/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/011206.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, December 06, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 238 Headlines * F R A N C E * BULL SA: Appoints Bonelli to Save Company LVMH: Climbs Amid Closure of Sephora in Germany * G E R M A N Y * BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: TPG to Present Bid by January CENIT AG: Sells Subsidiaries in U.S. and Canada POPNET INTERNET: Begins Insolvency Proceedings * I T A L Y * ALITALIA SPA: Seeking Offers by January * N E T H E R L A N D S * KPN NV: No Further Lawsuits From SOBI, at Least for Now UNITED PAN-EUROPE: Surges After Liberty Media Deal * N O R W A Y * BOSTON ASSET: Files for Insolvency KVAERNER ASA: Investors Agree to Underwrite NKr1.5BB Rights Issue * S P A I N * FENOSA SA: Unit Supplies Natural Gas * S W E D E N * ADERA AB: Sells Advertising Agency in Stockholm, Affects 12 Jobs ADERA AB: To Sell Nucleus Limited Shares ICON MEDIALAB: Raises Share Capital * S W I T Z E R L A N D * SWISSAIR GROUP: Air Lib Lawsuit "Without Merit" SWISSAIR GROUP: Bondholders to Receive 12.5% of Value SWISSAIR GROUP: French Strike Disrupts Crossair Flights * U N I T E D K I N G D O M * BRITISH TELECOM: Danon Outlines Plans for Retail Unit BRITISH TELECOMS: Will Cut More Jobs to Control Costs CORUS GROUP: Bond Issue Attracts Investors CORUS GROUP: Sells up to 287.5MM Convertible Bonds ENRON CORPORATION: Centrica Buys Enron Direct for 96MM Pounds ENRON CORPORATION: Mulls Sale of Polish Plant ENRON CORPORATION: Suez Eyes Enron's Assets ENRON CORPORATION: Vestas Wind Eyes Enron Wind MILLENNIUM DOME: Draws Third Bidder NTL INCORPORATED: Faces 530-MM-Pound Funding Gap RAILTRACK GROUP: Bidders Face Hold-up =========== F R A N C E =========== BULL SA: Appoints Bonelli to Save Company ----------------------------------------- Bull SA has appointed Pierre Bonelli to salvage the cash-strapped computer company, the Financial Times reported. Bonelli has given himself until the spring to see whether Bull can survive as an independent company. "My mission is to propose a plan of action for what to do with Bull. I am taking at least one last look at this company. If the government wanted to get rid of Bull by selling it off, they didn't need me," Bonelli said. Bull has hobbled from one restructuring plan to the next without ever recovering fully. It is expected to report a loss of 120 million euros this year, following a loss of 243 million euros in 2000. Guy de Panafieu left Bull last month after heading it for four years. LVMH: Climbs Amid Closure of Sephora in Germany ----------------------------------------------- Shares in LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton were up 0.04 euros or 0.1% to 43.92 in Tuesday's trading amid reports that the company plans to close five Sephora stores in Germany, AFX News reported. Last week, the French luxury goods giant announced the closure of its seven loss-making Sephora stores in Japan. "At the moment, there is nobody ready to buy these branches," one Paris-based analyst said. The retail activities of LVMH, which has issued three profit warnings since the September 11 attacks in the U.S., comprise mainly the loss-making Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) chain and Sephora. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= BANKGESELLSCHAFT BERLIN: TPG to Present Bid by January ------------------------------------------------------ The Texas Pacific Group (TPG) will make a bid for troubled Bankgesellschaft Berlin by January 2002, now that has been given access to the bank's financial data, Handelsblatt reports. The bid will make TPG the third party to express interest in investing in the troubled Berlin group. A consortium headed by U.S. investor Christopher Flowers has come forward as a possible bidder. Germany's savings banks together with NordLB, the central savings bank for the northeastern region of Germany, have already submitted a joint bid to the city-state of Berlin, the bank's majority shareholder. Bankgesellschaft is also examining the future of subsidiaries Weberbank, Zivnostenska banka in the Czech Republic, and Allbank Allgemeine Privatkundenbank in Hanover. The sale of non-core activities will help boost the flagging bank's capital. CENIT AG: Sells Subsidiaries in U.S. and Canada ----------------------------------------------- German software company Cenit AG Systemhaus is selling its loss- making U.S. and Canadian subsidiaries back to their original owners as part its restructuring and cost-cutting measures. The planned sale of Canadian-based L&H Consultants Inc, which is also active in the U.S., is expected to cost