. Significant deposit
outflows and weakening of the bank's liquidity buffer would also be
negative for the ratings.

Upside for the ratings is currently limited and would require
notable improvement of the bank's franchise and switching to a more
sustainable business model focused on organic growth, along with
maintaining reasonable financial profile metrics.




===============
S L O V E N I A
===============

ADRIA AIRWAYS: Management, Pilots Ink New Collective Agreement
--------------------------------------------------------------
SeeNews reports that Slovenia's flag carrier Adria Airways said its
management and pilots signed a new collective agreement, averting a
planned strike.

According to SeeNews, Adria said in a statement the agreement was
signed on Sept. 17 and the pilots' strike planned for Sept. 18 to
20 and Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 was cancelled.

"Signing of the agreement means stabilization of working conditions
in the company and continued focus of the management on the
stability of business and providing of services," SeeNews quotes
the statement as saying.

It added that Adria Airways will operate all flights as scheduled,
SeeNews notes.

Local media reported last week that Slovenia's civil aviation
agency CAA has begun a check of Adria Airways' operations and
financial performance, which could result in withdrawing the
airline's operational license considering its financial troubles,
SeeNews relates.  The outcome of the CAA check will be known by the
end of October SeeNews states.

Adria's financial statements in the past three years might have
been manipulated to cover up its loss and the growing need of fresh
capital, SeeNews relays, citing a Sept. 11 report by news portal
Siol.net.




=========
S P A I N
=========

PIOLIN BIDCO: S&P Assigns Prelim. 'B-' LT ICR, Outlook Positive
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its preliminary 'B-' long-term issuer
credit rating to Parques Reunidos' parent company Piolin BidCo
S.A.U., and its preliminary 'B-' issue rating to the proposed
EUR960 million term loan B (TLB).

The assignment of S&P's preliminary ratings on Parques Reunidos
follows the announcement on April 26, 2019, that investment firm
EQT Infrastructure, together with existing shareholders Corporacion
Financiera Alba and GBL, have agreed to launch a voluntary takeover
bid for Parques Reunidos. GBL and Alba will roll over their 44.2%
stake, so the takeover effectively concerns 55.8% of the remaining
share capital.

The transaction financing package includes a new EUR960
million-equivalent term loan B (TLB) and a EUR200 million revolving
credit facility (RCF), to be issued by the parent company, Piolin
BidCo S.A.U., along with equity of EUR1.04 billion, which will
comprise ordinary shares. Once the transaction is completed, S&P
expects EQT Infrastructure will own 53.13%, Alba 24.40%, and GBL
22.47%.

S&P said, "From a business risk perspective, we assess positively
Parques Reunidos' well-diversified portfolio of leisure parks in
terms of geography, brands, and type; its leading position in the
leisure parks industry, especially in Europe; and its healthy S&P
Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin of about 30%. We also value
the positive structural growth drivers in the industry and the
relatively high barriers to entry, which we believe somewhat
protect Parques Reunidos' competitive position."

However, Parques Reunidos' operations are highly seasonal, with
about 90% of its EBITDA generated in the summer months, and it has
meaningful exposure to event risks--mainly related to weather,
safety, and epidemics--as most of its leisure parks are located
outdoors. In addition, the company's business model has high
operating leverage due to a relatively high proportion of fixed
costs. This has resulted in variability of EBITDA and margins in
previous years.

S&P views Parques Reunidos' new capital structure as highly
leveraged, and expect adjusted debt to EBITDA to reach about 6.6x
in 2019. This includes operating leases of EUR160 million and
financial leases of EUR65 million, and assumes that the RCF is
drawn by EUR40 million at year-end 2019.

Parques Reunidos has underperformed since its IPO in 2016 as it
faced exceptional events such as adverse weather and terrorist
attacks, and embarked on a number of acquisitions that diverted the
attention of the management team. Nonetheless, the company's new
shareholders have designed a turnaround strategy, which S&P views
favorably, to improve the performance of the company's core
business through digitalization, marketing, and pricing
initiatives, integration of the latest acquisitions, and,
importantly, exertion of greater discipline over future cash
investments and returns on capital.

S&P said, "At the same time, we are aware of the execution risks
linked to this turnaround plan and we expect it to entail material
cash costs and investments, meaning subdued free operating cash
flow (FOCF) generation at least over the next 18 months.

"The positive outlook reflects our expectation that Parques
Reunidos will successfully execute its new turnaround strategy
focused on improving its core business through digitalization,
marketing, and pricing initiatives, along with the integration of
its latest acquisitions.

"We could raise the rating if, over the coming 18 months, Parques
Reunidos successfully reduced its adjusted debt to EBITDA below
6.0x and generated sustainable and material positive FOCF, after
exceptional costs related to the change of ownership.

