/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010430.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 Monday, April 30, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 84 Headlines * B E L G I U M * LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Files Complaint Against Korea Unit Head LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Founders Say KPMG Was Aware of LHK Activities LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Judge Questions Former Directors SABENA SA: Appoints Muller as Managing Director SABENA SA: Pilots Granted External Audit * B U L G A R I A * BALKAN AIRLINES: European Investor Eyes Bulgarian Airline *F R A N C E * MOULINEX SA: Announces 4,000 Redundancies SCI FRANCE: May Cut 370 Jobs * P O L A N D * ELEKTRIM SA: Faces Libel Suit * S W I T Z E R L A N D * SAIRGROUP: Restructures Cargo Division SAIRGROUP: Shares Climb on New Finance SAIRGROUP: Tour Operator May Buy Part of French Airlines * U N I T E D K I N G D O M * ALBERT FISHER: Closes Plant, Cuts 180 Jobs BOOKHAM TECHNOLOGY: Hit by Economic Fall BRITISH TELECOM: BBC Chair Takes Over Vallance MARKS & SPENCER: Appoints Stevenson as New Retail Director MG ROVER: Chairman Says Company Can Stand Alone PAST TIMES: Shop Chain Goes Into Receivership ============= B E L G I U M ============= LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Files Complaint Against Korea Unit Head ---------------------------------------------------------- Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV has filed a criminal complaint against Ju Chul Seo, former head of its Korean unit, the Wall Street Journal in its April 26 edition reported. The charges were also filed against former executives for allegedly having committed criminal fraud and breach of trust in office. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report found out that 70% of the company's $160 million in sales reported between September 1999 and June 2000 were fictitious. The complaint also charges four Korean banks of abetting Seo's fraudulent claims regarding company sales in that period. LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Founders Say KPMG Was Aware of LHK Activities ---------------------------------------------------------------- Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV founders Jo Lernout and Pol Hauspie, and former board-member Nico Willaert, said that auditors KPMG was fully aware of L&H's structure and its Korean activities, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 26. The company is being investigated for alleged fraud after admitting last year to accounting irregularities at its Korean unit between September 1999 and June 2000. The former L&H officials now say KPMG was totally aware of what was going on at L&H and that L&H couldn't have set up its Korean activities without the help of KPMG Korea. KPMG has so far declined to comment. LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Judge Questions Former Directors --------------------------------------------------- Examining judge Kristof Vulsteke, according to Dow Jones in its Thursday report, questioned former directors Jo Lernout, Pol Hauspie and Nico Willaert of speech technology company Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV. There were also unconfirmed reports that the homes of both Lernout and Hauspie were searched. SABENA SA: Appoints Muller as Managing Director ----------------------------------------------- Belgian airline Sabena has appointed Christoph Muller as its new Managing Director during the General Assembly of Shareholders on April 26. During the assembly, Muller described the perspectives for 2001. Objective is the consolidation of what has been achieved so far, in particular with regard to the network and the by the passengers more and more appreciated quality of the service provided. Priority will be given to profitability over growth. The assembly has also appointed a new Board of Directors. Ferdinand Chaffart is the airline's President of the Board, Christoph Muller as Executive Director, Paul Borghgraef, Patrick De Maeseneire, Benedict Hentsch, Raymond Lyons, Georges Schorderet, Eric Smit and Philippe Wilmes. SABENA SA: Pilots Granted External Audit ---------------------------------------- The Belgian court has granted the pilots of Sabena on their request for an external audit of the carrier, M2 Communications Ltd. in its April 26 edition reported. The audit, expected to take up to six months and include accounts from the last five years, will involve accounts belonging to Sabena and its parent company, SAirGroup. =============== B U L G A R I A =============== BALKAN AIRLINES: European Investor Eyes Bulgarian Airline --------------------------------------------------------- A European consortium is interested in investing