/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010412.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, April 12, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 72 Headlines * B E L G I U M * LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Forms Dictaphone CRS Group * B U L G A R I A * BALKAN AIRLINES: May Resume Domestic Flights in May * C Z E C H R E P U B L I C * CESKE RADIOKOMUNIKACE: Plunges on Dividend Confusion PRAZSKE PIVOVARY: Gets Away With Insolvency * G E R M A N Y * ADVANCED MEDIEN: Posts DM71.8 Million Loss BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: Not Seen Selling Stake DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG: Investors Call for Chief's Resignation TELDAFAX AG: Requests Trading Suspension TELDAFAX AG: Seeks Buyer * G R E E C E * OLYMPIC AIRWAYS: EasyJet Chief Not Interested in Olympic * H U N G A R Y * MALEV AIRLINES: Gets Ft 3 Billion Interest-free Loan MTV1: State Television Cuts 141 Jobs * N E T H E R L A N D S * NEWCONOMY NV: Secures Financing to Keep Afloat * R U S S I A * NTV: Sues for Invalidation of Gazprom Takeover * S P A I N * ALO: Sets Up Voluntary Redundancy Program CARNICAS GONZALEZ: Files for Liquidation * S W E D E N * PHARMA INTERACTIVE: Files for Bankruptcy PROCEEDO COMMERCE: ProcureITright Acquires Proceedo * S W I T Z E R L A N D * INTERNATIONAL SPORTS MEDIA: Media Companies to Buy ISMM * U N I T E D K I N G D O M * BRITISH TELECOM: In 2 Billion-Pound Talks With Trillium CAMMELL LAIRD: Shipyard May Resume Operation by July MARKS & SPENCER: Faces More Legal Woes MILLENNIUM DOME: Ministers Reject Option to Demolish Dome MOTOROLA: Fears for 1,000 Jobs in Scotland WORLD TELECOM: Goes Into Receivership ============= B E L G I U M ============= LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Forms Dictaphone CRS Group --------------------------------------------- Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V., a world leader in speech and language technology, products and services, announced on Tuesday the formation of Dictaphone Communications Recording Systems (Dictaphone CRS), a new business unit dedicated to the rapidly growing recording systems market, Business Wire reported. The new group will focus on developing and providing leading-edge recording and quality monitoring systems for markets where Dictaphone already has a strong presence, including public safety, financial services, and call centers. =============== B U L G A R I A =============== BALKAN AIRLINES: May Resume Domestic Flights in May --------------------------------------------------- Bulgarian flag carrier Balkan Airlines, grounded since February 13 by its majority holders Israeli Zeevi Holdings, could resume its domestic flights in early May, Reuters in its April 10 report said. According to Ralitsa Topchieva, a legally-appointed administrator, there is a chance that domestic flights to Varna and Bourgas will resume on May and it would cost the company around one million levs. She added that the airline needs a rehabilitation plan and a strategic investor to restore its regular long-distance flights. Some investors from Europe and outside have now indicated they might be interested in Balkan Airlines. Topchieva declined to give more information. =========================== C Z E C H R E P U B L I C ============================ CESKE RADIOKOMUNIKACE: Plunges on Dividend Confusion ---------------------------------------------------- Shares in telecom company Ceske Radiokomunikace plunged as much as 20% to 536 crowns on Monday amid confusion over the record date for dividend payments, which the company could delay while the government haggles with a potential buyer over selling a majority stake, Reuters reported. Dealers said foreign investors avoided to touch the stock as they didn't know if Radiokom would trade with or without the dividend. Radiokom said it would pay a pre-tax dividend of around 324 crowns from last year's windfall profit but this is subject to negotiations between the government and Radiokom bidder Tele Danmark. The Finance Ministry urges the Danish operator to raise its bid of 861 crowns per share. PRAZSKE PIVOVARY: Gets Away With Insolvency ------------------------------------------- Brewing company Prazske Pivovary is no longer threatened with insolvency, Hospodarske Noviny & World Reporter reported on Monday. Belgian group Interbrew, holding a 97% stake in PP, has succeeded in initiating an increase in the company's basic assets from 1.7 billion to 3.4 billion Czech korona. This step will make it possible to reduce external indebtedness and will also provide for the necessary operational capital. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= ADVANCED MEDIEN: Posts DM71.8 Million Loss ------------------------------------------ Advanced Medien in early February 2 announced that significant sales problems in the core business area of selling film licenses caused its sales before sales deductions to decline to DM56.3 million, an April 9 press release in Frankfurt Stock Exchange said. Due to the generally tougher market conditions for companies that are engaged in the purchase and sale of motion picture rights, parts of film packages sold in 1999 and 2000 had to be taken back by Advanced Medien, leading to sales deductions in the amount DM22 million and to price cuts after the sale in the amount of DM6.4 million during fiscal 2000. This resulted in sales revenue of DM 27.9 million after sales deductions. Extraordinary valuation allowances for film assets in the amount of DM18.1 million, which were caused by market conditions, allowances for receivables amounting to DM27 million and operating losses in all business segments resulted in a consolidated loss of DM71.8 million. The executive board of Advanced Medien has filed a lawsuit with the Landgericht court in Munich to recover and enforce receivables, some of which are already due and payable, against another domestic film dealer, which is offsetting such receivables against claims for damages. The board of Advanced Medien believes that these claims for damages are unjustified. BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: Not Seen Selling Stake ----------------------------------------------- Bankgesellschaft Berlin is not expected to sell a stake to help it solve the crisis, according to Reuters' April 9 report. The sale of a stake in Bankgesellschaft would be the last resort for the bank and its main shareholder, the Berlin local government. "That would be a declaration of complete failure. They will try to go it alone as long as they possibly can," analyst Martin Peter of WestLB Panmure in Duesseldorf said. Meanwhile, the Berlin government denied reports that it was in talks to sell a stake in Bankgesellschaft to an outside investor, possibly to Germany's largest bank, Deutsche Bank AG. Deutsche Bank declined to comment, only saying the report was speculation. The bank is involved in an ongoing investigation by Germany's banking regulator BAKred, which raised questions over the competency of Bankgesellschaft's management. So far, five senior executives have resigned or were dismissed in the wake of the probe. DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG: Investors Call for Chief's Resignation ---------------------------------------------------------- Investors in automotive company DaimlerChrysler, which announced a 1.98 billion-pound restructuring and job cuts, have called for the resignation of chairman J〉gen Schrempp, according to The Times' report yesterday. A number of shareholders, and the German Investors' Protection Association have accused the carmaker of failing to inform its shareholders of the need to restructure Chrysler in the face of weakening sales in the motor sector. TELDAFAX AG: Requests Trading Suspension ---------------------------------------- Trading in shares of stricken telecom operator TelDaFax, which last week filed for insolvency after failing to pay line rental fees owed to Deutsche Telekom AG, were suspended from the start of trading on Tuesday at the company's request, Reuters reported. The stock was on hold at 0.70 euros, 99% below its February 1999 all-time high of 64 euros. TelDaFax shares, which have plunged in the wake of payment problems, rebounded sharply on Monday on hopes the company would soon resume services and get a capital injection. TELDAFAX AG: Seeks Buyer ------------------------ Twenty companies have expressed interest to acquire troubled telecom group Teldafax AG, Handelsblatt reported on Monday, citing acting insolvency administrator Bernd Reuss. Teldafax's circuits were shut off last week after it failed to provide satisfactory confirmation of its ability to meet scheduled debt repayments of DM90 million to its largest supplier, Deutsche Telekom. On April 2, Teldafax declared insolvency to try to stop Telekom from canceling the service. =========== G R E E C E =========== OLYMPIC AIRWAYS: EasyJet Chief Not Interested in Olympic -------------------------------------------------------- EasyGroup chairman Stelios Haji-Ioannou rejected reports on Tuesday he was negotiating the purchase of troubled Greek airline Olympic Airways, Reuters reported. According to Haji-Ioannou, he has never expressed an interest in becoming a state carrier, nor has he had been in contact with Cyrpus Airways, which has expressed interest in the indebted Greek airline. Greece is offering 51 to 65% of Olympic, which the government says it must sell to ensure the airline's survival now that the European Union bans it from receiving state financial assistance. Meanwhile, M2 Communications in its April 9 edition said that the Greek government has extended the deadline for Olympic Airways bids until April 30, 2001, following a request from Cyprus Airways, which is still assessing Olympic Airways' financial data. ============= H U N G A R Y ============= MALEV AIRLINES: Gets Ft 3 Billion Interest-free Loan ---------------------------------------------------- Malev Hungarian Airlines received a Ft 3 billion interest-free loan from the State Privatization and Holding Co., following a cabinet decision made at the end of March, Hungary AM in its April 9 edition reported. Malev projects losses of Ft 10 billion this year despite cost cutting measures. An attempt to sell the airline to a foreign group failed when a tender made early this year drew no bids. MTV1: State Television Cuts 141 Jobs ------------------------------------ Cash-strapped public television service MTV1 dismissed with immediate effect 141 senior employees and editors on Monday, Agence France-Presse reported. MTV1 has struggled with financial problems for years and its