"We could revise the outlook back to stable if Parques Reunidos
failed to deleverage below 6.0x and generate material FOCF in the
next 18 months. This could occur, if, for example, the company did
not successfully execute its growth strategy; if it incurred higher
exceptional costs than we anticipate due to lower EBITDA and/or
cash flows than we expect; if it was affected by event risks,
probably linked to weather; or if it undertook debt-funded
acquisitions. We could also revise the outlook to stable if Parques
Reunidos' liquidity weakened."




=============
U K R A I N E
=============

CENTRENERGO: Economic Court Resumes Bankruptcy Procedure
--------------------------------------------------------
Ukrainian News Agency reports that the Northern appeal economic
court has resumed the bankruptcy procedure of Centrenergo energy
generating company.

This follows from the court's ruling, Ukrainian News Agency notes.

In compliance with the court's records, the decision of the
Economic Court of Kyiv to dismiss the case upon the bankruptcy of
Centrenergo was suspended until consideration of the appeals from
Transnova LLC and Balance Group LLC, Ukrainian News Agency
relates.

The consideration of the appeals is scheduled for Oct. 9, Ukrainian
News Agency discloses.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Economic Court of
Kyiv has dismissed the case on Centrenergo's bankruptcy.

In May, the creditors committee of Centrenergo decided to launch
the financial recovery of the enterprise, Ukrainian News Agency
recounts.


METINVEST BV: Fitch Raises LongTerm IDRs to BB-, Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Ukrainian integrated steel company
Metinvest B.V.'s Long-Term Local- and Foreign-Currency Issuer
Default Ratings and senior unsecured bonds to 'BB-' from 'B+'.
Fitch has simultaneously assigned a 'BB-(EXP)' senior unsecured
rating to Metinvest's upcoming notes issue. The Outlook is Stable.


The upgrade follows Ukraine's Country Ceiling upgrade to 'B' from
'B-'on September 6, 2019. The IDR of Metinvest remains two notches
above the Country Ceiling due to its comfortable hard-currency (HC)
external debt service coverage, and also its 'BB' category business
and financial profiles. Fitch forecasts funds from operations (FFO)
adjusted gross leverage to remain within 2.0x-2.5x over the rating
horizon to 2022.

As part of a capped tender offer for its outstanding USD945 million
senior notes due 2023, Metinvest is planning to use the new senior
notes to partly redeem its outstanding notes, extending its debt
maturity profile. The new notes will rank equally and have the same
guarantee structure and security as the outstanding notes due 2021,
2023 and 2026.

The new notes rated in line with with Metinvest's IDR and senior
notes'.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Rating above Country Ceiling: Fitch expects Metinvest's HC external
debt service cover ratio to be comfortable at above its 1.5x
threshold on a 18-month rolling basis, allowing the company's IDR
to remain two notches above Ukraine's 'B' Country Ceiling . The top
line of the ratio is mainly comprises substantial export EBITDA,
aided by abroad EBITDA and cash. The bottom line of the ratio
represents HC debt service, comprising principal repayments and
interest payments, which are fairly smooth over 2019-2022. The
company faces a USD945 million notes maturity in 2023 but this
would be addressed by the upcoming notes issue, which will improve
HC external debt service coverage for 2023.

Exports Drive EBITDA: Around 65% of Metinvest's earnings come from
exports and 10% from assets located in Europe and the US, with most
of the company's cash held offshore/outside Ukraine. This allows
the company to service its HC debt with recurring HC cash flows and
cash balances.

Expensive Coal Impacts Profitability: According to the latest CRU,
Metinvest's Ukrainian steel assets sit in the third quartile of the
global hot rolled coils (HRC) site cost curve, reflecting elevated
coal prices and exacerbated by Russia's ban of coal exports to
Ukraine since June 2019. Rising coal prices contribute to diluting
both the steel segment and the company's margins, with EBITDA
margins (excluding joint ventures) slipping to 13% in 1H19 from 20%
in 2017. Fitch expects post-2019 coal price moderation to return
Metinvest towards the mid-point of the global HRC cost curve and
restore its margins to above 15%.

Market Correction, EBITDA Moderation: Iron ore and coal price
demonstrated a supply-driven 15%-20% yoy price growth in 1H19. This
was in contrast to flat and long steel products prices, which
shrank around 15% on EU steel market weakness. Steel margin
contraction outpaced mining margin increase due to lack of full
coal integration, and caused Metinvest's EBITDA (excluding joint
ventures) to decrease to USD756 million in 1H19, from USD1,169
million a year ago. Since the last rating action in April 2019
Fitch has revised Metinvest's full-year EBITDA down to slightly
above USD1.5 billion in both 2019 and 2020 and slightly under
USD1.5 billion in 2021 and 2022, reflecting sharper-than-previously
expected price contraction across the steel value chain.

