/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010201.mbx          T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                           E U R O P E

            Thursday, February 01, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 23


                            Headlines


B E L G I U M

ASSOCIATED WEAVERS:  Carpet Producer Declares Wider Net Loss


G E R M A N Y

DAVASAVE AG:  Posts DM4.1 Million Loss
PLASMASELECT AG:  Posts EBIT Loss of 9.8 Million Euros


H U N G A R Y

LIMPEX RT:  Canning Operator Closes Two Plants


P O L A N D

LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES:  Workforce Cutbacks to Hit Polish Subsidiary
POLISH GAS:  To Restructure $1.5 Billion Debt


R U S S I A

NTV:  Moscow Court Rules Against NTV
NTV:  Soros Ready to Buy NTV Stake
URALAZ TRUCK:  Chelyab Court Extends Bankruptcy Administration


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

CORUS:  Rejects Union Bid to Take Over Llanwern
DENNETS SPORTSKIT:  Liquidation Proceedings
EQUITABLE LIFE:  Price Hit as Bidders Walk Away
HUNTINGDON LIFE:  Confirms Alliance with Stephens
IFTE PLC:  Posts 1.1 Million Pounds Loss

SCOTIA HOLDINGS:  Administrators to Rescue Scotia
SCOTIA HOLDINGS:  Ernst & Young Seeks Rivals to Aid Scotia
STEMCROWN LTD Liquidation Proceedings
TAYLOR NEWS Liquidation Proceedings
WESTCROFT CASTINGS Liquidation Proceedings


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B E L G I U M
=============


ASSOCIATED WEAVERS:  Carpet Producer Declares Wider Net Loss
------------------------------------------------------------
Cost increases have dampened results for carpet producer
Associated Weavers in spite of an increase in sales to 8.59
billion Belgian francs (EUR1=BEF40.3399) in the year to November
30 from BEF7.92 billion in 1999, Dow Jones reported on Tuesday.
Associated Weavers' net loss widened to BEF156 million from
BEF141 million.


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G E R M A N Y
=============

DAVASAVE AG:  Posts DM4.1 Million Loss
--------------------------------------
Davasave AG Informations System's net loss widened to DM4.1
million in the fiscal year ended September 30, according to
Handelsblatt in its January 29 edition. The loss was reportedly
due to the consolidation of new units.

Datasave's fiscal 2000 sales grew to DM29.1 million from DM14.4
million.


PLASMASELECT AG:  Posts EBIT Loss of 9.8 Million Euros
------------------------------------------------------
PlasmaSelect AG, which develops and manufactures plasma therapy
and treatment filters, has posted an EBIT loss of 9.8 million
euros for 2000 due to the delayed launch of its skin product
Rheosorb, according to AFX on Tuesday.

The company said it expects the EBIT loss to narrow to 5.6
million euros on sales of 12.4 million euros in 2001.

At the end of 1999, PlasmaSelect had a negative working capital.
Its current liabilities were 9.23 million euros, while total
current assets were only 9.05 million euros.


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H U N G A R Y
=============

LIMPEX RT:  Canning Operator Closes Two Plants
----------------------------------------------
Due to heavy losses since the Russian crisis in 1998, canning
factory operator Limpex Rt has closed its Hatvan and Szeged
canning factories, Hungary AM reported on January 29.

The state-owned company has also put Aranyfacan Canning Kft into
liquidation.


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

LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES:  Workforce Cutbacks to Hit Polish Subsidiary
-----------------------------------------------------------------
U.S.-based Lucent Technologies Inc. has announced a cost-cutting
program involving 16,000 redundancies worldwide, or about 13
percent of its global workforce, Warsaw Business Journal reported
in its January 29 edition. Lucent Technologies Polska, with 1,300
workers, is one of the four subsidiaries to be affected.

According to spokeswoman Dorota Niemczynowicz of Lucent's Polish
operations, the company has not been officially contacted by
headquarters about the layoffs.

