/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/010625.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, June 25, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 123 Headlines * B E L G I U M * LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Bastiaens Arrives Belgium Under Police Custody SABENA SA: Bans Transport of Coltan From Africa SABENA SA: Government Will Not Allow Bankruptcy * C Z E C H R E P U B L I C * ALIACHEM: To Reduce Share Capital * F R A N C E * AIR LIBERTE: To Cease Operation in July AIR NORMANDIE: Goes Into Compulsory Liquidation * G E R M A N Y * DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG: In Joint Venture With Hyundai TELDAFAX AG: Affiliate Files for Preliminary Insolvency WASCHBAR UMWELTVESAND: Files for Insolvency * I T A L Y * ALITALIA-LINEE: To Conclude Deal With Air France * N E T H E R L A N D S * LETSBUYIT.COM: Will Cooperate With Karstadtquelle * S P A I N * ELECTRODOMESTICOS SOLAC: Proposes 25MM-Euro Capital Increase RSL.COM: Sells Stake in Alo * S W E D E N * BOLIDEN LIMITED: Lenders Approve Restructuring Proposal * U N I T E D K I N G D O M * BARINGS: Auditor Faces 1BB-Pound Lawsuit From Liquidator BOOKHAM TECHNOLOGY: Will Axe 100 Jobs CAMMELL LAIRD: Receiver Accepts Bid for Teesside INDEPENDENT INSURANCE: CCA Gives French Unit Provisional Receiver INDEPENDENT INSURANCE: Royal & Sun Buys Independent Policies ============= B E L G I U M ============= LERNOUT & HAUSPIE: Bastiaens Arrives Belgium Under Police Custody ----------------------------------------------------------------- Former Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V boss Gaston Bastiaens arrived in Brussels with two police officers on a flight from the United States on Thursday, Xinhua News Agency in its June 21 report said. Bastiaens had been wanted in Belgium over fraud and other charges. On May, he was jailed in the U.S. on a Belgian warrant on charges of fraud, insider trading, stock manipulation, and accounting violations. His arrest warrant was part of a wider investigation into the troubled company, which has already led to the imprisonment of L&H's founders, Jo Lernout and Pol Hauspie, and former executive Nico Willaert. SABENA SA: Bans Transport of Coltan From Africa ----------------------------------------------- The Belgian-Swiss airline consortium Sabena/Swissair on June 15 has restricted the transport of coltan and all related minerals from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda in eastern Africa, Africa News Service reported on Thursday. The decision follows an April report from the UN that named the consortium as among those transporting coltan and is capitalizing on the civil strife in Belgium's former colony, Congo. Coltan is a mineral used in the production of power-storing components for high-tech gear ranging from nuclear reactors to cell phones to PlayStations. SABENA SA: Government Will Not Allow Bankruptcy ----------------------------------------------- The Belgian government said it would not let Sabena Airlines fall into bankruptcy, but instead will find a way to finance the business plan proposed by chief executive Christoph Mueller, the June 21 edition of AFX News reported. Early last week, Sabena's board of directors concluded that the launching of the business plan is impossible without extra funding, but Sabena shareholder Swissair Group AG said it would not provide financing for the Belgian airline with its current financial difficulties. =========================== C Z E C H R E P U B L I C =========================== ALIACHEM: To Reduce Share Capital --------------------------------- AliaChem decided to reduce its share capital to Kc4.292 billion in order to cover Kc7.584 billion losses from previous years, including a Kc2.860 billion loss in 2000, Czech News Agency & World Reporter in its June 20 edition said. The management did not propose to pay dividends because of the losses. =========== F R A N C E =========== AIR LIBERTE: To Cease Operation in July --------------------------------------- After having been placed in involuntary liquidation, AOM-Air Liberte has seen its chances of survival grow smaller as it will only be able to meet its spending needs until the end of June, La Tribune & World Reporter in its June 21 edition said. AOM-Air Liberte will need at least FFr100 million in order to survive until the end of July, and a further FFr500 million in order to survive the three month period of involuntary liquidation. However, shareholder Swissair refused to take on any more of the group's losses. AOM-Air Liberte's other main shareholder, Marine Wendel, has no intention of taking part in the survival plan. AIR NORMANDIE: Goes Into Compulsory Liquidation ----------------------------------------------- A Dieppe court has declared French carrier Air Normandie in compulsory liquidation as no valid takeover offer was received, making its 70 employees redundant, Les Echos in its June 18 edition said. Air Normandie has accrued debts of over FFr30 million, with registered annual turnover of FFr90 million. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG: In Joint Venture With Hyundai ------------------------------------------------- DaimlerChrysler AG and Hyundai Motor Co. said Thursday they would jointly make commercial vehicle engines in South Korea to gain a stronger base in Asia, the Associated Press in its June 21 edition reported. The two companies will also set up a joint venture by the end of next year to produce medium and large-sized commercial vehicles. Each company will invest $90 million into the diesel engine project. The engines, using DaimlerChrysler technology, will are to be produced starting in 2004 at Chonju, site of a major Hyundai plant. DaimlerChrysler holds a 10.46% stake in Hyundai. It is the world's leading maker of commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses. TELDAFAX AG: Affiliate Files for Preliminary Insolvency ------------------------------------------------------- TelDaFax's affiliate GeoNet Systems GmbH on Wednesday filed for a preliminary insolvency case at the insolvency court in Marburg, Frankfurt Stock Exchange in its June 21 edition reported. The company's website http://www.telda.nethas been switched off due to unpaid bills, but existing e-mail addresses remain active. TelDaFax's designated sponsors, DG Bank and Goldman Sachs, have also terminated their mandates. The German bourse also announced that the shareholders' general meeting scheduled for July 11 has been canceled. WASCHBAR UMWELTVESAND: Files for Insolvency ------------------------------------------- Ecological mail-order business Waschbar Umweltversand GmbH filed for insolvency Wednesday due to unfortunate general conditions and its own mistakes, Suddeutsche Zeitung & World Reporter in its June 21 said. Rival online mail order company Unitednature AG plans to acquire Waschbar, which employs 150 staff and generates a turnover of DM68 million. ========= I T A L Y ========= ALITALIA-LINEE: To Conclude Deal With Air France ------------------------------------------------ The board of Italy's flag carrier Alitalia has given CEO Francesco Mengozzi the approval to conclude a commercial deal with Air France and Delta, according to Reuters' June 20 edition. Talks remain in the early stages, however. Alitalia's problems include unprofitable international and intercontinental routes, loss of domestic market share, an inadequate fleet and problems with Milan's Malpensa airport. ===================== N E T H E R L A N D S ===================== LETSBUYIT.COM: Will Cooperate With Karstadtquelle ------------------------------------------------- Internet retailer LetsBuyIt.com said Wednesday that it will cooperate with German retail KarstadtQuelle, which has obtained an option to buy a stake in the online shop. As part of the cooperation, LetsBuyIt.com would buy a major share of its goods through KarstadtQuelle. The companies also plan to cooperate in logistics and customer services. LetsBuyIt.com, which in January pulled back from the brink of bankruptcy, said the deal would make its own operations more efficient. ========= S P A I N ========= ELECTRODOMESTICOS SOLAC: Proposes 25MM-Euro Capital Increase ------------------------------------------------------------ Domestic appliances company Electrodomesticos Solac, 98% controlled by the Spanish holding company Azpillaga, will propose a 25.24 million euro capital increase at its general shareholders' meeting today, Expansion & World Reporter said in its June 19 edition. Solac agreed with creditors last year to renew payments on existing liabilities. RSL.COM: Sells Stake in Alo --------------------------- US-based telecom services firm RSL.COM, which filed for chapter 11 in March, has completed the sale of its majority stake in Spain's Alo Communicaciones to Alo's management team for an undisclosed price, the June 20 edition of Reuters said. Earlier this month, Irish telecom firm eTel Group acquired troubled telecom firm RSL Austria for about 2.4 million pounds. =========== S W E D E N =========== BOLIDEN LIMITED: Lenders Approve Restructuring