Leverage Revised Up, Adequate: As a result of its EBITDA revision,
Fitch expects Metinvest's FFO gross adjusted leverage to rebase at
2.2x-2.3x, up from 1.7x in 2017-2018, and the 1.7x-1.8x levels
envisaged back in April 2019. Fitch expects that Metinvest will
boost capex and conservatively assume a dividend increase.
Nevertheless this would still leave moderately positive free cash
flow (FCF) generation and allow absolute debt reduction starting
from 2019.

Partial Vertical Integration: Metinvest is an important eastern
European producer of metal products (8.8mt in 2018) and iron ore
(27.3mt of concentrate and pellets in 2018), with around 300%
self-sufficiency in iron ore but only 40%-45% in coking coal. The
steel segment's proximity to Black Sea and Azov Sea ports allows
the company to benefit from both cheaper steel exports and seaborne
coal imports logistics. The operations are also further integrated
into downstream operations in Italy, Bulgaria and the UK. Partial
integration into key raw materials and exposure to high value-added
products help Metinvest mitigate but not avert steel market
volatility.

Sizeable Investment Underway: The refinancing in 2018 raised
additional liquidity for operational purposes, which allowed
Metinvest to increase capex. Its key steel projects include
increasing crude steel production capacity at Azovstal and Ilyich
Steel to 11mt, plus a major overhaul of blast furnaces and
construction of a new continuous casting machine; strengthening its
product mix towards finished and higher value- added products and
implementing cost efficiencies. In iron ore the company is
targeting to increase iron content and enhance key mechanical and
chemical characteristics of iron ore products to access premium
markets as well as improving its cost position.

Protectionist Measures May Distort Markets: Tariffs, anti-dumping
measures and final safeguards across the US, Canada, Europe and
other countries are impacting supply chains and diverting sales of
steel products. Metinvest imports slab to Italy for processing into
HRC at its Ferriera Valsider plant, avoiding anti-dumping duties on
HRC imported from Ukraine. In addition, Metinvest's plate mills in
Italy (Ferriera Valsider and Trametal) and the UK (Spartan) as well
as the company's long production site in Bulgaria (Promet Steel)
are not subject to European quotas or anti-dumping duties.
Otherwise, Metinvest mainly sells flat products into Europe for
which quotas were set at levels significantly above actual
imports.

No EBITDA Reduction from Protectionism: Its rating forecast does
not factor in any further reduction of EBITDA linked to
individual/specific protectionist measures, but it should be noted
that trade barriers reduce steel companies' flexibility to respond
to changing demand patterns over time.

Sizeable Working Capital Position: Metinvest reported a working
capital outflow of USD604 million for 2018 (after USD873 million in
2017; both numbers adjusted for factoring), only a small part of
which is linked to related-party transactions. Fitch will continue
to monitor working capital movements and trade balances between
Metinvest and its JVs and associates. Fitch notes that acting as a
working capital provider in a down-cycle to JVs and associates
could unduly impact FCF generation.

Resilient Operations despite Ongoing Conflict: Real GDP growth for
Ukraine is forecast at 3.4% for 2019, 3.2% for 2020 and 3.5% for
subsequent years - all above its global GDP growth expectations.
Despite the increasing flow of foreign capital into the country,
Fitch expects a gradual weakening of hryvna against the US dollar
alongside with declining yet-high single-digit domestic inflation.
Metinvest sells around 27%-28% of production domestically and
exports the remainder, with Europe, Middle East and North Africa
representing key markets.

Risks from Conflict Remain: The Kerch Strait incident in November
2018, when the Russian navy exercised control over access to the
Sea of Azov and captured Ukrainian ships and crew members,
highlighted that the conflict in eastern Ukraine continues to pose
risks to day-to-day operations. The captured crew members were
eventually released by Russia in September 2019, which indicates a
lower risk of future impact of the conflict on Metinvest's
operations, particularly in the vicinity of Mariupol. We, however
caution that Metinvest's exposure to the risks of conflict
escalation remains high relative to its EMEA peers, although Fitch
admits that most of its 1H19 EBITDA is generated by its mining
assets located substantially farther from the conflict zone.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Metinvest has a smaller scale of operations and weaker cost
position than major CIS flat steel producers PJSC Novolipetsk Steel
(NLMK, BBB/Stable), PAO Severstal (BBB/Stable) and PJSC
Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK, BBB/Stable). It also has a
share of high value-added products on a par with Severstal's and
MMK's 45%-50% share.

