/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010220.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

             Tuesday, February 20, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 35


                            Headlines


G E R M A N Y

EM.TV:  Investor Doubts Grow on EM.TV, Kirch Deal
EM.TV:  May Face Battle with Formula One Boss


I R E L A N D

EIRCOM:  Desmond Refuses to Comment on Eircom Consortium


I T A L Y

OLIVETTI:  Shareholders May Force Debt Restructuring
TISCALI SPA:  Posts Wider Loss at 42.3 Million Euros


R U S S I A

NTV:  Turner Group Advances in Plan to Buy NTV Stake


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

3 C I B LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meeting
ALLIANCE:  Pretax Profit Falls 9.5 Percent
ARVIND MILLS:  Pushes Through With Debt Restructuring Plan
CITY RECRUITMENT SERVICES (BHAM):  Notice of Creditors Meetings
CURZONIA KNITWEAR LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings

EQUITABLE LIFE:  Chiefs Grilled in Policy Scandal
FAIRWAYS SALES LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings
ISLAND FARM AVENUE LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings
MILLENNIUM DOME:  BBC and Alton Towers to Bid for Dome
MILLENNIUM DOME:  Britain Reopens Dome Bid

MILLENNIUM DOME:  Minister Scraps Legacy Bid
ON-LINE PUBLISHING EDUCATION LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings
SUN LIFE:  To Cut 85 Percent of Workforce
TEAMFIND LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings
TICKETCIRCLE.COM LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings


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

EM.TV:  Investor Doubts Grow on EM.TV, Kirch Deal
-------------------------------------------------
Media company EM.TV & Merchandising AG has signed a rescue deal
with rival Kirch Group last week but investors were doubtful
about how much EM.TV would profit from the agreement, Reuters
said in its February 15 report.

The agreement gave the two parties until March 15 to finalize
details, but analysts and fund managers said they doubted whether
the Kirch deal would strengthen EM.TV in the long term.

"In the short term, EM.TV will survive," fund manager Andreas
Rachor at Julius Baer said.

Invesco's fund manager Michael Fraikin added that EM.TV is not
out of the woods yet since there are questions whether Kirch is
strong enough to bail it out.

Analysts have estimated EM.TV's debt to be around 1.12 billion
euros ($1.03 billion), which may reportedly double soon.


EM.TV:  May Face Battle with Formula One Boss
---------------------------------------------
Troubled media group EM.TV has finally smoothed over its
differences with rival Kirch Group over a rescue package, but the
Muppets owner may have another battle on its hands with Formula
One's billionaire boss Bernie Ecclestone over the deal, according
to Reuters' February 15 report.

A London-based analyst said that the deal has lifted EM.TV's
short-term cash constraints but Ecclestone could make life
difficult since there are questions over the funding of the
package. Other industry sources added that Ecclestone was less
than pleased with the prospect of Kirch entering the racing fold.

After weeks of negotiations, EM.TV said late on Wednesday it
would sign a deal with Kirch, handing the privately owned rival
25.1 percent of EM.TV's voting rights and half EM.TV's 50 percent
stake in Formula One holding SLEC.

As part of the deal, Kirch will pay EM.TV $550 million and back a
loan to enable EM.TV to exercise an option to buy a further 25
percent stake in SLEC for around $1 billion.


=============
I R E L A N D
=============

EIRCOM:  Desmond Refuses to Comment on Eircom Consortium
--------------------------------------------------------
Financier Dermot Desmond refused to comment on telecom industry
speculation that he could be behind the syndicate that is bidding
for Eircom Plc, the Irish Independent said in its February 15
edition.

Pearse Flynn, a businessman who became a senior executive at
French cable group Alcatel, formed the syndicate. He has also
confirmed he is considering bidding for Eircom's non-mobile
business.

As of March 2000 Eircom has a long-term debt of 200.00 million
euros, with total liabilities of 1.50 billion euros.


