/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/011210.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, December 10, 2001, Vol. 2, No. 240


                            Headlines

* B E L G I U M *

AGFA-GEVAERT: Will Increase Cooperation With Xeikon
SABENA SA: Administrator Sets Bid Deadline to Dec. 25

* C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C *

ZVU CHEMIE: Court Declares Engineering Firm Bankrupt

* F R A N C E *

LVMH: Sephora 'Essential Player' in U.S.
MOULINEX SA: CGT Criticizes Government

* G E R M A N Y *

CONSORS AG: Unlikely to Close Deal Before Year's End
DAIMLERCHRYSLER: Chrysler to Recall Jeep Liberties
EM.TV: Corrects Interim Results
MWG BIOTECH: Confirms Decision to Buy Own Shares

* I R E L A N D *

AER LINGUS: Walsh Says Forced Cuts Possible at Airline
WOLFE GROUP: Court Appoints Deloitte & Touche as Liquidator

* I T A L Y *

ALITALIA SPA: Air France Eyes Alitalia Stake

* L U X E M B O U R G *

CARRIER1 INTERNATIONAL: Announces Expiration of Tender Offer
CARRIER1 INTERNATIONAL: May Miss Debt Payment

* N E T H E R L A N D S *

KPN NV: Sells 1BB Shares to Lower Debt
PHARMING GROUP: Court Grants Final Legal Moratorium

* N O R W A Y *

KVAERNER ASA: Promises Financial Backing for Masa-Yards
KVAERNER ASA: Roekke Replaces Part of Masa-Yards Board

* P O L A N D *

ELEKTRIM SA: S&P Cuts Long-term Ratings to B

* S W E D E N *

ICON MEDIALAB: Doubts Financial Reorganization

* S W I T Z E R L A N D *

GRETAG IMAGING: Max Michel Rejects CFO Position
GRETAG IMAGING: Shareholders Approve CHF39MM Capital Increase

* U N I T E D   K I N G D O M *

ANTISOMA PLC: Cuts Jobs to Save Cash
BRITISH AIRWAYS: Moody's Cuts Senior Unsecured Debt Rating to Ba1
CORUS GROUP: Over-allotment Option Exercised on Bond Offering
EQUITABLE LIFE: Faces Gloomy Future
MARCONI PLC: Partners With ALLTEL to Deploy Wireless Network
RAILTRACK GROUP: Breached Network License, Winsor Says


=============
B E L G I U M
=============


AGFA-GEVAERT: Will Increase Cooperation With Xeikon
---------------------------------------------------

Belgian photo-imaging company Agfa-Gevaert N.V. will cooperate
more intensely with digital printing press builder Xeikon in the
future, de Tijd reports.

Agfa controls 25% Xeikon, which is under bankruptcy protection.

The company, however, does not intend to acquire the majority in
Xeikon.

Agfa continues to slide deep into the red following two profit
warnings in September and October as it reports a net loss of 7
million euros in the first nine months of the year.


SABENA SA: Administrator Sets Bid Deadline to Dec. 25
-----------------------------------------------------

Van Buggenhout, the head administrator for the bankruptcy of
Sabena, said that bids for the Belgian airline's catering,
handling, and cargo units have to be handed in by December 25.

There are around seven parties interested in each of the business
units. The three units together represent potential employment
for approximately 1,000 people.

Buggenhout declined to forecast how much money the bids might
raise for Sabena SA's creditors.

The actual transfer of the units to their future owners would
take place on January 14.


===========================
C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C
===========================


ZVU CHEMIE: Court Declares Engineering Firm Bankrupt
----------------------------------------------------

The Hradec Kralove regional court declared engineering company
ZVU Chemie bankrupt, the Czech News Agency reported.

The same court appointed Josef Oubrecht as bankruptcy assets
administrator of ZVU Chemie, which is owned by Austrian firm
Boehler Hochdrucktechnik.

The petition for bankruptcy was filed by six creditors, of which
two are from Germany and one from Switzerland. ZVU Chemie itself
eventually joined the petition.
   
The court did not disclose the size of the company's debts.

ZVU Chemie emerged in 1997 in the restructuring of ZVU as its
subsidiary.

In 1999, ZVU, in the process of the court settlement, sold ZVU
Chemie to Austria's Boehler Hochdrucktechnik, where the proceeds
of 200 million Czech koruna was used to settle part of its debts.


===========
F R A N C E
===========


LVMH: Sephora 'Essential Player' in U.S.
----------------------------------------

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton's Sephora is an "essential
player" in the U.S. market and aims to achieve breakeven in by
2003 at the latest, AFX News reports, citing LVMH chairman
Bernard Arnault.

