/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/010227.mbx T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R L A T I N A M E R I C A Tuesday, February 27, 2001, Vol. 2, Issue 40 Headlines B R A Z I L ALPARGATAS: To Get Financial Injection From Bank And Government CESP: AES, Duke Energy Bids Depend Filling Of Dam CSN: Preliminary Results Show Threefold Profit Increase CVRD: BNDES May Exercise Tag-along Rights To Buy Bahia Sul COPENE: Sellers Fix Minimum Sale Price Central Bank Executive iG: Announces Plan To Restructure M E X I C O GRUPO DINA: Analyst Says In "Virtual Bankruptcy" GRUPO VITRO: Salomon Cuts Recommendation SEMINIS INC.: Reports 2000 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results V E N E Z U E L A CANTV: To Increase Charges On Several Services CORIMON: Speculation Fuels Shares Up By 180 Percent - - - - - - - - - - =========== B R A Z I L =========== ALPARGATAS: To Get Financial Injection From Bank And Government --------------------------------------------------------------- Troubled Brazilian sportswear company Alpargatas is likely to get at least temporary financial salvation from the National Bank of Argentina and the government, which would each contribute $7 million in trade financing. Rafael Bulacio, Tucuman Province's Minister of Production, revealed the plan in a Latin Trade article released Friday. The government's contribution would be channeled through the governors of the six provinces where the company is located. According to the report, the $14 million will be used to carry out orders for interest free merchandise with payment of the products beginning in 2002. CESP: AES, Duke Energy Bids Depend Filling Of Dam ------------------------------------------------- AES and Duke Energy confirmed that their bids for the privatization of the electric power generating Cesp Parana depends upon the filling of the dam of the Cesp-controlled hydroelectric power plant Porto Primavera. South American Business Information stated, adding that the filling is conditioned by a judicial measure. Early this month, the filling of the Sergio Motta plant reservoir, also controlled by Cesp, began. The move was expected to lure more investors to the imminent sale of the power generator by increasing its power output. Cesp reportedly has debts of US$40 million coming due May 2001, that have been resolved by the issuance of US$500 million in financing by the Sao Paulo state government. CSN: Preliminary Results Show Threefold Profit Increase -------------------------------------------------------- Rio de Janeiro-based flat-steel producer Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) announced record profits of R$1.57 billion for 2000 in a preliminary result released just recently, Business News Americas said Friday. The result, considered to be the best performance so far, is reportedly 373 percent higher than what was recorded in 1999, which was R$332 million. The full, official figures will be published after March 15 when its complex disentangling of a share cross-ownership with mining-transport giant CVRD should have been concluded. Following its good performance, CSN is to distribute R$1.81 billion in dividends, R$330 million already paid by end 2000. Vicunha group, as the majority shareholder in CSN will have its cash flow reinforced, enabling it to acquire the shares from Bradespar and Previ into CSN. CVRD: BNDES May Exercise Tag-along Rights To Buy Bahia Sul ---------------------------------------------------------- The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), a Bahia Sul shareholder, is planning to use its tag-along rights and buy Bahia Sul shares for the same amount that Suzano paid to CVRD. News of the purchase was revealed by market sources close to the US$320 million transaction in a Gazeta Mercantil report Friday. CVRD announced last week it was selling its stake Bahia Sul Celulose to Suzano de Papel e Celulose for US$320 million, as part of its policy to offload pulp and paper assets to focus on its mining and transport interests. COPENE: Sellers Fix Minimum Sale Price Central Bank Executive ------------------------------------------------------------- Representatives of the groups Odebrecht, Mariani and Conepar met with Central Bank executive Carlos Freitas last week to fix the minimum price for the sale of the petrochemical producer Companhia Petroquimica do Nordeste (Copene), according to a report in a Business News Americas Friday. The meeting resulted in a decision to have the company sold under a "linking price" model, by which sellers can accept an offer even if it is below their asking price. The sellers agreed to reduce Copene's sale price after a first attempt to sell failed in December, but they have not been able to agree on the reduction percentage. Freitas believes the minimum price can be below R$1.05 billion. Ultra already offered US$822mil for the group in December 2000. The new sale is expected to take place by the end of March. iG: Announces Plan To Restructure --------------------------------- Internet access provider iG announced it is embarking on a restructuring plan aimed at reducing costs and increasing profits, South American Business Information reported Friday. Part of the plan is the dismissal of 29 people or 10 percent of its workforce. Last week, it sold its Internet data center to Brazil's fixed-line telephone operator Telemar (TNLP4) in exchange for 40 million reais (US$20 million). =========== M E X I C O =========== GRUPO DINA: Analyst Says In "Virtual Bankruptcy" ------------------------------------------------ Mexican heavy-vehicle maker Consorcio G Grupo Dina SA is in a state of "virtual bankruptcy." Javier Jimenez, an analyst at Mexico City consultants Bursametrica, used the term to