Proposal ------------------------------------------------------- Mining group Boliden Limited on Thursday announced that the lenders have approved the refinancing and restructuring proposal that the company presented to them in late May. Under the terms of the proposal, the hedge counterparties will close out the Boliden's existing foreign currency hedge contracts and convert the losses incurred to debt and the hedge counterparties and the lenders will refinance approximately $800 million of outstanding debt under a new credit facility with debt maturities ranging from two to five years. The refinancing and restructuring is being carried out in conjunction with and is conditional upon completion of the company's previously announced equity offerings and settlement of definitive documentation. Boliden also announced that it would file a preliminary prospectus in respect of the equity offerings. The offerings consist of a $114 million common share rights offering to the company's existing shareholders. The net proceeds of the rights offering will be used to finance the company's operations, while the net proceeds of the directed offering will be used to reduce the company's debt under the new credit facility. The equity offerings have been structured to permit existing shareholders to participate to the maximum extent possible. If existing shareholders participate fully in the offerings, they will continue to own approximately 88% of the equity of the Company. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== BARINGS: Auditor Faces 1BB-Pound Lawsuit From Liquidator -------------------------------------------------------- Baring liquidator Ernst & Young is suing the bank's former auditors Deloitte & Touche and Coopers & Lybrand, according to the June 19 edition of the Scotsman newspaper. The liquidator is also seeking 1 billion pounds in damages. A legal battle over who should pay for the collapse of Britain's oldest bank, which was brought down in 1995 through unauthorized trading by Nick Leeson, will begin in the High Court this week. BOOKHAM TECHNOLOGY: Will Axe 100 Jobs ------------------------------------- Fiber optics manufacturer Bookham Technology will shed 100 jobs after warning that sales will be up to 55% lower than the previous quarter, the June 20 edition of Press Association said. In March, Bookham axed 15% of its staff (150 employees) as a result of the sales slump. CAMMELL LAIRD: Receiver Accepts Bid for Teesside ------------------------------------------------ Cammell Laird's receivers PriceWaterhouseCoopers said lawyers are working on a bid from Eric Welsh, a former managing director of the shipyard, for the shipbuilder's smallest yard at Teesside, the June 21 edition of The Times reported. The accountancy firm declined to give financial details of the deal but said contracts are being drafted. About six interested parties are still negotiating the fate of Cammell Laird's business at Birkenhead and at Tyneside. PwC has cut more than 600 jobs since the shipbuilder collapsed into receivership earlier this year. Work is expected to dry up at the yards by the end of this month. INDEPENDENT INSURANCE: CCA Gives French Unit Provisional Receiver ----------------------------------------------------------------- The CCA French insurance regulator has nominated a provisional receiver to Independent Insurance France, a unit of Independent Insurance Group PLC, according to the AFX News in its June 21 edition. This move follows an earlier plan against the UK parent company, which involved putting the business under special control, partially freezing assets, and suspending its activity. INDEPENDENT INSURANCE: Royal & Sun Buys Independent Policies ------------------------------------------------------------ Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance PLC has purchased around 450,000 policies from Independent Insurance PLC's administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), for an undisclosed amount, according to AFX News' June 21 edition. The policies are part of a tenants council package and include burglary, theft and damage. Meanwhile, some of Independent's 2,000-member staff now face a more secure future as they have been brought on board by PwC. Others employees, whose jobs center on creating new business, will be made redundant. The investigation into the assets and liabilities of Independent will take up to a year. ********** 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 Ma. Cristina D. 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 * * *