and restoring the operations of Bulgaria's flag carrier Balkan Airlines, the April 26 edition of Reuters said. According to airline spokesman Viktor Melamed, the consortium needed another 10 days to complete its calculations but declined comment whether the group meant to acquire the airline now. He declined to disclose details of the planned deal and of the consortium members. =========== F R A N C E =========== MOULINEX SA: Announces 4,000 Redundancies ----------------------------------------- Household appliance maker Moulinex-Brandt will cut 4,000 jobs as annual losses widened to 130 million euro ($116 million) from 16 million euro in 1999, BBC News in its April 26 edition said. The company presented a rescue plan to unions that includes 4,000 job cuts, including nearly 1,500 in France, 1,700 in Poland and the rest of Europe. Moulinex would also close six plants, three in France and one each in Brazil and Ireland. The restructuring plan would aim to make the company profitable by 2005. SCI FRANCE: May Cut 370 Jobs ---------------------------- SCI France has presented a restructuring plan that involved 370 jobs cuts, the April 25 edition of Les Echos said. Without the backing of its parent, US electronic components manufacturer SCI Systems Inc, SCI France would be insolvent. The company needs to be recapitalized for FFr170 million and is seeking solutions to avoid a massive restructuring. =========== P O L A N D =========== ELEKTRIM SA: Faces Libel Suit ----------------------------- A supervisory board member of embattled telecommunications group Elektrim SA plans to sue the company's management for alleging he may have used confidential information against the company's best interests, the April 26 report of Dow Jones said. Chief executive officer Yaron Bruckner of Netherlands-based retailing group Eastbridge N.V. instructed attorneys Weil Gotschal & Manges to file suit against Elektrim's management board for defamation of character, libel, and damage to personal reputation. The injunction was sought by Eastbridge to secure a $36.9 million claim arising from the breakdown of a June 2000 deal in which Elektrim pledged to acquire 50% stakes in two Internet firms held by Eastbridge. As part of the payment terms, Eastbridge would have been entitled to 3.06 million newly issued Elektrim shares. The injunction, he said, "protects the deal we've signed...We tried to bring this to a close and were unable to. This is a last resort." ===================== S W I T Z E R L A N D ===================== SAIRGROUP: Restructures Cargo Division -------------------------------------- SAirGroup announced on Thursday a major restructuring of its cargo operations to restore its financial health, JOC Online in its April 26 report said. A revamped SwissCargo will become a new SAirGroup division and will integrate all freight units, including SAirLogistics, Cargologic, GlobePool and Ixedius. SAirGroup's board member Klaus Knappik will head up the new division, replacing the resigned head of cargo operations, Ludwig Bertsch. SAirGroup built SAirLogistics into the world's fifth-largest air freight network, but it announced disposals of key cargo assets following a $1.7 billion overall loss in 2000. SAIRGROUP: Shares Climb on New Finance -------------------------------------- Shares in struggling Swissair parent climbed 15% in morning trading on Thursday after it emerged the group had secured a 1 billion Swiss franc ($586 million; 408 million pounds) credit line from three banks, BBC News in its April 26 edition said. The liquidity was assured through a new credit line agreed with CSFB, Citibank and Deutsche Bank. Swissair Group executive chairman Mario Corti told shareholders in its Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting on Wednesday how he intended to revive the fortunes of the ailing business now renamed from SAirGroup. SAIRGROUP: Tour Operator May Buy Part of French Airlines -------------------------------------------------------- Nouvelles Frontieres is interested in buying part of financially troubled regional airline group AOM-Air Liberte, the April 25 edition of Dow Jones said. According to the French tour operator's chief executive Jacques Maillot, a part of the business could indeed interest Nouvelles Frontieres because they are involved in both regular and charter transport activities of both medium and long-range. Swissair parent SAir Group owns 49.5% of AOM-Air Liberte. Nouvelles Frontieres is partly owned by German travel market leader Preussag AG. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== ALBERT FISHER: Closes Plant, Cuts 180 Jobs ------------------------------------------ Chief executive Terry Robinson, the mastermind behind the restructuring of Albert Fisher Group, responded their decline in operating income by closing the Grimsby vegetable processing plant with the loss of 180 jobs, the April 26 edition of This Is London reported. With a substantial writedown on the sale of food business Mondi, losses before tax stood at 11.7 million pounds, a slight improvement on the 12.4 million pounds loss last year. The food distributor has markets in United Kingdom, continental Europe and the United States. BOOKHAM TECHNOLOGY: Hit by Economic Fall ---------------------------------------- Fiber optics manufacturer Bookham Technology warned it would be hit by the effects of the slowing US economy, the Birmingham Post in its April 26 report said. The company added that sales would fall over the coming months as its customers put off purchases until later in the year and that the market was becoming less predictable. Shares in the company, which have been severely battered since the beginning of the year, lost close to 10%, falling 29p to 271p. BRITISH TELECOM: BBC Chair Takes Over Vallance ---------------------------------------------- British Telecom has announced that Sir Iain Vallance will hand over the chairmanship to Sir Christopher Bland on May 1, an April 26 company press release said. Vallance will step down as a Board director and will remain with BT as President Emeritus until July 2002. Vallance joined the BT Board at its inception in 1981. He played a crucial role in taking BT through the 1984 privatization, became chief executive in 1986 and chairman the following year. Bland is Chairman of the BBC since 1996 and he will remain so until his successor takes up this appointment. Speaking of his new job Sir Christopher said: "BT is an excellent company operating in a highly competitive sector. I look forward to chairing the Board through the next challenging and exciting period. There are immediate issues to address, notably the impact of a very dynamic marketplace on the strategic priorities of the company; managing for cash and realizing value for assets in the context of the current levels of debt. I look forward to working with Peter Bonfield and his executive team, and I am pleased that Iain Vallance will remain with the company as President Emeritus," Bland said. MARKS & SPENCER: Appoints Stevenson as New Retail Director ---------------------------------------------------------- Marks & Spencer announced on April 26 in a press release the immediate appointment of Barry Stevenson as Retail Director for its UK Retail business. Stevenson will sit on the UK Retail Board, reporting to Managing Director Roger Holmes. An experienced retailer, Stevenson joined Kingfisher in 1991 working for Woolworths. In 1995, he moved to B&Q as Operations Director, before progressing to his most recent appointment as Managing Director of B&Q Supercentres. His early career was with Allied Breweries, where he gained considerable experience working in their retail sector, progressing to Operations Director for their retail brands. Stevenson will be responsible for leading retail operations for UK stores, including development, implementation and delivery of all selling and customer service activities. "I am delighted that Barry is bringing his strong retail background and breadth of expertise to Marks & Spencer. The appointment that Roger has made further strengthens the UK Retail Board, reflecting the significance of the role of UK stores in the Company's recovery plan," Chairman and Chief Executive Luc Vandevelde said. MG ROVER: Chairman Says Company Can Stand Alone ----------------------------------------------- MG Rover chairman John Towers said that the company is now capable of surviving indefinitely as an independent British carmaker, the Financial Times on April 26 reported. Towers further said that MG Rover no longer need any external financing, following his declaration that the cash situation continues to improve. The company expects to increase sales next year to 205,000 from this year's projected 190,000, with the launch in the next few months of MG sports variants of the existing 25, 45 and 75 Rover range. PAST TIMES: Shop Chain Goes Into Receivership --------------------------------------------- Shop chain Past Times, whose debts reached more than 4 million pounds, has appointed Berley Charterered Accountants as administrators, the Financial Times on April 26 reported. The administrators said Past Times had ordered more goods than it could sell in recent months and faced piles of unpaid bills to its suppliers- which include small UK manufacturers and large plants in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, India and China. Berley has four to six weeks to fine a buyer for the company, which they value in excess of 3 million pounds. The company has 74 shops and employs more than 700 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 * * *