Metinvest is fully integrated into iron ore and pellets like NLMK
and Severstal and well ahead of MMK, but only partly
self-sufficient in coking coal, falling behind Severstal and MMK
but ahead of NLMK. Despite its vertically integrated business
operations, Metinvest has an overall cost position that is closer
to the middle of the global crude steel cash cost curve, compared
with the first quartile for its three peers. The company's
rerolling assets in Europe and smaller domestic steel market are
behind Metinvest's 70%-75% export share, comparable with NLMK's and
above more domestically-oriented Severstal's and MMK's.

Metinvest's scale with partial vertical integration, over 40% high
value-added product share and substantial export share are factors
behind the company's 'BB' business profile. Metinvest's ratings
also take into consideration higher-than-average systemic risks
associated with the business and jurisdictional environment in
Ukraine.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

   - Fitch iron ore price deck: USD75/t for the rest of 2019,
USD70/t for 2020, USD60/t for 2021 and USD55/t for 2022

   - Steel products sales (excluding resales) exceeding 9mt in 2019
and rising to 11mt by 2022 (2018: 8.8mt) driven by flat products,
including increase in high-value added coils

   - Pellet sales exceeding 9mt from 2019 and 10mt from 2022,
replacing lower-margin iron ore concentrate sales

   - EBITDA margin dips to 14%-15% in 2019 before recovering
towards 16% as a weaker hryvna and improving product mix offset
continuing price pressure across the steel value chain

   - Capex at USD850 million-USD900 million p.a. from 2019

   - Higher dividends payment resulting in moderately positive FCF
generation and incremental net debt reduction over time

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Developments That May, Individually or Collectively, Lead to
Positive Rating Action

   - Upgrade of Ukraine's Country Ceiling coupled with FFO adjusted
gross leverage being sustained below 1.5x (2018: 1.7x)

Developments That May, Individually or Collectively, Lead to
Negative Rating Action

   - FFO adjusted gross leverage sustained above 2.5x

   - Further market pressure resulting in EBITDA margin (excluding
resales) below 12% on a sustained basis

   - HC external debt service cover ratio falling below 1.5x on an
18-month rolling basis

   - Sizeable related-party transactions putting pressure on
working capital and overall liquidity position

   - Downgrade of Ukraine's Country Ceiling

   - Development of the conflict in the eastern part of Ukraine
affecting the company's profile or profitability

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Satisfactory Liquidity: At end-June 2019, Metinvest had reported
cash balances of USD279 million (end-2018: USD280 million) and
unutilised trade finance facilities of USD220 million. Metinvest's
short-term maturities increased to USD602 million, of which USD222
million (end-2018: USD126 million) was unrelated to trade finance
facilities. Fitch expects that Metinvest will generate over USD300
million pre-dividend FCF over the next three years. Fitch assesses
Metinvest's liquidity as satisfactory and reliant on a combination
of unutilised trade finance, cash cushion and FCF generation.

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL ADJUSTMENTS

   - USD46 million cash and cash equivalents out of USD280 million
reported cash and cash equivalents as of December 2018 treated as
restricted

   - USD242 million under the group's factoring programme has been
adjusted to the total debt amount as of December 2018

   - USD5.7 million annual operating lease amount has been
capitalised with a 5x multiple and adjusted to the total debt
amount

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

Metinvest B.V.'s FC IDR was constrained by Ukraine's Country
Ceiling.


METINVEST GROUP: S&P Raises ICR to 'B', Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its issuer credit rating and its issue
ratings on Ukrainian steel maker Metinvest Group's existing notes
to 'B' from 'B-'. The outlook is stable. S&P also assigned a
preliminary 'B' rating to the proposed notes.

The positive rating action is supported by the company's financial
policy of maintaining relatively low gearing over the past three
years, with adequate free cash flow allocation between growth
capital expenditure (capex) and returns to its shareholders.

S&P said, "Under our base case, we expect the company to maintain
an adjusted funds from operations (FFO) to debt of 35%-40% in 2019
and 2020, well in the range commensurate with the current 'B'
rating (20%-40%), with a positive discretionary cash flow (free
cash flow after capex and dividends).

"We believe that the current market conditions will have a mixed
impact on the company's results in 2019. On the one hand, the
softness in the European steel industry has translated into
pressure on the steel division's margins and profitability (in the
first half of 2019 the division reported a weak EBITDA of $0.1
billion). On the other hand, we expect Metinvest to benefit from
the abnormal iron ore and pellet prices. Under our calculations,
the EBITDA would need to fall to about $1.1 billion in 2020,
compared with $1.5 billion-$1.7 billion in our base case, before
witnessing a pressure on the rating.

