/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/061003.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 Tuesday, October 3, 2006, Vol. 7, No. 196 Headlines A U S T R I A AURATA: Claims Registration Period Ends October 9 INOMED: Creditors' Meeting Slated for October 12 REDZIC: Creditors' Meeting Slated for October 31 B E L G I U M COMMERCIAL VEHICLE: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating FERRO CORP: S&P Holds Low-B Corp. Credit & Unsec. Debt Ratings B O S N I A & H E R Z E G O V I N A ZAGREBACKA BANKA: Fitch Keeps Individual Rating at C/D B U L G A R I A FIRST INVESTMENT: Fitch Changes Rating Outlook to Positive C Z E C H R E P U B L I C COOPER STANDARD: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings KONINKLIJKE AHOLD: Johan Boeijenga to Head Central Europe Biz D E N M A R K ADVANCED MEDICAL: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating E S T O N I A GALVEX HOLDINGS: U.S. Judge Converts Ch. 11 Case to Chapter 7 GALVEX HOLDINGS: US Trustee Names John Pereira as Ch. 7 Trustee GALVEX HOLDINGS: Section 341(a) Meeting Scheduled on November 6 F R A N C E AXLETECH INT'L: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings FENDER MUSICAL: Moody's Puts LGD5 Rating to Secured Second Lien QUEBECOR WORLD: S&P Cuts Rating to B+ With Negative Watch G E O R G I A METROMEDIA INT'L: Shareholders' Meeting Slated for Dec. 15 G E R M A N Y ALBA GIPSER: Claims Registration Ends October 10 ARBEITSMITTELDIENST & PETTERS: Claims Registration Ends Oct. 10 BAUGESCHAFT KUNZE: Claims Registration Ends Oct. 13 BAYERISCHE HYPO: Fitch Lifts Individual Rating to C CHIQUITA BRANDS: Lower Pricing Spurs Moody's to Affirm Ratings CHIQUITA BRANDS: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings FALK+PARTNER: Claims Registration Ends October 13 FRIE GMBH: Claims Registration Ends October 13 IB INDUSTRIELLE: Claims Registration Ends October 10 IWD INGENIEUR: Claims Registration Ends October 12 JOPA VERTRIEBS: Claims Registration Ends October 11 KARSTADTQUELLE AG: Inks Sourcing Deal with Li & Fung MAZINOX EDELSTAHL: Claims Registration Ends October 13 MEDPORTAL GMBH: Files for Bankruptcy Protection in Moers OCEAN STAR: Fitch Keeps BB- Rating on US$19-Mln Class E Notes TRAPIDO INDUSTRIEVERTRETUNGEN: Claims Registration Ends Oct. 13 VISTEON CORP.: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings H U N G A R Y AES CORP: Dominicana Unit Begins Operations at Itabo Port I T A L Y AVIO HOLDING: Moody's Withdraws B1 Corp. Family Rating FERRO CORP: S&P Holds Low-B Corp. Credit & Unsec. Debt Ratings KNOLL INC: Moody's Assigns LGD2 Ratings to US$450-Mln Sr. Loans MILACRON INC.: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating POPOLARE DI INTRA: Starts Merger Talks with Veneto Banca POPOLARE DI INTRA: Fitch Places BB IDR on Rating Watch Positive POPOLARE ITALIANA: Earns EUR91.97 Million for First Half 2006 TEREX CORP.: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings K A Z A K H S T A N HARD WEST: Creditors Must File Claims by Oct. 24 KAZ.K.INTERNATIONAL: Creditors Must File Claims by Oct. 24 KAZSERVICE M: Proof of Claim Deadline Slated for Oct. 24 KAZTRADECOMMERCE: Proof of Claim Deadline Slated for Oct. 24 SPETSSTROYMARKET: Claims Registration Ends Oct. 24 SULTAN: Creditors' Claims Due Oct. 24 K Y R G Y Z S T A N JYLISHNO KOMMUNALNAYA: Creditors' Claims Due Nov. 12 SHAHTA KOK-JANGAK: Claims Registration Ends Nov. 12 N E T H E R L A N D S GETRONICS NV: Completes Sale of PinkRoccade to Randstad Holding GRESHAM CAPITAL: S&P Rates EUR13.65-Mln Class E Notes at BB- KONINKLIJKE AHOLD: Johan Boeijenga to Head Central Europe Biz LAURUS NV: Plans to Trim Down Overhead After Store Sales MILACRON INC.: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating PYATEROCHKA HOLDING: Shareholders' Meeting Slated for Oct. 16 VNU GROUP: Mulls Sale of Business Media Europe Group N O R W A Y AKER KVAERNER: Nears NOK8 Billion Platform Deal with Statoil ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating FALCONBRIDGE LTD: Dominican Unit Names New General Manager P O L A N D BANK PEKAO: Fitch Amends Outlook to Positive on Expected Support R O M A N I A UNICREDIT ROMANIA: Fitch Affirms D Individual Rating R U S S I A ASTRAKHAN-POLYMER: Court Names P. Alekseev as Insolvency Manager AVIASTAR ENGINEERING-STROY: P. Arkhipov to Manage Assets BULATNIKOVO: Court Names S. Skachkov as Insolvency Manager DAVLEKANOVSKAYA FOUNDRY: Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision ELANSKIY: Court Names A. Kravtsev as Insolvency Manager EUROPEAN TRUST: S&P Affirms Junk Counterparty Credit Ratings FACTORY CLOTHES: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for November 8 INSTRUMENT-REGION: Court Names A. Sorokin as Insolvency Manager INVESTMENT CLUB: Court Names Sh. Fazailov as Insolvency Manager KONOSKSKIY WOOD: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for December 5 KRASNAYA ZARYA: Orel Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision KURMANAEVKA-AGRO-PROM-KHIMIYA: D. Taushev to Manage Assets LIVENSKOYE REPAIR: Orel Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision MARYANOVSKIY COMBINE: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for Dec. 19 METROMEDIA INT'L: Shareholders' Meeting Slated for Dec. 15 NATIONAL TRUST: Court Names P. Tarasov as Insolvency Manager NOVOKUZNETSK-GOR-GAS: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for Dec. 21 OBOYAN-BREAD: Court Names N. Krasilnikov as Insolvency Manager PYATEROCHKA HOLDING: Shareholders' Meeting Slated for October 16 ROS-INFORM-INSURANCE: Creditors Must File Claims by November 2 ROSBANK: SocGen Equity Purchase Cues Moody's Positive Outlook RUSSIAN FIRES: Court Names A. Lantsov as Insolvency Manager SHERBAKULSKIY: Court Names A. Lyasman as Insolvency Manager SHILING: Omsk Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure SOUTHERN TELECOMS: Earns RUR333 Million for First Half 2006 SVETLINSKIY DIARY: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for November 14 SVETOCH: Ivanovo Court Names A. Provorov as Insolvency Manager TAGANKA CAR: S&P Rates US$54.8-Mln Asset-Backed Notes at BB TEMRYUK: Krasnodar Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure TSELINA-2000: Court Names Sh. Fazailov as Insolvency Manager VLAD-STROY: Court Names V. Torgashev as Insolvency Manager VOLGA: Creditors Must File Claims by November 2 VOLGA-94: Claims Filing Deadline Ends Nov. 2 ZYRYANSKIYE MILLS: Court Names A. Biryukov as Insolvency Manager S L O V A K R E P U B L I C KONINKLIJKE AHOLD: Johan Boeijenga to Head Central Europe Biz S P A I N AFFILIATED COMPUTER: 10-K Filing Delay Cues S&P to Lower Rating COOPER STANDARD: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings FENDER MUSICAL: Moody's Puts LGD5 Rating to Secured Second Lien GETRONICS NV: Completes Sale of PinkRoccade to Randstad Holding S W E D E N COMMERCIAL VEHICLE: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating TEREX CORP.: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings S W I T Z E R L A N D AFFILIATED COMPUTER: 10-K Filing Delay Cues S&P to Lower Rating T U R K E Y EDISON MISSION: Standard & Poor's Upgrades Rating to BB KOCBANK: Fitch Affirms BB Issuer Default Rating YAPI VE KREDI: Fitch Keeps Issuer Default Rating at BB U K R A I N E ADVERTISING AGENCY: Court Names Vitalij Paterilov as Liquidator AES CORP: Dominicana Unit Begins Operations at Itabo Port BILIJ KOLODYAZ: Harkiv Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision BIT: Lviv Court Commences Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure BUDIVELNIJ SVIT: Court Names Kirilo Liseyev as Liquidator E.T.E. UKRAINE: Court Names Kirilo Liseyev as Insolvency Manager EAST: Lugansk Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure PLEMZAVOD SVITANOK: Creditors Must File Claims