=========
I T A L Y
=========

OLIVETTI:  Shareholders May Force Debt Restructuring
----------------------------------------------------
Olivetti, one of the largest manufacturers of electronic office
equipment worldwide, could be forced to restructure its 18
billion euros ($17 billion) debt mountain if shareholders in
subsidiary Telecom Italia manage to disrupt a proposed
recapitalization, according to Financial News' report last week.

Olivetti and Telecom Italia head Roberto Colannino plan to
convert non-voting savings shares in Telecom Italia into common
stock and buy back 10 percent of the company's share capital.
This would slash around 5.1 billion euros off Olivetti/Telecom
Italia's consolidated net debt of 18.3 billion euros.

A senior adviser to the company said that if the plan does not
work out, they would find another way to restructure the debt.

If the company's credit rating would not reach a single A rating
with the share restructuring, Olivetti might issue a long-dated
bond.

The company's advisers are JPMorgan and Lehman.


TISCALI SPA:  Posts Wider Loss at 42.3 Million Euros
----------------------------------------------------
Internet company Tiscali SpA has reported a sharply wider loss,
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, of 42.3
million euros ($38.8 million) in 2000, compared with a loss of
5.7 million euros for 1999, according to Dow Jones' on February
15.

During the last 12 months, Tiscali has not paid dividends and has
reported losses.


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

NTV:  Turner Group Advances in Plan to Buy NTV Stake
----------------------------------------------------
A group of investors led by U.S. media executive Ted Turner is
making progress on a deal to obtain a stake in the NTV television
network and other units of Media-Most, The Wall Street Journal
said on Friday.

Robert Wussler, a former president of CBS television, and Turner
Broadcasting System had meetings last week in Moscow. Wussler
declined to discuss details but said there was progress on a very
complex set of arrangements involving NTV and other media
outlets.

Also at the talks were chief executive Hans-Holger Albrecht of
the Swedish Modern Times Group, and Russian businessman Gregory
Berezkin. Both are part of the consortium led by Turner.

Other investors in the group include U.S. financier George Soros
and Capital Research & Management Co.

NTV is at the center of an ownership struggle between Russian
tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky and Gazprom, a Russian natural-gas
monopoly whose board chairman is a senior aide to President
Vladimir Putin. Gazprom owns 46 percent of NTV and holds 19
percent of the network as collateral for a loan due this summer.


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

3 C I B LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meeting
-----------------------------------------
IA 1986 Section: 98 Creditors
Meeting Time: 11.00 am
Meeting date: 16/02/01
Meeting address: The Duke of Cornwall Hotel Millbay Road
Meeting City Code: Plymouth
Authorized by: J C Pinkney Director 24/01/01
Last day for proxy: 15/02/01
Proxy address: 12 The Crescent Plymouth PL1 3AB
Firm Name: Neville Hatton
Address: 12 The Crescent Plymouth PL1 3AB


ALLIANCE:  Pretax Profit Falls 9.5 Percent
------------------------------------------
Takeover speculation continued in Alliance & Leicester Plc as the
former building society reported a 9.5 percent drop pretax profit
to 446.7 million pounds ($650.02 million or 708.4 million euros)
in 2000 from 493.5 million pounds in the previous year, according
to The Wall Street Journal on Friday.

The decline in earnings was traced to a competitive U.K. mortgage
market, the bank's investment in Internet banking, share buybacks
and restructuring.

Alliance has expressed confidence in meeting three-year targets
set in October with the aid of new banking products that can be
cross-sold to customers. The bank's three-year strategy aims to
cut annual costs by 100 million pounds, accelerate revenue growth
to 6 percent, and double its share of the small-to-medium-
enterprise market by the end of 2003.


ARVIND MILLS:  Pushes Through With Debt Restructuring Plan
----------------------------------------------------------
Arvind Mills will go ahead with its debt restructuring plan even
as two of its creditors, Bank of Nova Scotia and Commerzbank,
have sued the company in a London court, Business Standard said
in its February 15 edition.

