/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010313.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, March 13, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 50 Headlines * B E L G I U M * MOBISTAR SA: Falls to a Record Low * G E R M A N Y * BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: Pressure on Chief Rupf Continues DAIMLERCHRYSLER: Schrempp Promises Improved Chrysler DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: To Sell Facility Management Stake ORBIS AG: Posts 3.5 Million Euros Loss * I R E L A N D * EIRCOM PLC: To Cut 80% of U.K. Work Force * S W I T Z E R L A N D * ANDRE & CIE: Trade House Seeks Bankruptcy Protection SAIRGROUP: Nestl, Director to Replace Honegger SAIRGROUP: Nine Board Members to Step Down SAIRGROUP: Set to Announce Results * U N I T E D K I N G D O M * BIOCOMPATIBLES INTERNATIONAL: Posts 19.6 Million Pounds Loss BRITISH AIRWAYS: Carlyle Group Joins KLM in Go Bid BRITISH TELECOM: Institutions Demand Vallance Resignation BRITISH TELECOM: Shareholders Seek 5 Billion-Pound Share Offer CORUS GROUP: To Post 1.2 Billion Loss EQUITABLE LIFE: Policyholders Angry Over Equitable HULL CITY: Creditors Back Hull Takeover Bid LASTMINUTE.COM PLC: Moves Into Financial Services MG ROVER: Faces 300 Million Pounds Loss MILLENNIUM DOME: Wind-up May Extend Into 2002 TELEMONDE INC: Maxwell Firms Faces Financial Problems ============= B E L G I U M ============= MOBISTAR SA: Falls to a Record Low ---------------------------------- Mobile phone operator Mobistar tumbled 11.11 percent to 20.00 euros, Reuters in its Friday edition said. According to analysts, investors were worried over new debt to be taken on by Mobistar to pay for its UMTS license. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: Pressure on Chief Rupf Continues --------------------------------------------------------- Following a real estate investigation by banking regulator BaKred, management trouble and political scandals, Bankgesellschaft Berlin's chief executive Wolfgang Rupf could be forced to quit if the bank continues at the current pace, according to Reuters in its March 9 report. BaKred raised questions about the reliability and professional suitability of some executives at the bank, which is facing heavy risk provisions to cover 1.5 billion marks ($716 million) in losses from its real estate business. It was also checking whether the bank had adhered to reporting and accounting rules. Supervisory board member Hartmut Friedrich, however, said he see no reason not to trust Rupf, who joined the bank in 1997, when Bankgesellschaft was already hit by problem loans and had to cope with 2.2 billion marks in loan loss provisions. DAIMLERCHRYSLER: Schrempp Promises Improved Chrysler ---------------------------------------------------- DaimlerChrysler AG Chairman Juergen Schrempp has been telling investors and analysts that the auto maker can bring Chrysler back to profit even if the U.S. market slumps to an annual sales pace of 15.5 million vehicles, according to The Wall Street Journal yesterday. Since February, Schrempp has been trying to win back investor support, promising to return the U.S. unit to profitability next year. His moves call job cuts at Chrysler and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., in which DaimlerChrysler holds a 34 percent stake, by a total of 35,000 employees. DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: To Sell Facility Management Stake --------------------------------------------------- Deutsche Telekom is in talks on the sale of a 49 percent stake in its Facility Management arm, according to Handelsblatt on Sunday, citing chief Douglas Holoch of the German activities of international real-estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle. Holoch said the question of price had not yet been discussed, but the theoretical value would be DM250 million. Telekom's aim in divesting Facility Management is to achieve a more professional marketing of its real-estate portfolio. ORBIS AG: Posts 3.5 Million Euros Loss -------------------------------------- Electronic-business solutions provider Orbis AG has reported a 3.5 million euros loss for 2000, compared with 300,000 euros a year earlier, according to Handelsblatt on Friday. Its 2000 EBIT loss widened to 7.6 million euros from 1.5 million euros, including 2.2 million euros one-off costs for its initial public offering. ============= I R E L A N D ============= EIRCOM PLC: To Cut 80% of U.K. Work Force ------------------------------------------------ Telecommunications company Eircom PLC plans to cut 80 jobs out of 100 in its United Kingdom operations to focus on providing its corporate clients with services such as automated teller machines, frame relay and leased-line and fixed-line voice services, according to Dow Jones' Friday report. The company said the decision to slash its U.K. work force and concentrate on the corporate sector is related to its plan to focus on the Irish market. Eircom, which is in the midst of a major overall strategic review to