by October 6 PETROL: Court Names Zhmerinka Pension Fund as Liquidator PTITSYA: Lviv Court Names Sergij Lipskij as Insolvency Manager PZP PALANOK: Kyiv Court Names D. Fortuna as Insolvency Manager U N I T E D K I N G D O M A & A: Appoints K. B. Stout as Liquidator ACE TAXIS: Names Malcolm Edward Fergusson Liquidator ALCO TAPS: Brings In Joint Liquidators from Smith & Williamson ADVANCED MEDICAL: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating ANDROMEDA SOFTWARE: Claims Filing Period Ends Nov. 3 ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating BRIGHTON BEER: Brings In Administrators from Portland Business BROOKLANDS PROCESS: Creditors Ratify Voluntary Liquidation CARRINGTON HOTELS: Creditors' Meeting Slated for October 5 CEASE-FIRE SERVICES: Taps Liquidator from Clarke Bell CHATEAU POURCEL: Creditors' Meeting Slated for October 5 COHNAN KNIGHT: Hires Liquidator from Fergusson & Co. Ltd. COMECH LIMITED: Appoints Joint Administrators from Cooper Parry COUNTY EXHIBITIONS: Calls In Liquidator from David Horner & Co. D.M.D. SURFACING: Appoints Liquidators from City Plaza DWS FREIGHT: Calls In Liquidator from CRG Insolvency DATA NETWORK: Names Liquidator to Wind Up Business DOLE FOOD: To Buy JP Fruit Distributors from Jamaica Producers ELLIS RICHMOND: Nominates Ninos Koumettou as Liquidator FIBREASTIC LIMITED: Joint Liquidators Take Over Operations GALVEX HOLDINGS: U.S. Judge Converts Ch. 11 Case to Chapter 7 GALVEX HOLDINGS: US Trustee Names John Pereira as Ch. 7 Trustee GALVEX HOLDINGS: Section 341(a) Meeting Scheduled on November 6 GENICO LTD: Nominates Liquidator from AlexanderLawsonJacobs GRESHAM CAPITAL: S&P Rates EUR13.65-Mln Class E Notes at BB- GT DESIGN: Nominates Ninos Koumettou to Liquidate Assets HOME-TEX LEICESTER: Alan Simon Leads Liquidation Procedure HOWARD LANCASTER: Hires Joint Liquidators from Gerald Edelman KIDS FOR LIFE: Liquidator Sets Oct. 18 Claims Bar Date LEARNING CENTRE: Taps Joint Liquidators from Royce Peeling Green LLOYDS PRINTERS: Claims Registration Ends Nov. 9 LONDON WALL: Fitch Affirms BB+ Ratings on Class E Notes MAINLAND CAR: Taps BDO Stoy as Joint Administrators MOBEL TECHNIC: Names Richard Ian Williamson Liquidator MORTGAGE FINANCE: Moody's Rates Class B1 & B2 Notes at (P)Ba1 NEXSIS TECHNOLOGY: Claims Filing Period Ends Dec. 31 ORACLE FLEET: Creditors Confirm Liquidator's Appointment PCS COMMERCIALS: Nominates Paul John Webb as Liquidator PARACOMM LIMITED: Ian Pattinson Leads Liquidation Procedure PEAK RECRUITMENT: Liquidator Sets Oct. 27 Claims Bar Date PILLOW TALK: Claims Registration Ends Oct. 23 PROVIDE HOME: S&P Puts Low-B Ratings on D & E Note Classes PURSUIT MEDIA: Claims Registration Ends Nov. 3 REFCO INC: Will Pay US$705 Million to Resolve All Secured Claims REFCO INC: Clarifies Trigger Date for Settlement with Lenders REFCO: Three Parties Object to Accord with Prepetition Lenders ROYAL & SUNALLIANCE: A.M. Best Places C++ Rating Under Review SAVILLE TRACTORS: Hires Joint Administrators from BDO Stoy SCRATCH & NEWTON: Taps BDO Stoy as Joint Administrators TOP TEMPS: Names Simon Gwinnutt as Administrator TOP WOK: Creditors' Meeting Slated for October 6 VETERINARY PRACTICE: Hires PwC to Administer Assets VINYL LOGISTICS: Appoints David Field as Liquidator WINDOWMERE LIMITED: Taps Joint Liquidators from Harrisons WINLEASE LIMITED: Appoints Ernst & Young as Administrators * Large Companies with Insolvent Balance Sheets ********* ============= A U S T R I A ============= AURATA: Claims Registration Period Ends October 9 ------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Aurata (FN 253095z) have until Oct. 9 to file written proofs of claims to court-appointed property manager Matthias Schmidt at: Dr. Matthias Schmidt Dr. Karl Lueger-Ring 12 1010 Vienna, Austria Tel: 5331695 Fax: 5355686 E-mail: schmidt@preslmayr.