"While the company has no public financial policy or gearing
objectives, its past performance and the restrictions under the
existing financial documents provide a supportive anchor for our
financial risk assessment." Those include:

-- Absolute reported net debt level of about $2.5 billion over the
cycle. As of June 30, 2019, the company had a reported net debt of
about $2.4 billion, compared with a debt level of $2.5 billion-$2.7
billion in the past three years.

-- Returns to shareholders: S&P understands that the company is
allowed to distribute up to 50% of its net income to its
shareholders. It restarted shareholder distributions in 2018 (nil
in 2015-2017), and distributed $675 million in 18 months (including
repayment of about $482 million shareholder loans), equivalent to
about 30% of net income.

-- Extending its added-value product proposition, by spending
significant amounts on its downstream operations. S&P understands
that the major projects will be commissioned starting early 2020.
S&P assumes relatively small contribution from those projects in
its base case.

-- Maintaining an adequate liquidity with comfortable maturity
profile. The proposed refinance would further enhance this.

A key area of focus in the coming years would be Metinvest's
ability to improve its profitability through the cycle. Over
2015-2018, EBITDA ranged between $0.3 billion-$2.1 billion
(excluding joint ventures [JVs]). Earlier this year, S&P expected
the past investments in the downstream operations to better protect
the company during a potential downturn, which is not the case in
2019. According to the company, those will become more visible
starting 2020.

The stable outlook takes into account the company's healthy credit
metrics and improved liquidity position after the proposed
liability management exercise, on the back of the softness in the
European steel industry.

S&P said, "Under our base case, we project flat EBITDA of $1.5
billion-$1.7 billion in 2019 and 2020, translating to an adjusted
FFO to debt of 35%-40%. This compares with a range of 20%-40% that
we see as commensurate with the current 'B' rating through the
cycle. In addition, the rating is supported by the company's
ability to generate at least neutral discretionary cash flow (free
cash flow after capex and dividends).

"Lastly, the current rating and outlook are closely linked to our
rating on Ukraine (B-/Stable/--) and our creditworthiness
assessment of Metinvest's parent company, System Capital Management
(SCM) Limited (b).

"We could take a negative rating action on Metinvest if credit
metrics deteriorated to adjusted FFO to debt below 20% during a
downturn (or 40% during the peak of the cycle), without a prospect
of improvement in the following year." This could occur if S&P
observes one or more of the following:

-- A material drop in iron ore prices and/or pellet premiums
compared with our base-case assumption, without an offset from the
steel division, leading to EBITDA of $1.1 billion or less;

-- Operational issues in Ukraine; and

-- The company embarking on a sizable debt-finance acquisition or
deciding to distribute material dividends.

Pressure on the rating could also increase if liquidity
deteriorates from the current adequate assessment.

S&P said, "Lastly, a downgrade of our sovereign rating on Ukraine
would likely trigger a similar rating action on Metinvest. The same
action is likely if we noticed a deterioration in the credit
quality of the parent company.

"At this stage, we see limited upside for the rating on Metinvest
in the next 12 months. This is because of the caps imposed by the
sovereign rating on Ukraine and the credit quality of the parent
company. Both will be need to improve before a potential positive
rating action on Metinvest."

In addition, a higher rating would also require the following:

-- Adjusted FFO to debt of 40% or more during the low point of the
cycle.

-- Lower volatility of earnings. In S&P's view, the existing
undergoing projects should help the company to meet this condition
starting 2020.

-- No material changes from the current cash flow allocation
framework, supported by either public financial objectives or
restrictions from its lenders.




===========================
U N I T E D   K I N G D O M
===========================

BELMONT HOTEL: Enters Administration, Operations to Continue
------------------------------------------------------------
Owen Hughes at NorthWalesLive reports that the Belmont Hotel on the
North Parade in Llandudno -- which was bought by Northern
Powerhouse Developments in 2015 -- has gone into administration.

The last six weeks has seen three hotels in North Wales owned by
NPD enter administration -- Caer Rhun Hall in the Conwy Valley and
Llandudno Bay Hotel and Queens Hotel in Llandudno, NorthWalesLive
relates.

These came after a probe was launched into the finances of Northern
Powerhouse Developments (NPD) with insolvency practitioners Duff &
Phelps appointed interim managers by the High Court, NorthWalesLive
notes.

All the hotels are in the hands of administrators Duff & Phelps and
they all remain open and continue to trade in administration,
NorthWalesLive discloses.

Buyers are being sought for the sites, NorthWalesLive states.

The Belmont had previously been owned by the Royal Blind Society
before being sold for GBP500,000 to NPD, according to
NorthWalesLive.