Arnault said Sephora's largest U.S. outlets are registering
double-digit growth.

Sephora's European operations are also profitable, with 20 new
stores planned for 2002.

Two weeks ago, it was reported that LVMH is preparing to close
Sephora's five German outlets. It also announced the closure of
its seven loss-making Sephora stores in Japan.

LVMH is the world's largest luxury goods group known for the
Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Givenchy brands.

Its retail activities, which issued three profit warnings,
comprise mainly the loss-making Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) chain
and Sephora.


MOULINEX SA: CGT Criticizes Government
--------------------------------------

French union CGT has criticized the government for its approach
to releasing funds for the sites of bankrupt French electrical
appliances group Moulinex, the Le Figaro/FT Information reported.

The government announced that it would release 91.47 million
euros for the sites. It stated that part of the money was an
"advance on funding already promised as part of the contract
between the state and the regional authorities for the period
2000-2006".

The CGT said that as a result, the government is releasing only
30.49 million euros and that employees and sub-contractors of the
company "had the right to expect more".

Earlier, the French government and the L'Assurance-garantie des
Salaires (AGS) said they have no intention of financing the extra
redundancy bonus won by the employees Moulinex.


=============
G E R M A N Y
=============


CONSORS AG: Unlikely to Close Deal Before Year's End
----------------------------------------------------

Even though negotiations to find a buyer are in progress, a sale
of the troubled online broker ConSors Discount Broker AG is
unlikely before the end of the year, the Agence France-Presse
reports.

According to Consors management board member Franz Baur, it was
unlikely there would be enough time before the end of the year to
close the deal.

While Consors spokeswoman declines to reveal the name of the
potential buyer, news reports say previous sale talks have been
held with Deutsche Post World Net AG's Postbank and Societe
Generale's Firmatex.

Consors has been up for sale following the near-collapse of its
parent company SchmidtBank, rescued from bankruptcy last month by
a consortium of Germany's largest banks that includes Deutsche
Bank, HVB Group, Commerzbank, Dresdner Bank, and the Bavarian
savings banks.


DAIMLERCHRYSLER: Chrysler to Recall Jeep Liberties
--------------------------------------------------

DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group unit will recall 120,000 of
its recently launched Jeep Liberty Sport utility vehicles to fix
a potential problem with the airbag systems.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Chrysler discovered
the problem following crash tests performed by the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety.

Chrysler will install a rubber casing around the wires to prevent
damage during a crash. The company will also repair a potentially
loose panel under the dashboards of the vehicles.


EM.TV: Corrects Interim Results
-------------------------------

German media group EM.TV & Merchandising AG corrected its latest
quarterly report, Borsen-Zeitung reported.

Although Ebit remains unchanged at 104 million deutsche marks,
there were shifts in divisional figures. Expenditure of around
62.6 million deutsche marks was entered in the rights trading
division instead of the events section.

Formula One activities are therefore weaker than was originally
reported, while the stake in the Junior library, US subsidiary
Jim Henson and the stake in the Tele Munchen group performed
better than was reported.

Ebit for rights trading improved from a loss of 186.5 million to
a loss of 124.1 million deutsche marks, while Ebit from events
were reduced from 291.6 million to 229.0 million deutsche marks.


MWG BIOTECH: Confirms Decision to Buy Own Shares
------------------------------------------------

MWG-Biotech AG has confirmed the management board's decision in
May to purchase the company's own shares.

Based on a Shareholder Assembly resolution, the board is entitled
to acquire the company's own shares up to 10% percent of the
capital stock until December 5, 2002.

In the third quarter of 2001, the Ebersberg-based company has
reached a turnover of 13.5 million euros, its highest turnover of
the year. This represents an 8.9% increase over the third quarter
turnover for 2000 of 12.35 million euros.

MWG Biotech also reported an EbitDA loss of 18.0 million euros,
compared with a loss of 4.6 million euros in the first nine
months of 2000.


=============
I R E L A N D
=============


AER LINGUS: Walsh Says Forced Cuts Possible at Airline
------------------------------------------------------

Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh said that compulsory
redundancies in the Irish national carrier could not be ruled
out.

Walsh added Aer Lingus received 1,600 applications within the
state for the scheme and that applications from overseas offices
were still being assessed.

Furthermore, Aer Lingus could raise up to 25 million pounds with
the sale of two Boeing aircraft and a further 5 million pounds in
state aid in compensation for the September attacks in the U.S.