Cenit around 3.6 million euros. The company, which also plans to sell its U.K. subsidiary to its original owners, aims for an improvement in group results for 2002. Cenit AG has 885 employees worldwide. For information contact Fabian Rau, Investor Relations, at telephone +49 711 78073 - 185 or fax +49 711 78073 - 485 or email aktie@cenit.de POPNET INTERNET: Begins Insolvency Proceedings ---------------------------------------------- Insolvency proceedings at Popnet Internet AG began December 1 after efforts to rescue the German Internet services company failed, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung/FT Information reported The local court in Hamburg appointed Dr. Sven-Holger Undritz of White & Case, Feddersen as insolvency practitioner. Proceedings have also opened against subsidiaries PopNet Kommunikation GmbH & Co. KG, PopNet Consulting GmbH, PopNet Services GmbH, DD Synergy eSolutions GmbH and DD Synergy AG. Popnet Kommunikations GmbH & Co. KG will continue operating at its bases in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich. The Hamburg-based company applied for insolvency in September when Commerzbank cancelled its credit to the company, which posted an EBITDA loss of approximately 3.942 billion euros, and an EBIT loss of approximately 6.750 billion euros for the first half of 2001. Popnet Internet is listed on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt. For more information, contact PopNet Internet AG's Investor Relations at telephone +49 (0)40 - 2 78 27 - 149 or eMail investor-relations@popnet.de ========= I T A L Y ========= ALITALIA SPA: Seeking Offers by January --------------------------------------- Italian carrier Alitalia SpA is seeking non-binding offers for its property assets by mid-January and for its charter airline by the end of January, AFX News reports. Austria's Lauda Air, Italy's Alpi Eagles airline, the Volare group and the Rusconi family have already expressed an interest in Alitalia's charter unit Eurofly, the news agency adds. Alitalia, balancing roughly 2 billion euros of net debt on shareholder equity of just 1 billion euros, aims to raise between 1.6 billion euros and 1.8 billion euros to plug the financing gap. ===================== N E T H E R L A N D S ===================== KPN NV: No Further Lawsuits From SOBI, at Least for Now ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Dutch shareholders' rights organization SOBI is not currently planning any further action against Dutch telecom company Royal KPN NV, Dow Jones Newswires reports. According to SOBI Chairman Pieter Lakeman, he is not planning more legal action to compel KPN to release details of the covenants of a 2.5-billion-euro credit facility it arranged earlier this year, at least not until the company completes its current share offering. SOBI complained that the company had engaged in unfair trade practices by providing the state with access to the terms of the facility and failing to share that same information with other shareholders. KPN spokesman Bram Oudshoorn says the company will try to work with SOBI in future to discuss equal access to information and avoid such lawsuits. UNITED PAN-EUROPE: Surges After Liberty Media Deal -------------------------------------------------- Shares of United Pan-Europe Communications NV rose 23%, or 11 cents, after Liberty Media Corp. raised its stake in the parent company of Europe's No. 2 cable-television provider, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Cable-TV company Liberty Media agreed to raise its stake in UnitedGlobalCom Inc. to about 76%. UPC shares plunged 95% this year on concern the company will run out of cash before becoming profitable. The company wants to reduce its total liabilities of 10.5 billion euros to cut its interest expenses. UPC is now valued at about 257 million euros ($228.8 million). =========== N O R W A Y =========== BOSTON ASSET: Files for Insolvency ---------------------------------- Boston Asset Management ASA presented an insolvency petition as a result of claims of up to 12.1 million Norway kroner made by the municipality of Halden in Norway, Dagens Naeringsliv and FT Information reported. After losing about 55 million Norway kroner on investments administrated by Boston Asset, the pension fund of the Norwegian municipality of Halden, Halden kommunale pensionskasse, maked their demands to cover huge losses. Nils Vattekar of Halden pension fund said that the municipality believes it was deceived as 126 million Norway kroner was invested in a way hidden from the fund. Halden pension fund and Boston Asset Management received fierce criticism on serious fraud from reports filed in October by