Bank of Nova Scotia and Commerzbank are seeking a decree against
the company for loans of around $18.3 million and are also
seeking damages against ICICI, a lender of the company, for
serious breach of their fiduciary duties and trusteeship
obligations.

According to Arvind Mills chief financial officer Jayesh Shah,
the company has received the approval of 60 percent of the
lenders. They are hopeful that they will be able to get approval
of more than 75 percent of the lenders by February 28.

The restructuring proposed by the company includes buy-back of a
part of the debt at discount, reduction in the interest rate and
a rescheduling of the balance debt.


CITY RECRUITMENT SERVICES (BHAM):  Notice of Creditors Meetings
-----------------------------------------------------------------
IA 1986 Section: 98 Creditors
Meeting Time: 11.00 am
Meeting date: 16/02/01
Meeting address: Elliot House 151 Deansgate
Meeting City Code: Manchester M3 3BP
Authorized by: M Moloney Director 30/01/01
Last day for proxy: 15/02/01
Proxy address: The Old Exchange 234 Southchurch Road Southend-on-
Sea SS1 2EG
Liquidators: David P Hudson
Firm Name: Begbies Traynor
Address: The Old Exchange 234 Southchurch Road Southend-on-Sea
SS1 2EG


CURZONIA KNITWEAR LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings
----------------------------------------------------
IA 1986 Section: 98 Creditors
Meeting Time: 11.00 am
Meeting date: 16/02/01
Meeting address: 39 Castle Street
Meeting City Code: Leicester LE1 5WN
Authorized by: M Sama Chairman 19/01/01
Firm Name: Casson Beckman & Partners
Address: Lichfield Place 435 Lichfield Road Birmingham B6 7SS


EQUITABLE LIFE:  Chiefs Grilled in Policy Scandal
-------------------------------------------------
The chiefs of Equitable Life have come under fire as MPs on the
Treasury Select Committee examine the regulatory and risk
management issues for life assurers, according to BBC in its
February 15 report. The City regulator will pay particular
attention to the terms and transparency of those policies and the
payment of bonuses.

During the hearing, chairman Sir Howard Davies of the FSA
confirmed that the watchdog would be looking into the regulation
of with-profits funds at other life companies. He added that the
FSA is conducting its own investigation of the affair.

Equitable's difficulties began when its policyholders took the
issues to court because the insurer could no longer afford to pay
bonuses to policyholders as promised.

The House of Lords ruling left Equitable with liabilities of at
least 1.5 billion pounds although the society was criticized for
stating in its 2000 annual report that it only faced a bill of 50
million pounds.

The insurer is now selling some of its assets to UK bank Halifax.


FAIRWAYS SALES LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings
-------------------------------------------------
IA 1986 Section: 98 Creditors
Meeting Time: 10.00 am
Meeting date: 16/02/01
Meeting address: 8 Baker Street
Meeting City Code: London W1M 1DA
Authorized by: M Ashley Director 02/02/01
Liquidators: Sara E Dayman
Firm Name: BDO Stoy Hayward
Address: 8 Baker Street London W1M 1DA


ISLAND FARM AVENUE LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings
-----------------------------------------------------
Other name: VSW Ltd
IA 1986 Section: 98 Creditors
Meeting Time: 11.30 am
Meeting date: 16/02/01
Meeting address: 29-31 Greville Street
Meeting City Code: London EC1N 8RB
Authorised by: K B Nilsson Director 01/02/01
Last day for proxy: 15/02/01
Proxy address: 29-31 Greville Street London EC1N 8RB
Firm Name: Pridie Brewster
Address: 29-31 Greville Street London EC1N 8RB


MILLENNIUM DOME:  BBC and Alton Towers to Bid for Dome
------------------------------------------------------
The BBC, backed by director-general Greg Dyke, and the owners of
Alton Towers, the Tussaud's Group, have emerged as the front-
runners to rescue the Millennium Dome by creating a theme park
based on life-size reproductions, according to The Times on
Friday.

Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, the former chief executive of the New
Millennium Experience Company, was brought in by the Government
to prevent the Dome from becoming a commercial disaster. He wants
to turn the Dome into a visitor attraction and concert and
sporting hall.

In addition, the Duke of Westminster's company, Grosvenor
Estates, will jump into the fray and join forces with property
company Quintain. Lend Lease, one of Australia's biggest
companies, will also back the Duke.

Rock and festivals promoter Harvey Goldsmith is also in the
frame. He made millions backing tours by Bob Dylan, the Rolling
Stones and Bruce Springsteen.


MILLENNIUM DOME:  Britain Reopens Dome Bid
------------------------------------------
Britain has reopened the bidding for the sale of the ill-fated
Millennium Dome on Thursday, stripping the Legacy consortium of
its sole bidder status, Reuters reported on February 15.

Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, the Dome's former chief executive, said he
wanted to either buy or lease it and hoped a deal could be
wrapped up in weeks. It was unclear where he would get the money.

The government may not be able to decide the Dome's future by
May, when Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to call an
election.


MILLENNIUM DOME:  Minister Scraps Legacy Bid
--------------------------------------------
Dome Minister Lord Falconer of Thoroton rejected plans on
Wednesday to sell the Millennium Dome to Robert Bourne's Legacy
consortium, according to The Times' February 15 report.

Losing his preferred bidder status, Bourne plans to withdraw from
the race, destroying his hopes to create a dot-com venture park.
He will also consult lawyers and is likely to sue for the return
of millions of pounds incurred in preparing his bid.

Other potential buyers have emerged the announcement. The BBC, in
conjunction with the operators of Alton Towers and Madame
Tussauds, has put forward plans for the Dome. Grosvenor Estates
has also been in talks with the BBC and Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, the
Dome's former chief executive, announced he would be bidding to
take on the Dome as a visitor attraction.

The Dome's remaining assets are scheduled to be auctioned
February 27.


ON-LINE PUBLISHING EDUCATION LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings
---------------------------------------------------------------
IA 1986 Section: 98 Creditors
Meeting Time: 11.00 am
Meeting date: 16/02/01
Meeting address: St Alphage House 2 Fore Street
Meeting City Code: London EC2Y 5DH
Authorised by: T J Finnigan Director 02/02/01
Last day for proxy: 15/02/01
Proxy address: St Alphage House 2 Fore Street London EC2Y 5DH
Firm Name: Hacker Young
Address: St Alphage House 2 Fore Street London EC2Y 5DH


SUN LIFE:  To Cut 85 Percent of Workforce
-----------------------------------------
Sun Life Financial Services of Canada Inc. will reduce 1,100 of
its direct sales force distribution business in the United
Kingdom this year and plans to slash its British work force by 85
percent to about 300 by the end of 2003, according to Dow Jones'
February 15 report.

The insurance company said its efforts to reduce costs had been
successful but that it was disappointed with the revenue
trajectory and will be unable to meet its longer-term financial
objectives in Britain.


TEAMFIND LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings
-------------------------------------------
IA 1986 Section: 98 Creditors
Meeting Time: 11.00 am
Meeting date: 16/02/01
Meeting address: 75 Mosley Street
Meeting City Code: Manchester M2 3HR
Authorised by: D SMith Director 15/01/01
Liquidators: Leonard Harris
Firm Name: Leonard Harris Partnership
Address: 75 Mosley Street Manchester M2 3HR


TICKETCIRCLE.COM LTD:  Notice of Creditors Meetings
---------------------------------------------------
IA 1986 Section: 98 Creditors
Meeting Time: 11.15 am
Meeting date: 16/02/01
Meeting address: 62 Wilson Street
Meeting City Code: London EC2A 2BU
Authorised by: C Panayotou Director 30/01/01
Last day for proxy: 15/02/01
Proxy address: 62 Wilson Street London EC2A 2BU
Liquidators: Ian D Williams
Firm Name: Benedict Mackenzie
Address: 62 Wilson Street London EC2A 2BU



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
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