Investors in the NPD hotel schemes fear losing tens of thousands of
pounds, NorthWalesLive says.


BLACKBOURNE: Halts Trading Following Financial Difficulties
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Construction Index reports that Blackbourne, a Carillion
subcontractor on the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, has been
forced to cease trading.

After 61 years in business, the family-run mechanical & electrical
subcontractor ran into financial difficulties, The Construction
Index discloses.

According to The Construction Index, the Belfast Telegraph reports
that the company has entered into a company voluntary arrangement
(CVA) to pay off its debts, with all 86 staff being made redundant.
It has appointed business advisers Baker Tilly Mooney Moore to
advise on the CVA process, The Construction Index relates.

In the year to March 31, 2018, Blackbourne made a pre-tax loss of
GBP3.9 million on revenue of GBP24.7 million, The Construction
Index states.  The loss was attributed to "three major construction
contractors" -- one of which is believed to have been Carillion,
The Construction Index notes.


LIBERTY GLOBAL: Egan-Jones Lowers Senior Unsecured Ratings to B
---------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on September 12, 2019, downgraded the
foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings on
debt issued by Liberty Global PLC to B from B+. EJR also downgraded
the rating on commercial paper issued by the Company to B from A3.

Liberty Global is a multinational telecommunications company with
headquarters in London, Amsterdam and Denver. It was formed in 2005
by the merger of the international arm of Liberty Media and UGC.
Liberty Global is the largest broadband internet service provider
outside the US.


LOW & BONAR: Egan-Jones Lowers Senior Unsecured Ratings to B-
-------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on September 11, 2019, downgraded the
foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings on
debt issued by Low & Bonar PLC to B- from B+. EJR also downgraded
the ratings on commercial paper issued by the Company to B from
A3.

Low & Bonar PLC is a United Kingdom-based company engaged in
international manufacturing and supply of performance materials.



MACDET HYGIENE: Goes Into Liquidation, 100+ Jobs Affected
---------------------------------------------------------
Conor Riordan at Press Association reports that more than 100 staff
at deep-cleaning firm Macdet Hygiene Services Limited will lose
their jobs after the company went into liquidation.

The company had a turnover of around GBP4 million, employing 104
workers across offices in Glasgow, Stoke and Luton, Press
Association discloses.

The firm ceased trading with immediate effect on Sept. 11 and 99
staff have been made redundant, Press Association relates.

Five staff in the Glasgow office are to be retained for a few days
to help wind down the business, Press Association notes.

According to Press Association, Derek Forsyth, the provisional
liquidator, said: "Macdet was a well-established and highly
regarded specialist supplier of deep cleaning services essential
for the safe operation of commercial and public buildings.

"Although the company had a strong foothold in the UK market, it
had suffered from a recent downturn in work on a major contract,
leading to serious cash flow problems.

"As such the only option was to place the company in liquidation."

Founded in 1988, the company provided a range of deep cleaning and
hygiene services for floor coverings, kitchens, ventilation
systems, water treatment systems, duct cleaning and high areas in
buildings.  Its 24/7 specialist services were used by clients base
across the hotel, hospitality, retail, office, sport and leisure
and industrial sectors.


METRO BANK: Fitch Rates GBP3BB EMTN Programme 'BB+'
---------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Metro Bank plc's GBP3 billion EMTN
programme a long-term senior non-preferred (SNP) debt rating of
'BB+; and long-term and short-term senior preferred debt ratings of
'BB+'/'B'. The ratings are programme ratings and do not necessarily
apply to all the notes issued under it.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The SNP programme rating is in line with Metro Bank's Long-Term
Issuer Default Rating (IDR, BB+/RWN) because any SNP debt issued
under the programme will be direct, unsecured and senior
obligations of the bank. SNP debt constitutes a new senior debt
class under UK law that ranks above subordinated debt and below
senior unsecured preferred debt, which will rank in line with
certain other senior liabilities. SNP debt will be bailed in before
senior preferred debt in the event of insolvency or resolution.

Fitch views the probability of default on the SNP notes currently
the same as for senior unsecured preferred obligations because of
the small buffers of SNP and qualifying junior debt (QJD) issued by
Metro Bank. Over time, a build-up of SNP and other QJD could result
in a level of protection for preferred senior notes warranting them
being rated one notch higher than the bank's Long-Term IDR and SNP
debt ratings. The bank's current buffer of QJD consists of GBP250
million Tier 2 debt; it does not have senior unsecured preferred
debt outstanding.

Metro Bank is planning to build up its minimum requirement for own
funds and eligible liabilities (MREL).