Kredittilsynet, the Norwegian banking, insurance and securities commission. KVAERNER ASA: Investors Agree to Underwrite NKr1.5BB Rights Issue ----------------------------------------------------------------- Kvaerner ASA said Tuesday that its proposed rights issue of 1.5 billion Norwegian krone scheduled for January 2002 has been fully subscribed by a syndicate of investors. The proposed subscription price in the rights issue is 8 Norwegian krone per share, the same as the proposed subscription price in the announced directed issue of 2 billion Norwegian krone is expected to be completed this month, the Anglo-Norwegian engineering and construction group said. For more information, contact Paul Emberley, Vice President Group Communications at telephone +44 (0)20 7339 1035 or +44 (0)7768 813090 or paul.emberley@kvaerner.com ========= S P A I N ========= FENOSA SA: Unit Supplies Natural Gas ------------------------------------ Union Fenosa Gas Comercializadora, a unit of Spanish electricity company Union Electrica Fenosa SA, has started to supply natural gas to industrial clients in eight Spanish regions, Dow Jones Newswires reported. In a statement, Union Fenosa said it currently has more than 30 industrial gas clients. Union Electrica Fenosa was earlier involved in an asset sale to reduce its debt. =========== S W E D E N =========== ADERA AB: Sells Advertising Agency in Stockholm, Affects 12 Jobs ---------------------------------------------------------------- IT consultancy firm Adera said Tuesday it has decided to sell its loss-making advertising agency operations at Hollandargatan in Stockholm to e-agency in Copenhagen. A total of 12 persons are affected. The transaction with e-agency results in a loss of about 2 million Swedish kronor and a limited short-term, adverse liquidity effect for Adera. In November, Adera also sold its advertising agency in Varnamo to the previous owner as part of the ongoing rationalization of its business activities. For further information, contact Adera President and CEO Rolf Jansson at telephone +46 705 72 72 02 ADERA AB: To Sell Nucleus Limited Shares ---------------------------------------- Adera AB said Tuesday it has approved the sale of all of the shares in the English subsidiary Nucleus Limited. The Stockholm-based IT consultancy firm also approved to reduce the share capital of Adera by 98,938.30 Swedish kronor through a withdrawal of 989 383 Series B shares without repayment. The shares that have been withdrawn are part of the total approximately 1.5 million newly issued Series B shares that were issued as consideration for Nucleus Limited. Considering a previous decision to withdraw shares, a total of approximately 1.4 million of these shares have been withdrawn. After the reduction, the share capital of the company will amount to 1.9 million Swedish kronor, represented by 19.14 million shares. ICON MEDIALAB: Raises Share Capital ----------------------------------- Swedish Internet consultant Icon Medialab said Tuesday that shareholders at its recent extra-annual general meeting decided to increase the share capital with 24,000 Swedish kronor by an issue of no more than 300,000 shares, each at a nominal value of 0.08 Swedish kronor. The subscription price shall be paid at the time of subscription by offset of a claim for additional consideration for the shares in Insight Technology Group Inc. amounting to 31 million Swedish kronor. Previous shareholders in Insight shall subscribe for the new shares. Also approved in the meeting was the transfer of Icon's all assets and liabilities to IconMedialab Holding AB. The transfer will be made at market value according to an appraisal from an independent expert. The transfer agreement is conditional upon IconMedialab Holding AB's completion of the public offer given to the shareholders in Icon Medialab International AB in November. The reason for the public offer and the transfer of all assets and liabilities in Icon Medialab International AB is to enable a financial restructuring of the Icon group. For further information, contact William Kellerman, Corporate Communications of IconMedialab at mobile + 46 70 375 90 20 or email william.kellerman@iconmedialab.se ===================== S W I T Z E R L A N D ===================== SWISSAIR GROUP: Air Lib Lawsuit "Without Merit" ----------------------------------------------- Former Swissair Group AG unit Crossair said that a lawsuit filed against it by Air Lib, formerly Swissair unit Air Liberte/AOM, is "without merit" and that it will defend itself, AFX News reported. Crossair said that the suit is based on an agreement signed in July between Swissair Group's subsidiaries SairGroup and SAirLines and