viewer numbers have plummeted. In February, reporters went on strike because they had not been paid in months. Vice president Karoly Mendreczky took office after the television's former head resigned early this year following losses of more than ten billion forints (37.6 million euros, 34.8 million dollars) last year. ===================== N E T H E R L A N D S ===================== NEWCONOMY NV: Secures Financing to Keep Afloat ---------------------------------------------- Newconomy had secured financing from a credit facility granted by bank ABN Amro, to keep it afloat for the next 15 months from April 1, according to the April 9 report of Reuters. The ailing Internet hothouse fund further warned that losses for 2000 would increase by about 30 million euros to 65 to 70 million euros from the previous expectation of 33 to 38 million euros. Part of the reason for the higher loss was a new deal struck with WISH Holding unit founder Jakob Pieterman. Analyst Bart Bontekoning of Van der Hoop bank commented that the company could survive if the number of investments is slimmed down. If the market sentiment does not turn, Newconomy will not live after the 15 months. =========== R U S S I A =========== NTV: Sues for Invalidation of Gazprom Takeover ---------------------------------------------- Media-Most, the parent company of NTV, filed two suits at the Moscow Arbitration Court on Tuesday, the Associated Press on Tuesday reported. According to Media-Most lawyer Alexander Polozok, the suits are to declare the shareholders' meeting illegal and to invalidate the takeover of the station's leadership by state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom. Two separate hearings will be held on May 10 and 17. Gazprom, which holds 46% of the shares of NTV, purged the station's leadership in a shareholders' meeting April 3, after teaming up with American firm Capital Research, which holds 4.4% of NTV. Gazprom's media arm has said that it just needed to have representatives present to make the meeting itself valid. NTV insists that the meeting was illegal based on a flurry of previous legal proceedings. Its journalists have refused to work for the new management until the takeover is confirmed by a high court, saying the takeover was ordered by the Kremlin to silence criticism of human-rights abuses, the war in Chechnya and government corruption. Gazprom insists that it was only trying to protect its investment in the financially troubled network. ========= S P A I N ========= ALO: Sets Up Voluntary Redundancy Program ----------------------------------------- Telecom operator Alo has set up a voluntary redundancy program in an attempt to halve its workforce of 379 employees, Cinco Dias said in its April 7 edition. Alo's parent company RSLCom has gone bankrupt and has stopped financing its Spanish subsidiary, whose management is negotiating a buyout, the report added. CARNICAS GONZALEZ: Files for Liquidation ---------------------------------------- Shareholders in Carnicas Gonzalez have lodged a motion to wind-up the company with a Barcelona court through an asset sale, Expansion & World Reporter in its April 6 edition reported. The Spanish meats group, in temporary receivership since January, has debts of over 15.62 million euros (Pta2.6 billion). The chain has 260 network of outlets and employs around 600 staff. It has 432 creditors that include the Spanish treasury and department of social security. =========== S W E D E N =========== PHARMA INTERACTIVE: Files for Bankruptcy ---------------------------------------- Due to failed negotiations with Apoteket AB, Menire and the other owners of Pharma Interactive Communications AB have decided not to finance the company further, which led to the filing of bankruptcy, Menire Oyj Stock Exchange in its April 10 press release said. There are several buyers for the bankruptcy estate, but Menire will write down the book value according to the prudence principle. Menire's current book value in Pharma Interactive Communications AB is 3,1 million euro. PROCEEDO COMMERCE: ProcureITright Acquires Proceedo --------------------------------------------------- ProcureITright on April 10 acquired Internet based e-procurement solutions provider Proceedo Commerce AB, which submitted a filing for bankruptcy on March 27, Business Wire reported. Following the acquisition, Proceedo will become a subsidiary of ProcureITright, a global provider of procurement professional services designed to maximize the financial value of a client's enterprise. Proceedo's competence within electronic procurement solutions and portals is the missing link within ProcureITright's total service offering portfolio within procurement solutions and services. With offices in Boston, London, New York and Stockholm, procureITright provides expertise with global experience and knowledge and at the same time with the attention and flexibility of a local procurement organization. ===================== S W I T Z E R L A N D ===================== INTERNATIONAL SPORTS MEDIA: Media Companies to Buy ISMM ------------------------------------------------------- Bertelsmann AG unit RTL Group and Vivendi expressed interest to acquire the world's leading media distributor of sport events International Sports Media and Marketing (ISMM), AFX on Sunday reported. Both media companies want to build up the ISMM, now on the brink of bankruptcy, as a counterweight to the KirchGruppe in terms of marketing media rights to sport events. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== BRITISH TELECOM: In 2 Billion-Pound Talks With Trillium ------------------------------------------------------- British Telecom confirmed it is in talks over the 2 billion-pound sale of its property portfolio to Trillium, a joint venture between property developer Land Securities and the privately- owned William Peers Group, according to The Scotsman Newspaper yesterday. The group expects to complete the deal in the middle of the year. BT plans to sell the properties amounting 65 million square feet of telephone exchanges and offices, including its BT Centre headquarters in London, in an attempt to cut its 30 billion-pound debt. The real estate will be leased to the successful bidders for 130 years and then leased back to BT in 30-year contracts. Credit analysts, who have questioned whether a sale and lease back constitutes a debt reduction, have regarded the move with some suspicion. While the move has some immediate liquidity benefit, it ties the company into future cash payments. CAMMELL LAIRD: Shipyard May Resume Operation by July ---------------------------------------------------- British shipbuilder Cammell Laird said on Tuesday Bulgaria's dormant state-controlled Varna shipyard could resume operation by July if its bid for the indebted yard is approved by Bulgarian courts, Reuters on April 10 reported, citing Cammell Laird's European management director Tom Parry. A regional court of appeal in the Black Sea city of Varna on Monday turned down objections by some of the yard's creditors to the British group's bailout plan. The money from Cammell Laird would be used to compensate partly the creditors of the state-controlled yard that are now owed some 170 million levs by the plant. The largest creditor is Bank Consolidation Company. It was owed some 42 million levs as of February last year followed by the Bulgarian Maritime Fleet shipping company with 18.38 million. The government made several attempts to sell the shipyard but failed before it decided to seek insolvency for it in May 1999. MARKS & SPENCER: Faces More Legal Woes -------------------------------------- German union GHBV representing all of Marks & Spencer's 245 employees in Germany has threatened to take the retailer to court for failing to consult staff on the closure of stores in the country, according to The Scotsman newspaper yesterday. The move follows the success of civil action in the French courts, which has forced the troubled retailer to suspend its plan to close its loss-making network of stores in France because it had broken French labor law by failing to properly consult its 1,700 French employees. GHBV general secretary Stefan Klee said that nothing has been planned yet but it is a possibility. It depends on how redundancy discussions with the management go. The company, which lost 28 million pounds last year in its French stores, has insisted it will press ahead with the closure program despite the ruling. MILLENNIUM DOME: Ministers Reject Option to Demolish Dome --------------------------------------------------------- As some potential bidders believe they could make more money by demolishing the Millennium Dome and using the entire site for property developments, its ministers are expected to reject this option, the Financial Times reported on Monday. "Ministers are completely opposed to knocking it down. As things stand we're going to make a statement before the election but we won't publish the terms until afterwards," a government member said. The government has suffered twice in its two-year attempt to sell the Dome. Nomura International walked away from the deal in September over fears about hidden liabilities and in February, the government ended negotiations with property development company Legacy. MOTOROLA: Fears for 1,000 Jobs in Scotland ------------------------------------------ At least 1,000 jobs are in jeopardy at the Motorola mobile phone factory in Bathgate, Scotland, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Scotland's enterprise minister Wendy Alexander has been in talks with senior Motorola executives in the U.S. and the U.K. to fight a possible closure at the facility in Scotland. Motorola, Scotland's biggest manufacturing employer, said it had not made a final decision on job cuts at Bathgate, where workers assemble cell phone handsets. A spokesman for the company said talks were at an early stage with the plant's workforce over its future. WORLD TELECOM: Goes Into Receivership ------------------------------------- Call card company World Telecom has gone into administrative receivership with creditors owed over GBP3 million when it failed to secure a new round of financing, The Sunday Independent reported. PricewaterhouseCoopers partner Neville Kahn was appointed as World Telecom's receiver. Since the appointment, the number of staff in the UK has been reduced from 52 to 20. Over the last year, close to 180 jobs have been lost at the group. A PwC spokeswoman further said that they are in discussion with a number of interested parties over the sale of the global calling card business. 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 * * *