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 9:50 a.m. on Oct. 23 to consider the adoption of the rule by revision and accountability. The meeting of creditors will be held at: Trade Court of Vienna Room 1609 Vienna, Austria Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Aug. 29 (Bankr. Case No. 38 S 51/06m). INOMED: Creditors' Meeting Slated for October 12 ------------------------------------------------ Creditors owed money by LLC Inomed (FN 260995t) are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 2:00 p.m. on Oct. 12 to consider the adoption of the rule by revision and accountability. The creditors' meeting will be held at: The Land Court of Wels Hall 101 1st Floor Maria Theresia Road 12 Wels, Austria Headquartered in Wels, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Aug. 29 (Bankr. Case No. 20 S 103/06g). Roland Heitzinger serves as the court-appointed property manager of the bankrupt estate. The property manager can be reached at: Dr. Roland Heitzinger Plobergerstrasse 7 Ringstrasse 4 4600 Wels, Austria Tel: 07242/42605-0 Fax: 07242/42605-20 E-mail: heitzinger@ra-stossier.at REDZIC: Creditors' Meeting Slated for October 31 ------------------------------------------------ Creditors owed money by KEG Redzic (FN 244544z) are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 9:45 a.m. on Oct. 31 to consider the adoption of the rule by revision. The creditors' meeting will be held at: Trade Court of Vienna Room 1607 Vienna, Austria Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on June 12 (Bankr. Case No. 28 S 37/06d). Johannes Jaksch serves as the court-appointed property manager of the bankrupt estate. The property manager can be reached at: Dr. Johannes Jaksch Landstrasser Main Street 1/2 1030 Vienna, Austria Tel: 713 44 33 713 34 05 Fax: 713 10 33 E-mail: kanzlei@jsr.at ============= B E L G I U M ============= COMMERCIAL VEHICLE: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating ------------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Automotive and Equipment sectors, the rating agency confirmed its B3 Corporate Family Rating for Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc., and revised its rating to B1 on the company's 8% senior notes. Additionally, Moody's assigned an LGD4 rating to those bonds, suggesting noteholders will experience a 68% loss in the event of a default. Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in our notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of our ratings as our research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). The Commercial Vehicle Group is a global leader in commercial vehicle system solutions for the heavy-duty truck, construction, agricultural, industrial, marine and specialty industries. It maintains operations in Belgium, France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. FERRO CORP: S&P Holds Low-B Corp. Credit & Unsec. Debt Ratings -------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' 'B+' long-term corporate credit and 'B' senior unsecured debt ratings on Ferro Corp. remained on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed Nov. 18, 2005. Standard & Poor's will resolve the CreditWatch after Ferro files its 2005 full year and 2006 quarterly financial statements, which are expected by Sept. 30th and Dec. 31st, respectively. The rating agency could lower the ratings if there are material negative surprises arising from disclosures in any of the financial statements or additional meaningful delays in the filings. "Still, in recent months the company has finalized a new credit facility and strengthened transparency with regard to current results," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Wesley E. Chinn. "Moreover, the company plans to use proceeds from a pending sale of its specialty plastics business to reduce debt." The ratings on Ferro reflect: * its aggressive debt leverage; * cyclicality of its