Air Lib. The Swissair unit added that it has no information about the reported agreement and that that the claims were not justified. Air Lib has lodged a lawsuit with French and Swiss authorities against Crossair and other Swissair units in mid-November for damages and interest worth 460 million euros. Swissair Group sold its 49.9% stake in Air Lib this summer to Holco, an entity set up to salvage the French carrier, and agreed to pay 1.3 billion French francs to help finance a rescue package. Swissair Group failed to pay that amount in full. SWISSAIR GROUP: Bondholders to Receive 12.5% of Value ----------------------------------------------------- Swissair Group bondholders are set to get 12.5% of the nominal value of the securities, after the national airline's holding company that issued them is liquidated. According to a Bloomberg report, the estimate depends on SAirGroup Holding AG realizing assets worth 1.6 billion Swiss francs ($970 million). Swissair bonds were suspended from trading on the Swiss Exchange during court hearings on an extension of bankruptcy protection for the group's six units for six months. Meanwhile, a regional court in Buelach, a town north of Zurich, gave Swissair Group's Swissair Luftverkehr AG creditor protection for another six months. SWISSAIR GROUP: French Strike Disrupts Crossair Flights ------------------------------------------------------- Crossair Ltd. has been forced to cancel flights between Basel and Marseille because of a strike planned by French air traffic controllers from December 5 to 7. According to a Dow Jones Newswires report, the airline has canceled four flights for Thursday and additional cancellations and delays are likely. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== BRITISH TELECOM: Danon Outlines Plans for Retail Unit ----------------------------------------------------- Pierre Danon, the head of BT Retail, outlined his plans to deliver 3% growth at the unit over the next four years, the Financial Times reported. The financial targets for his business include a 4% increase in cash flow, an increase in earnings before interest and tax and a reduction in the fall of gross margins to 1% per year. "When I arrived here (in October 2000) our market share was declining by about 4% per year, and we decided to fight that very aggressively and since then it has stabilized and is about 1% a year," he said. BT Retail also identified about 850 million pounds in cost reductions over three years to protect its margins. The cost cutting includes previously announced layoffs of 16,000 employees at the unit by the end of fiscal 2003. BRITISH TELECOMS: Will Cut More Jobs to Control Costs ----------------------------------------------------- British Telecommunications PLC will cut an additional 5,200 jobs from its retail business as part of an effort to trim costs and boost productivity. According to an Associated Press report, the jobs will be eliminated through voluntary means and not layoffs. "By making this change, BT will finally break its losing streak," says Pierre Danon, chief executive of BT's retail unit. The company has reduced debts by selling stakes in overseas mobile networks, shed jobs in its retail business, and spun off its mobile unit as a separate business. The planned job cuts should help the telecommunications giant save 850 million pounds. The company lost 1.48 billion pounds in its second quarter ended September 30 due to a writedown of its ill-fated joint venture with AT&T Corp. CORUS GROUP: Bond Issue Attracts Investors ------------------------------------------ The 250-million-euro convertible bond issued Tuesday by steelmaker Corus Group PLC looks good to many investors, even if the stock it converts into does not. According to a Dow Jones Newswires report, fund managers like the income the bond offers, its conversion premium and the volatility within the underlying stock. Corus and the steel sector are on the buy list of few investors. The bond will be used to refinance existing bank facilities and for general corporate use. CORUS GROUP: Sells up to 287.5MM Convertible Bonds -------------------------------------------------- Corus Group Plc, Europe's third-largest steelmaker, is selling as much as 287.5 million euros ($255.9 million) of bonds convertible into stock to help repay debt. The five-year bonds can be exchanged for as many as 234.5 million ordinary shares, or about 7.5% of the company's capital, Corus said. The bonds will be due 2007. Corus has appointed Credit Suisse First Boston to manage the offering. For inquiries, contact Corus Group's John Bowden at telephone +(44) (0) (20) 7717 4501 or email john.bowden@corusgroup.com or CSFB's