Futura, an Aer Lingus charter division, was also put for sale.


WOLFE GROUP: Court Appoints Deloitte & Touche as Liquidator
-----------------------------------------------------------

The High Court has appointed Deloitte & Touche accountant Aidan
O'Connell as provisional liquidator of Wolfe Group, the Irish
Independent reported.

The cash-strapped technology company requested to have a
provisional liquidator after two fruitless attempts to get rival
Nevada tele.com to buy it failed.

O'Connell said his priority now would be to maintain the business
with a view to a sale.

Wolfe encountered funding crisis because of the severe shakeout
in the high-tech sector.


=========
I T A L Y
=========


ALITALIA SPA: Air France Eyes Alitalia Stake
--------------------------------------------

French airlines Air France Group is considering buying between
15% and 20% of Italy's Alitalia, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

Italian Deputy Transport Minister Mario Tassone says there were
"advanced talks" between the management of the two airlines.

An Air France spokesman confirmed that "talks are continuing
between the companies." However, he did not comment whether Air
France is considering buying a stake of that size.

A month ago, Italian president Silvio Berlusconi, French prime
minister Lionel Jospin and president Jacques Chirac confirmed the
commercial alliance between Alitalia and Air France in July.



===================
L U X E M B O U R G
===================


CARRIER1 INTERNATIONAL: Announces Expiration of Tender Offer
------------------------------------------------------------

Pan-European bandwidth provider Carrier1 International SA
announced the expiration of the cash tender offer for its Euro
Notes and Dollar Notes and consent solicitation to eliminate or
amend certain restrictive covenants and other provisions in the
related indentures.

No purchases of the Notes pursuant to the tender will be effected
because certain conditions of the tender offer were not met.

The company, which posted net losses of US$495.1 million in the
third quarter, will continue to consider all and any alternatives
with regard to its capital structure in order to achieve the
financial and operating flexibility required to pursue strategic
opportunities.

For further information, contact Nicholas Kabcenell, Vice-
President Strategy & M&A, Carrier1 International SA, at telephone
+44 20 7001 6761 or email nick.kabcenell@carrier1.com


CARRIER1 INTERNATIONAL: May Miss Debt Payment
---------------------------------------------

Carrier1 SA may miss an interest payment next year on about $236
million in debt after bondholders rejected the company's offer to
buy back its bonds, Bloomberg reports.

According to CEO Mike McTighe, the company may run out of cash
before it can pay $15 million in interest due next August.

Carrier1 has struggled after prices for its services slumped and
growth in data transmission slowed.

In the third quarter, the company posted a loss of $495 million.
It had $36.3 million in net cash in September, down from $162.2
million a year earlier.

Carrier1 fired 35% of the staff in October and will further axe
20 posts before Christmas to preserve cash.


=====================
N E T H E R L A N D S
=====================


KPN NV: Sells 1BB Shares to Lower Debt
--------------------------------------

Royal KPN NV, the largest Dutch phone company, raised 5 billion
euros ($4.47 billion) by selling about 1 billion shares at 4.90
euros each to help lower the 22.3 billion euros in debt.

Based on Reuters' report, the share sale was 18.6% below the
close in November. KPN shares in Thursday closed at 5.11 euros.

The new KPN shares will start trading on the stock markets of
Euronext Amsterdam, London and Frankfurt on December 12,
Bloomberg added.

After completion of the offering, KPN will have about 2.25
billion ordinary shares outstanding.


PHARMING GROUP: Court Grants Final Legal Moratorium
---------------------------------------------------

Pharming Group N.V. said that the district court in The Hague has
decided to grant the Dutch biotechnology company final legal
moratorium until July 1, 2002.

The final legal moratorium has also been granted to the company's
Dutch statutory subsidiaries Pharming B.V., Pharming Technologies
B.V. and Broekman Instituut B.V.

In August, a temporary legal moratorium was granted to Pharming
Group N.V. and its Dutch subsidiaries.

The district court has appointed a legal moratorium trustee who,
together with the Board of Management, bears final responsibility
for management of the company as long as the legal moratorium
status is in place.

In the meantime, Pharming Intellectual Property B.V. has been
declared bankrupt.

Pharming Group N.V earlier posted a net loss of 27.9 million
euros in the third quarter of 2001 (See
http://www.bankrupt.com/misc/pharming3Q.pdffor the company's  
Interim report) on revenues of 10.3 million euros. Its cash
position of 11.8 million euros makes the company unable to fund
its operations.