Lucent said it would eliminate employees following a reported
$1.58 billion loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2000. The
company's revenue dropped to $5.84 billion from $8.07 billion
during the same period in the previous year.

Lucent said it would slash jobs in its sales and marketing
divisions, corporate administration and in certain manufacturing
locations as well as eliminate some product lines.


POLISH GAS:  To Restructure $1.5 Billion Debt
---------------------------------------------
National gas monopoly Polish Gas and Oil Mining (PGNiG) plans to
issue zl. 1.7 billion ($415 million) worth of bonds, Warsaw
Business Journal said in its January 29 edition. The move is
aimed at restructuring its zl. 6 billion ($1.5 billion) debt.

Although PGNiG has not yet obtained permission from the Treasury
Ministry, it has already asked 10 banks to prepare offers.


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

NTV:  Moscow Court Rules Against NTV
------------------------------------
The Moscow City Court ruled on Tuesday that NTV television
station and its general director and anchorman Yevgeny Kiselyov
must retract a report about Vladimir Ustinov's alleged wrongdoing
in obtaining a luxury apartment from the government, AP Online
reported on Tuesday.

NTV's reports in July and September implied that Ustinov received
an apartment from Pavel Borodin, the former head of the Kremlin's
property department, and questioned whether he had paid the
necessary taxes.

Ustinov, on the other hand, insisted that he was exempted from
paying taxes on the apartment because of a law on the relocation
of state officials to Moscow.

Kiselyov said NTV might challenge the court's verdict before the
European Court of Human Rights in France.


NTV:  Soros Ready to Buy NTV Stake
----------------------------------
Billionaire financier George Soros says he is ready to join CNN
founder Ted Turner in purchasing a stake in NTV television
station to ensure that NTV remains an independent media, Agence
France-Presse reported on Monday.

NTV, the crown jewel in Vladimir Gusinsky's Media-MOST empire, is
urgently avoiding a takeover by the government-dominated gas
company Gazprom, Media-MOST's largest shareholder and creditor.


URALAZ TRUCK:  Chelyab Court Extends Bankruptcy Administration
--------------------------------------------------------------
Chelyab Court has extended external management at JSC UralAZ for
one year, according to a January 30 report in the Skrin Issuer.

Uralaz Truck Works' products, which include heavy-duty, all-wheel
drive trucks for the Russian and developing world markets, are
extremely rugged and specially designed for low maintenance and
heavy-duty operations.


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

CORUS:  Rejects Union Bid to Take Over Llanwern
-----------------------------------------------
Anglo-Dutch steel group Corus said that it had turned down an
offer by the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation to take over
Llanwern, a loss-making steel plant, because it did not want
further competition in the market, according to The Times
yesterday.

Rhodri Morgan, the First Minister of Wales, criticized Corus for
failing to consider the offer. "It is not good enough for Corus
simply to say they don't want another competitor in the steel
production market. Corus has to explain its strategy."

The ISTC said Corus would save 600 million pounds in costs on the
closure of Llanwern, making staff redundant and cleaning up the
site.


DENNETS SPORTSKIT:  Liquidation Proceedings
-------------------------------------------
Company Name:   Dennetts Sportskit Ltd
Company No:   1407346
Com. Business:   Retail Sports Equipment
Appointed on:   09/01/01
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors
Liquidators:   Julie A Heggarty
IPno: 8835    
Firm Name:   Smith & Williamson
Address:   Old Library Chambers  21 Chipper Lane
City Postcode:   Salisbury  SP1 1BG


EQUITABLE LIFE:  Price Hit as Bidders Walk Away
-----------------------------------------------
The price of mutual insurer Equitable Life may drop a little more
than 300 million pounds from the original value of 5 billion, as
bidders for the insurer continue to walk away, Money Unlimited
reported in its January 30 edition. AMP, the Australian insurance
group, is the latest to withdraw from the talks.

Only Eureko, an alliance of European insurers, remains but is
also uncertain of its intentions of formalizing a bid.