Fitch assigned Metro Bank Long- and Short-Term IDRs on August 28,
2019. Metro Bank's Long-Term IDR is driven by and is at the same
level as its VR. The VR reflects the combination of a relatively
immature and undiversified business model, which continues to
require fast growth in order to become profitable, well performing
assets and a relatively stable retail funding base. The ratings are
supported by the strong liquidity, which Fitch expects to continue,
solid capital position, and expectation of continued low asset
impairments.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

SNP and senior preferred unsecured programme ratings are primarily
sensitive to a change in Metro Bank's Long- and Short-Term IDRs. A
gradual build-up of a layer of SNP could add a level of protection
for senior preferred notes, which could result in the senior
preferred notes being rated one notch above the bank's Long-Term
IDR and above its SNP debt ratings. Metro Bank does not currently
have any senior preferred debt outstanding.

Metro Bank's Long-Term IDR is primarily sensitive to the outcome of
Brexit negotiations. Fitch will likely assign a Negative Outlook in
the event of a disruptive 'no-deal' Brexit. A Negative Outlook on
the Long-Term IDR would not affect the debt ratings.

The bank's VR and therefore its IDR are sensitive to a
deterioration in capital buffers and to a reduction in its
liquidity. The bank's ratings would likely be downgraded if another
shock results in deposit outflows that are outside the bank's
current risk appetite and targets, or if liquidity reduces to such
an extent that Fitch no longer considers it to be able to absorb
additional liquidity stresses.

Metro Bank's ratings could be upgraded if its business model is
demonstrated to be resilient and its ability to strengthen capital
through earnings retention improves. This would likely happen if
the bank grows into its cost base without compromising its
underwriting standards.


NATIONWIDE BUILDING: Fitch Rates Add'l. Tier 1 Securities 'BB+'
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Nationwide Building Society's (A/Rating
Watch Negative/F1/a) resetting perpetual contingent convertible
additional Tier 1 capital securities (the notes) a Long-term rating
of 'BB+'.

The society's other ratings are unaffected by this rating action.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The notes are Additional Tier 1 (AT1) instruments with fully
discretionary interest payments and are subject to full write down
and conversion into Nationwide core capital deferred shares (CCDS)
on breach of an individual consolidated or consolidated 7% Common
Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio. CCDS are a regulatory approved form of
CET1 capital, which Fitch includes in Fitch Core Capital (FCC). The
AT1 notes may also be written off or converted into CET1 capital by
the UK resolution authorities in certain circumstances under
existing recovery and resolution legislation.

The securities are rated five notches below Nationwide's 'a'
Viability Rating (VR), in accordance with Fitch's criteria for
rating subordinated and hybrid securities. The notes are notched
twice for loss severity to reflect the write-down and conversion
into CCDS on breach of the trigger, and three times for
non-performance risk.

The notching for non-performance risk reflects the instruments'
fully discretionary interest payment, which Fitch considers the
most easily activated form of loss absorption. Nationwide will also
be restricted from making interest payments on the notes by the UK
regulator if it fails to meet its combined buffer requirement, or
if it has insufficient distributable items, or if it is insolvent.
Since August 2019, the sufficiency of distributable items is not
only calculated in accordance with the society's risk weighted
capital requirements, but also according to its MREL buffer
requirements. It is possible that in the future the society may be
restricted from paying coupons based on a leverage ratio buffer
requirement but this is currently not the case.

Nationwide's regulatory risk-weighted capital ratios are high as
they are boosted by very low risk weights. The society reported a
31.4% CET1 ratio at end-June 2019, which is well above its current
combined buffer requirement of 13.2%. Because of the low
risk-weights, its minimum regulatory leverage ratio requirement is
Nationwide's binding capital constraint. At end-June 2019,
Nationwide's UK leverage ratio was 4.4% compared with minimum
leverage requirements set by the UK PRA on a UK leverage basis of
4.0% (comprising a minimum requirement of 3.25%, countercyclical
leverage buffer of 0.4% and, from August 1, 2019 a systematic risk
buffer of 0.35%).

RATING SENSITIVITIES

As the notes are notched from Nationwide's VR, their rating is
mostly sensitive to any change in this rating. The notes' rating is
also sensitive to any change in their notching, which could arise
if Fitch changed its assessment of the probability of their
non-performance relative to the risk captured in Nationwide's VR.
This could reflect a change in capital management or flexibility or
an unexpected shift in regulatory buffers or regulatory
requirements, for example. The rating is also sensitive to a change
in Fitch's assessment of the instrument's loss severity, which
could reflect a change in the expected treatment of liability
classes during a resolution.