===========
N O R W A Y
===========


KVAERNER ASA: Promises Financial Backing for Masa-Yards
-------------------------------------------------------

Anglo-Norwegian construction and engineering group Kvaerner has
promised its Finnish shipyard subsidiary Masa-Yards financial
backing during the coming year, the Nordic Business Report said.

Kjell Inge Rokke, a financier who recently took over the
bankruptcy-threatened Kvaerner and chairman of Aker Maritime,
declined to say how much money Masa-Yards will need.

He noted that the financing will be arranged and that within
three years, Kvaerner hopes to start to get back the invested
money.

Rokke also said that the shipyard is not for sale at present.

Masa-Yards is one of the world's biggest builders of luxury
cruisers with 4,600 employees. It has not received any new orders
during the previous year.


KVAERNER ASA: Roekke Replaces Part of Masa-Yards Board
------------------------------------------------------

Kvaerner ASA chairman Kjell Inge Roekke replaced three of the
four shareholder-elected board members of the construction and
engineering group's Masa-Yards, AFX News reported.

"The reason for changing the Masa board is that we only are going
to have internal members," Kvaerner spokeswoman Marit Ytreeide
said.

Former Kvaerner chief executive Kjell Almskog and former chief
financial officer John Charlton have been replaced, along with
Martin Saarikangas, former leader of Masa-Yards in Finland.

The new members include Kvaerner CFO Finn Berg Jacobsen, Hans
Petter Finne and Richard Petrie.

Earlier, board members of Kvaerner were also replaced following
its agreed merger with shareholder Aker Maritime.


===========
P O L A N D
===========


ELEKTRIM SA: S&P Cuts Long-term Ratings to B
--------------------------------------------

Standard & Poor's downgraded the long-term corporate credit
rating of Elektrim SA to B from BB- and retained the ratings on
CreditWatch.

The action reflects S&P's continuing concern over the group's
imminent refinancing risk and the narrowing business focus of the
Polish telecommunications, cable manufacturing, and power
engineering conglomerate.

At the same time, the senior unsecured debt rating on guaranteed
related entity Elektrim BV was lowered to CCC+ from B.

S&P added that although Elektrim is continuing negotiations to
formalize bank facilities, the company has not been able to
provide the ratings agency with adequate reassurance regarding
its liquidity.


===========
S W E D E N
===========


ICON MEDIALAB: Doubts Financial Reorganization
----------------------------------------------

Internet consultant Icon Medialab said that the Swedish
Government intends to propose limitations on the right to deduct
losses on shares in subsidiaries.

Due to the proposal, the board of Icon Medialab Holding finds
that the financial reorganization could not be accomplished.

This would mean that Icon Media international still will be the  
parent company in the Icon group and its shares will remain
listed on the O-list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

"On behalf of the shareholders I am very disappointed, yet I am
confident that we soon will be able to present the result of our
other previous prepared alternative action plans, Icon Medialab  
International board member Jesper Jos Olsson said in a statement.

In November, the Board of Directors of Icon Medialab Holding
resolved on to make a public offer to the shareholders and the  
holders of warrants of Icon Medialab International to transfer
their shares and warrants to Icon Holding.

In this connection it was intended to realize capital losses on
shares in subsidiaries by selling the shares to Icon Holding for
market value. Icon Holding should then sell all the shares in
Icon Medialab International to an external purchaser.

For further information, contact William Kellerman, Corporate
Communications, IconMedialab, at telephone +46-70-375 90 20 or
email william.kellerman@iconmedialab.se


======================
S W I T Z E R L A N D
======================


GRETAG IMAGING: Max Michel Rejects CFO Position
-----------------------------------------------

Max Michel, supposed to become CFO of Gretag Imaging, has decided
to withdraw for the position.

In order to complete projects now in progress, he has agreed to
stay on at Gretag for a limited period.

Negotiations with various potential candidates for the position
of CFO have already been initiated.


GRETAG IMAGING: Shareholders Approve CHF39MM Capital Increase
-------------------------------------------------------------

Shareholders of Regensdorf-based imaging technology manufacturer
Gretag Imaging Holding AG approved during its recent
extraordinary meeting a proposed capital increase and an
amendment of the terms of previous increases as proposed by the
Board of Directors.

The capital increase, with a nominal amount of 39 million Swiss
francs, is intended to finance the company's envisaged far-
reaching reorganization.

The capital increase will be achieved by the issuance of 6
million shares, which will raise the total share capital to a
nominal amount of 180 million Swiss francs.