describe the company in a Reforma/Infolatina report Friday. According to Jimenez, the company has little chance of extracting itself from long-running financial difficulties and recommended that it declare itself bankrupt. He also added that the skills and talent of its management would determine the future of the bus and truck maker. Trading in shares of the bus and truck maker in the Mexican Stock Exchange as well as in the New York Stock Exchange is still under suspension. The action was taken after the company announced it would not make a scheduled bond payment. As of February 22, 2001 the following figures were available: Current Ratio (mrq) 1.57 Debt/Equity (mrq) 1.48 Total Cash (mrq) $5.66M Further information about the company can be found at its website: http://www.dina.com.mx/ GRUPO VITRO: Salomon Cuts Recommendation ---------------------------------------- Investment bank Salomon Smith Barney downgraded its recommendation for Mexican glassmaker Vitro SA (NYSE: VTO) to underperform from neutral, Reuters reported Friday. The announcement by Salomon came after the glassmaker announced it would cut its 2001 investment by as much as $50 million, a news that came on the heels of a fourth quarter report showing operating profit at 768 million pesos, down from 1.020 billion in the same 1999 period. According to Salmon, the firm should intensify its financial situation by divesting non-core businesses before it forges ahead with an announced plan to focus on flat glass, glassware and household products. Institutional investors reportedly hold 17% of Vitro's outstanding float. Net Selling by Institutions was 9.24M shares, an increase of 1295.41 percent prior quarter to latest quarter. More information about the company, including recent financial results, can be found at its corporate website: http://www.vto.com. SEMINIS INC.: Reports 2000 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results -------------------------------------------------------------- Seminis, Inc. is one of the largest developers, producers, and marketers of vegetable and fruit seeds in the world. During the second half of 2000, Eugenio Najera Solorzano was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Seminis (NASDAQ: SMNS), the world's leading producer, developer and marketer of fruit and vegetable seeds. Mr. Najera developed and initiated the implementation of an operating optimization plan and restructuring initiatives aimed at returning the company to profitability. Results for the fourth quarter of 2000 show the first signs of improvement as a result of these measures. Excluding foreign exchange losses and the impact of divestitures of non-core businesses, sales for that period increased 6.1 percent. Simultaneously, operating costs, excluding non-recurring charges resulting from the restructuring, declined 12 percent. Seminis' sales for the January-December 2000 period reached US$481 million, a 13 percent decline over the same period of 1999. Operating loss amounted to US$39 million, compared with a US$ 73 million operating income for 1999. The decline in sales was mainly due to the divestiture of non-core assets, the contraction in the North American fruit and vegetable seed market and the devaluation of the Euro. As of December 31, 2000, Seminis was not in compliance with certain financial covenants under its US$317 million loan agreement. Seminis requested and obtained a waiver with respect to these covenants that extends through April 30, 2001. ================= V E N E Z U E L A ================= CANTV: To Increase Charges On Several Services ---------------------------------------------- Venezuela's CA Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela, the country's No. 1 telephone company, announced it has increased the average cost of a local call minute by 2 percent, according to a report by Bloomberg Sunday. Meanwhile, it has also increased the average cost of the residential monthly service fee by 2.8 percent, as well as public telephone tariffs by 14.1 percent. According to the company, the increase is expected to be implemented between March 9 and June 30. However, charges to national and international long distance remain the same. CANTV reported a loss of $0.95 per American depositary receipt in 2000, in part due to a fourth-quarter charge of $157.7 million to cover a 34 percent reduction of the company's workforce. CORIMON: Speculation Fuels Shares Up By 180 Percent --------------------------------------------------- Paint specialist Corporacion Industrial Montana (Corimon) of Venezuela, even though the company has been reporting losses in the last two years, recent take-over rumors have fueled its share price, up 180 percent so far in 2001, according to a South American Business Information report Saturday. The company attributed recent good performance to the recent sale of Construcentro, the proximity of a solution for Pralca's financial problems, last year's profits of Bs$1.5 billion and a projected growth for the Montana stores chain. Corimon is currently in talks with Pequiven for a possible sale of a 26-percent stake in local alcohol producer Pralca. 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 Latin American is a daily newsletter co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Trenton, NJ, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, DC. John D. Resnick, Edem Psamathe P. Alfeche and Janice Mendoza, Editors. Copyright 2001. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2746. 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 Latin America subscription rate is $575 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are $25 each. For subscription information, contact Christopher Beard at 301/951-6400. * * * End of Transmission * * *