Nationwide's VR is largely sensitive to a material deterioration in
its asset quality, or if its profitability deteriorates to such an
extent that it affects its ability to generate sufficient capital
to execute its strategy. An upgrade of Nationwide's VR is unlikely
as it is constrained by the society's company profile.

Nationwide's Long-Term IDR is currently on Rating Watch Negative to
reflect Fitch's expectation that a disruptive no-deal Brexit is
likely to trigger the assignment of a Negative Outlook on the
society's ratings. However, this would not affect the notes'
rating.


PERFORM GROUP: S&P Withdraws 'CCC+' Issuer Credit Rating
--------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings, on Sept. 18, 2019, withdrew all of its ratings
on U.K.-based multimedia sports content provider Perform Group Ltd.
(Perform), now trading as DAZN, including the 'CCC+' issuer credit
rating assigned to Perform Group Ltd. and issue ratings on the
group's debt facilities. S&P has now withdrawn all of its ratings
on the company and its debt instruments, including the GBP50
million revolving credit facility issued by Perform Sports Media
Ltd. and GBP215 million notes issued by Perform Group Financing
PLC.

On July 15, 2019, Vista Equity Partners announced the completed
acquisition and merger of U.S. sports data platform STATS with
Perform's content operations (Perform Content). Proceeds from the
sale of Perform Content to Vista were in part used to repay the
existing GBP215 million senior secured notes due 2020.

At the time of withdrawal, the outlook on Perform was stable.




===============
X X X X X X X X
===============

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Macy's for Sale
--------------------------------
Author: Isadore Barmash
Paperback: 180 pages
List price: $34.95
Review by Henry Berry

Order your personal copy today at
http://www.beardbooks.com/beardbooks/macys_for_sale.html

Isadore Barmash writes in his Prologue, "This book tells the story
of Macy's managers and their leveraged buyout, the newest and most
controversial device in the modern financial armament" when it took
place in the 1980s. At the center of Barmash's story is Edward S.
Finkelstein, Macy's chairman of the board and chief executive
office. Sixty years old at the time, Finkelstein had worked for
Macy's for 35 years. Looking back over his long career dedicated to
the department store as he neared retirement, Finkelstein was
dismayed when he realized that even with his generous stock
options, he owned less than one percent of Macy's stock. In the 185
years leading up to his unexpected, bold takeover, Finkelstein had
made over Macy's from a run-of-the-mill clothing retailer into a
highly profitable business in the lead of the lucrative and growing
fashion and "lifestyle" field.

To aid him in accomplishing the takeover and share the rewards with
him, Finkelstein had brought together more than three hundred of
Macy's top executives. To gain his support for his planned
takeover, Finkelstein told them, "The ones who have done the job at
Macy's are the ones who ought to own Macy's." Opposing Finkelstein
and his group were the Straus family who owned the lion's share of
Macy's and employees and shareholders who had an emotional
attachment to Macy's as it had been for generations, "Mother
Macy's" as it was known. But the opponents were no match for
Finkelstein's carefully laid plans and carefully cultivated
alliances with the executives. At the 1985 meeting, the
shareholders voted in favor of the takeover by roughly eighty
percent, with less than two percent opposing it.

The takeover is dealt with largely in the opening chapter. For the
most part, Barmash follows the decision making by Finkelstein, the
reorganization of the national company with a number of branches,
the activities of key individuals besides Finkelstein, Macy's moves
in the competitive field of clothing retailing, and attempts by the
new Macy's owners led by Finkelstein to build on their successful
takeover by making other acquisitions. Barmash allows at the
beginning that it is an "unauthorized book, written without the
cooperation of the buying group." But as he quickly adds, his
coverage of Macy's as a business journalist and his independent
research for over a year gave him enough knowledge to write a
relevant and substantive book. The reader will have no doubt of
this. Barmash's narrative, profiles of individuals, and analysis of
events, intentions, and consequences ring true, and have not been
contradicted by individuals he writes about, subsequent events, or
exposure of material not public at the time the book was written.

First published in 1989, the author places the Macy's buyout in the
context of the business environment at the time: the aggressive,
largely laissez-faire, Reagan era. Without being judgmental, the
author describes how numerous corporations were awakened from their
longtime inertia, while many individuals were feeling betrayed,
losing jobs, and facing uncertain futures. Isadore Barmash, a
veteran business journalist and author, was associated with the New
York Times for more than a quarter-century as business-financial
writer and editor. He also contributed many articles for national
media, Reuters America, and the Nihon Kenzai Shimbun of Japan. He
has published 13 books, including a novel and is listed in the 57th
edition of Who's Who in America.



                           *********


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., Washington, D.C., USA.
Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Joy A. Agravante,
Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A. Chapman,
Editors.

Copyright 2019.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
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Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
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