John McAvoy at telephone +44 20 7888 6469 ENRON CORPORATION: Centrica Buys Enron Direct for 96MM Pounds ------------------------------------------------------------- Multi-utility Centrica has bought crisis-hit Enron's European retail arm Enron Direct for 96.4 million pounds from PriceWaterhouseCoopers, appointed last week after Enron Europe collapsed. According to a Reuters report, Centrica beat off competition from Electricite de France (EdF) and British utility Innogy. Enron Direct, which has around 160,000 commercial customers, had turnover of 190 million pounds for the 10 months to October 2001. Enron Europe went into administration on November 29, three days before its U.S. parent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. ENRON CORPORATION: Mulls Sale of Polish Plant --------------------------------------------- Enron Global Assets, a unit of U.S. energy giant Enron Corp. that wasn't included in Enron's bankruptcy filing Sunday, intends to sell its fully-owned Polish combined heat and power plant Nowa Sarzyna, Dow Jones Newswires reports. "Sale of all or some of Nowa Sarzyna shares is on our agenda provided there is a satisfactory price offer," says Enron Poland president Jarek Astramowicz. Nowa Sarzyna is a gas-fired plant with a generating capacity of 116 megawatts and 50 employees. ENRON CORPORATION: Suez Eyes Enron's Assets ------------------------------------------- French utilities group Suez has confirmed it is interested in some of Enron's assets. According to Suez CEO Jean-Pierre Hansen, his group does not intend to "rush" any acquisitions. The group's policy was to ensure that acquisitions would follow "strict and rational" criteria, with the emphasis on profitable growth, Hansen added. Suez recently finalized the acquisition of Enron's power station in Monterrey in Mexico. ENRON CORPORATION: Vestas Wind Eyes Enron Wind ---------------------------------------------- Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems will be interested in the wind turbine production operations of Enron, in the event that this division will be spun off, Borsen and FT Information reports. Chief executive of the Danish company Johannes Poulsen has said that Enron Wind has been up for sale for a long time. The Enron division is known to have a large development division, own wind-turbine parks and achieve high production yields. MILLENNIUM DOME: Draws Third Bidder ----------------------------------- A third bidder is believed to have made an offer for the Millennium Dome in the person of Everard Goodman, chairman of the shopping center developer Tops Estates, the Times reported Tuesday. A government spokesman said negotiations were ongoing with a number of bidders in London's Docklands. Quintain Estates & Development, in a joint venture with Australian property company Lend Lease, and Wellcome Trust stand as strong bidders for the purchase of the Dome. NTL INCORPORATED: Faces 530-MM-Pound Funding Gap ------------------------------------------------ Broker Credit Suisse First Boston warned that NTL is facing a funding gap of 530 million pounds as it emerged that the cable group was unlikely to make disposals as planned this year, the Independent News reported. NTL pledged to dispose its transmission towers by the end of this year, but it is believed to have been unable to convince potential buyers that it is worth 1.5 billion pounds. France Telecom is thought to be unwilling to pay more than 1 billion pounds. The sale will be used to make interest payments and ultimately pay off some of its debt. Unless there is a sudden improvement in the divestment negotiations, NTL will be left with no choice but to trim the planned 925-million-pound capital expenditure for 2002. On its current business model, CSFB said that it is only funded until 2003, leaving it with a 530-million-pound shortfall. RAILTRACK GROUP: Bidders Face Hold-up ------------------------------------- Railtrack bidders will have to wait until at least February 2001 before they can see essential facts and figures about the rail network that was forced into administration by the British government in October, reports The Times newspaper. According to chief administrator Alan Bloom, the data room where bidders can conduct due diligence will not be ready until at least the end of January. The delay will equally hamper plans for a company limited by guarantee, proposed by Transport Secretary Stephen Byers, and private bids, including the one announced by German bank WestLB. ********** 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 Maria Lourdes Reyes, 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 240/629-3300. * * * End of Transmission * * *