Gretag is now in a position to seek new capital to further
recapitalize the company.

All the shares will be placed privately as only in this way can
the swift inflow of capital needed be assured.

Preliminary talks with potential investors are ongoing.

For more information, contact Kurt Munger, Head Corporate
Communications and Investor Relations, at telephone +41 1 842 26
07, fax +41 1 842 27 48 or email kurt.muenger@gretag.com


===========================
U N I T E D   K I N G D O M
===========================


ANTISOMA PLC: Cuts Jobs to Save Cash
------------------------------------

Antisoma PLC, a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the
pre-clinical and clinical development of products for the
treatment of cancer, has already cut jobs and scaled back
development, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

The number of jobs lost was not disclosed.

The London-based cancer drug company is now banking on raising up
to 15 million pounds before its cash runs out early next year.

In the three months to September 31, Antisoma revealed a loss of
2.3 million pounds, versus 1.7 million pounds a year ago, on
revenues of 492,000


BRITISH AIRWAYS: Moody's Cuts Senior Unsecured Debt Rating to Ba1
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the ratings for senior
unsecured debt of British Airways Plc, one of the world's largest
airlines, to Ba1 from Baa3 and placed the ratings on review for
possible further downgrade.

The action reflects the outlook for a sustained weaker cash flow
generation as a result of the sharp reduction in demand for air
travel, in particular from premium passengers and on the North
Atlantic routes, pressure on ticket prices and yields, reduced
financial flexibility and the expectation of higher leverage.

Ratings on the GBP UK Bonds issued by British Airways Plc was
lowered to Ba1 from Baa3, while the EUR Preferred Securities
issued by British Airways Finance (Jersey) LP to Ba3 from Ba2.
The USD IRB guaranteed by British Airways Plc was also lowered to
Ba1 from Baa3.

The downgrade to Ba1 is based on Moody's expectation, that the
consequences of the September terrorist attacks and the global
economic downturn will continue to significantly reduce the
company's cash flow generation ability over the medium term.


CORUS GROUP: Over-allotment Option Exercised on Bond Offering
-------------------------------------------------------------

Corus Group plc said that Credit Suisse First Boston, the
Bookrunner for the offering, has exercised the over-allotment
option in full, taking the total offering size to 307 million
euros.

The option was exercised on the company's 275-million-euro senior
convertible guaranteed bonds on December 5.

Based upon a conversion price of 1.31 euros per ordinary share,
the total increase in the number of shares on a fully diluted
basis will be 234,351,152 shares.

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


EQUITABLE LIFE: Faces Gloomy Future
-----------------------------------

The London-based Equitable Life Assurance Society is financially
unstable and faces a bleak future unless its customers agree to a
rescue plan.

According to Bloomberg, the British insurer is offering to
increase the value of some retirement plans by 17.5% in hopes to
stop clients from suing it and to stave off collapse.

Equitable Life's with-profits fund declined to 20.1 billion
pounds at the end of September as stocks fell and investors
withdrew 1.7 billion pounds in the third quarter.

A year ago, Equitable Life was forced to stop selling new
policies after the U.K.'s highest court ruled it unlawfully cut
bonuses to customers who bought guaranteed annuities, leaving it
with a bill of 1.3 billion pounds ($1.8 billion).

The company must settle the dispute to avoid being liquidated.


MARCONI PLC: Partners With ALLTEL to Deploy Wireless Network
------------------------------------------------------------

Troubled telecom equipment supplier Marconi announced that
ALLTEL, the sixth largest mobile operator in the United States,
will use its wireless network planning tools to optimize its
existing network.

Under the deal, Marconi will provide its recently launched
cdma2000 module and decibel Planner network software.

Marconi will further plan for the roll-out of its new network
based on Code Division Multiple Access, a key technology for
evolution to third-generation wireless solutions.

Marconi is trying to reduce its debt burden of more than 3
billion pounds. It recently raised 25 million pounds from the
sale of 6 million shares in Italian company Lottomatica, and has
already disposed small non-core assets in recent months.


RAILTRACK GROUP: Breached Network License, Winsor Says
------------------------------------------------------

Britain's rail regulator Tom Winsor said Thursday that Railtrack
had breached its network license by failing to provide enough
information to transport firms Alstom and Bombardier about
putting new vehicles on the network.

Reuters reported that Winsor would ask Railtrack to provide
better information about the network.

Railtrack's operating subsidiary went into administration in
October after British Transport Secretary Stephen Byers refused
to provide the company more state aid.

                                   ***********

       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 * * *