streamline the company's operations, also has a new finance director, Peter Lynch. ===================== S W I T Z E R L A N D ===================== ANDRE & CIE: Trade House Seeks Bankruptcy Protection ---------------------------------------------------- Andre & Cie SA is seeking bankruptcy protection from Swiss courts after 43 banks refused to extend credit lines, The Wall Street Journal said yesterday. The bankruptcy protection will initially last for two months while an administrator will determine whether liquidation can be avoided. According to Chief Executive Friedrich Sauerlaender, Andre still has debts of $400 million (430.7 million euros), while the company's equity totaled just 19 million Swiss francs ($11.5 million or 12.3 million euros) at the end of January. The group was incurring net losses of six million francs a month, he added. The once one of the world's top five grain trading groups had presented a new business plan after a major restructuring in January, in which 60 percent of the group's 1,430 jobs were slashed. Meanwhile, the group is open to selling all or parts of the three trading hubs in Brazil, Argentina and Asia, to other grain companies. There can also be management buyouts. SAIRGROUP: Nestl, Director to Replace Honegger ---------------------------------------------- Nestl,'s financial director Mario Corti is being touted as the most likely successor of Eric Honegger as SAirGroup president, according to NZZ Online yesterday. Corti was the only board member not to step down, following the mass resignation of the management board on Friday. SAIRGROUP: Nine Board Members to Step Down ------------------------------------------ Swissair parent SairGroup's top decision making body will resign, Reuters' March 9 edition said. Five members of the supervisory board will step down on April 25's annual general meeting while another four will resign in 2002. This includes chairman Eric Honegger. The board had come under fierce criticism for not acting sooner on mounting financial problems at their airline affiliates in Belgium, France and Germany. The only board member to remain is Nestle finance director Mario Corti. He joined SAirGroup as a board member in April 2000. SAIRGROUP: Set to Announce Results ---------------------------------- Shares in SAirGroup are set to reach new lows after a report that its loss for the year 2000 could be as high as 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.5 billion), according to Reuters yesterday. Corporate communications director Beatrice Tschanz declined to comment on the figure and said the company was not on the brink of bankruptcy. SAirGroup was hit hard by losses at its stakes in ailing international airlines in Belgium, France and Germany. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== BIOCOMPATIBLES INTERNATIONAL: Posts 19.6 Million Pounds Loss ------------------------------------------------------------ Biocompatibles International Plc, a developer and manufacturer of novel biocompatible eye care products and cardiovascular devices, reported a final pre-tax loss of 19.6 million pounds, according to The Times on Saturday. The company's long term debt as of December 1999 was 9.50 million pounds and total liabilities were 18.89 million pounds. Biocompatibles International operates worldwide through subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Germany and the Republic of Ireland. BRITISH AIRWAYS: Carlyle Group Joins KLM in Go Bid -------------------------------------------------- US private equity firm Carlyle Group has joined forces with KLM to take over Go, the low cost subsidiary of British Airways, according to the Financial Times yesterday. The Carlyle Group, which has invested more than $5.8 billion of equity in over 200 transactions, has invested in 13 European companies since 1998 mainly in engineering and communications. The BA board on Sunday reviewed the final offers for Go, which is valued at around 100 million pounds ($147 million). BA is aiming to complete the transaction by the end of the month. BRITISH TELECOM: Institutions Demand Vallance Resignation --------------------------------------------------------- Analysts and fund managers are demanding the resignation of British Telecom's chairman, Sir Iain Vallance, as the price for supporting a 5 billion-pound rights issue to reduce the company's debt burden, The Times said yesterday. According to executive director Uberto Ferrari of European telecoms research at UBS Warburg, there was a reasonable chance of a rights issue but it would have to come with senior management changes. In order to meet its 10 billion pound debt-reduction target, BT will also have to float assets including BT Wireless, or sell minority stakes in overseas ventures. Alternatively, it could call on shareholders for cash. Furthermore, Credit Lyonnais' Telecoms analyst Jonathan Shantry said that a better option would be for BT to sell some non-core minority holdings, which include stakes in France's Cegetel, Spain's Airtel and Japan Telecom. BRITISH TELECOM: Shareholders Seek 5 Billion-Pound Share Offer -------------------------------------------------------------- Institutional shareholders are pressuring British Telecommunications Plc to launch a 5 billion pound ($7.4 billion) rights offering to help pay down debt, the Sunday Business reported, citing unnamed shareholders. The rights offering will give holders of BT's common stock the right to buy new shares at a discounted price. The phone company has been mulling the sale of its property and shares in its wireless division to cut debt by 10 billion pounds by the end of the year. CORUS GROUP: To Post 1.2 Billion Loss ------------------------------------- Steel company Corus Group Plc is expected to announce on Thursday a pre-tax loss for the year to December 31 of about 1.2 billion ($1.8 billion), including restructuring charges of 1.03 billion, according to the Financial Times on Friday. City analysts also expect the company to make losses at least until the summer with most of the reduction in jobs at its UK plants being implemented during this year. Corus has been hit by the strength of sterling against the euro and the continuing weak prices for steel, which are close to 20- year lows in many markets. The low prices also have a big impact on other large steel companies including Germany's ThyssenKrupp, Arbed of Luxembourg and Usinor of France. EQUITABLE LIFE: Policyholders Angry Over Equitable -------------------------------------------------- Life policy holders of Equitable Life were reportedly furious on Friday after being told they cannot attend the March 14 meeting at the Metropole Hotel held by new chairman Vanni Treves, according to This Is London. Equitable, thought to have about 100,000 London policyholders, said that there is no room for them at the gathering and that it is considering holding another session in the capital. HULL CITY: Creditors Back Hull Takeover Bid ------------------------------------------- The club's creditors, according to the Evening News on Thursday, have accepted a Rescue package aimed at securing the future of Hull City. The joint Administrators of Hull City AFC, Neil Brackenbury and Mike Moore, Partners of Kroll Buchler Phillips in Leeds, have announced that 90 percent of the club's creditors have accepted the Company Voluntary Arrangement proposed by the administrators. They will therefore proceed subject to approval by the shareholders. The ailing club has debts of GBP 1.8 million. LASTMINUTE.COM PLC: Moves Into Financial Services ------------------------------------------------- Online goods and services retailer Lastminute.com PLC will start selling Isas financial services online, according to The Sunday Telegraph. Isas services include motor insurance, travel insurance, tax services and loans. MG ROVER: Faces 300 Million Pounds Loss --------------------------------------- MG Rover are preparing to announce next month its loss of about 200 million pounds in car-making, and a further 100 million pounds on the cost of restructuring, according to Reuters on Sunday. The figure is significantly worse than anticipated by industry experts when the Phoenix consortium bought the rump of the old Rover Group from BMW AG last year. MG lost 12 weeks of production when it moved production of the Rover 75 model from Cowley in Oxford to Longbridge, in the Midlands. It is continuing to cut costs through reduced expense on information technology and marketing. The British carmaker remains a prime takeover target, although one potential buyer, venture capital company Alchemy, pulled out of talks. MILLENNIUM DOME: Wind-up May Extend Into 2002 --------------------------------------------- Corporate troubleshooter David James, who agreed to waive a 530,000 pounds fee for work in the winding up of Millennium Dome, suggested it would take at least eight months longer than expected to sort out the Dome company, according to the Financial Times on Friday. James said the amount of work involved in winding up the company had been horribly misunderstood that he is working up to seven days a week to try to sort out unresolved financial and contractual matters. Following negotiations with the preferred bidder, Legacy, the government now accepts it could take about a year to sell the Dome. TELEMONDE INC: Maxwell Firms Faces Financial Problems ----------------------------------------------------- Businesses run by the family of the late Robert Maxwell are facing financial problems. According to The Independent on Sunday, the main operating subsidiary of Telemonde Inc, the telecommunications firm headed by Kevin Maxwell, came close to being wound up last month. Commtouch, an e-mail business headed by Isabel Maxwell, has laid off more than half its staff. 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. Kimberly MacAdam, 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 prior written permission of the publishers. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. The TCR Europe subscription rate is $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 * * *