Equitable is now trying to lure potential bidders by allowing
bidders to buy the customers, brand, sales force and back office.


HUNTINGDON LIFE:  Confirms Alliance with Stephens
-------------------------------------------------
BUSINESS WIRE, January 29

In its earlier press release on January 20, 2001, Huntingdon Life
Sciences Group plc announced that it had successfully completed
the refinancing of its current bank facilities and that a
substantial proportion of these facilities had been assigned to
HLSF LLC.

Further to weekend press reports, the Company can confirm that
HLSF LLC is associated with Stephens Group Inc., which owns 15.7
percent of the Company's issued equity share capital.


IFTE PLC:  Posts 1.1 Million Pounds Loss
----------------------------------------
IFTE Plc, which offers services to civil and military
organizations within the developing hot-fire training market
worldwide, has reported an interim pre-tax loss of 940,674 pounds
(1.1 million pounds loss) with no dividend, The Times reported in
its January 31 edition.

As of April 2000, the company's long-term debt was 868,750.00
pounds and total liabilities were 1.90 million pounds.


SCOTIA HOLDINGS:  Administrators to Rescue Scotia
-------------------------------------------------
Days after its shares on the stock exchange were suspended from
trading, Scotia Holdings has called in the administrators in a
bid to protect it from creditors.

In a report dated January 30, Scotsman Online said that the
strategy focused on getting US Food and Drug Administration and
European approval for Foscan. If Scotia gets approval from one of
the bodies, the company will be in a much better position.

Scotia was preparing new evidence for submission to the FDA in
America after the agency gave it permission to appeal its earlier
rejection.


SCOTIA HOLDINGS:  Ernst & Young Seeks Rivals to Aid Scotia
----------------------------------------------------------
Administrator Ernst & Young said it is considering approaching
rival drug companies to help revive drugs firm Scotia Holdings,
following the decision by American and European regulatory bodies
to reject Scotia's cancer treatment drug, according to Scotsman
Online yesterday.

However, the administrator has not ruled out job cuts among
Scotia's 107 workforce. A decision on the cuts is expected by the
end of the week.

Forming an alliance with other companies as a joint venture was
also considered as an option.


STEMCROWN LTD Liquidation Proceedings
-------------------------------------
Company Name:   Stemcrown Ltd
Company No:   3939020
Com. Business:   Internet Publishers
Appointed on:   10/01/01
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Geoff Robbins
IPno: 6622  Neil C Money  8900
Firm Name:   Casson Beckman & Partners
Address:   Lichfield Place  435 Lichfield Road
City Postcode:   Birmingham  B6 7SS


TAYLOR NEWS Liquidation Proceedings
-----------------------------------
Company Name:   Taylor News Services Ltd
Previous Name:   The Complete Magazine Promotion Co
Company No:   2635180
Com. Business:   Distribute Magazines/Related Prod
Appointed on:   11/01/01
Type:   Creditors
Appointed by:   Creditors and Members
Liquidators:   Mark Jones
IPno: 5481    
Firm Name:   Mark Jones & Co
Address:   114 Gaskarth Road
City Postcode:   London  SW12 9NW


WESTCROFT CASTINGS Liquidation Proceedings
------------------------------------------
Company Name:   Westcroft Castings Ltd
Previous Name:   Westcroft Foundry Ltd
Company No:   574270
Com. Business:   Metal Foundry
Appointed on:   09/01/01
Type:   Members
Appointed by:   Members
Liquidators:   Raymond S Claughton
IPno: 1726    
Firm Name:   Rushtons
Address:   36-40 North Parade
City Postcode:   Bradford  BD1 3JB



S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Troubled Company Reporter -- Europe is a daily newsletter co-
published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Trenton, NJ
USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, DC USA. Lexy Mueller,
Salve M. Mordeno and Cristina Pernites, Editors.

Copyright 2001.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic
re-mailing  and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without
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Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
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The TCR Europe subscription rate is $575 per half-year, delivered
via e-mail.  Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the
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Christopher Beard at 301/951-6400.


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