markets; * vulnerability to raw material costs; * lackluster operating margins and return on capital; and * delays in the filing of the 10-K and 10-Qs for 2005 and 10-Qs for 2006. These negatives are partially offset by: * satisfactory liquidity under a new credit facility; * improving earnings; and * a likely debt reduction from planned asset sales. The filing delays caused by the lengthy accounting investigation and restatement process, as well as still-limited transparency on business conditions and operating results, which have resulted from this review work, are a significant credit quality negative. Standard & Poor's expects that any deficiencies in the company's internal controls regarding financial reporting or other accounting areas are being addressed in a timely manner and will not hamper Ferro's ability to strengthen profitability and its financial condition. Price increases, initiatives to reduce overhead and procurement costs, improved conditions in the electronic materials market, and restructured polymer additives operations should contribute to a modest strengthening of operating margins and earnings in 2006 from weak levels. But the raw material and energy cost environment remains challenging. An earnings rebound would benefit the weak funds from operations to total debt ratio, taking into account capitalized operating leases, an accounts receivable securitization program, and meaningful unfunded pension and other postretirement obligations. That measure would also be bolstered by likely debt reduction using proceeds from the pending sale of the specialty plastics business, which generated revenues of US$270 million in 2005. This divestiture, coupled with other asset sales, could eventually generate total net proceeds of roughly US$200 million. ======================================= B O S N I A & H E R Z E G O V I N A ======================================= ZAGREBACKA BANKA: Fitch Keeps Individual Rating at C/D ------------------------------------------------------ Fitch Ratings upgraded UniCredito Italiano's Individual rating to B from B/C and Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank's Individual rating to C from C/D. At the same time the agency has revised the Outlooks on both banks' Issuer Default ratings to Positive from Stable. Both IDRs are affirmed at A+ for UCI and A fro HVB. Their other ratings are affirmed at Short-term F1 and Support 1. In a related action linked to the agency's expectations of Support, Fitch has also revised the Outlooks on Bank Austria Creditanstalt's and Bank Pekao's IDRs to Positive from Stable and affirmed all other ratings of banks in the group. The rating action reflects the progress made by UCI's management in integrating HVB and BACA, acquired in October 2005, into the UCI model. "The early signs are that UCI has demonstrated its ability to tackle execution risk arising from the acquisition of a much larger entity. It has continued to reduce credit risk in HVB's German operations, and has reached some of its intermediary targets, notably capital, ahead of initial expectations," Matthew Taylor, Senior Director in Financial Institutions disclosed. The ratings reflect UCI's sound prospects for consolidating its leading position in the Italian banking market, as well as in the German, Austrian and Central and Eastern European markets. They also reflect the Italian bank's record of strong profitability, sound risk management and its success in integrating acquired banks. They take into account UCI's improving, albeit still indifferent, asset quality and vulnerability to an economic slowdown in Germany and Austria arising from exposure to HVB's German and Austrian business. In addition, the ratings include the execution risk in implementing a complex integration and the new group's modest but strengthening regulatory capital ratios. On acquiring HVB in October 2005, UCI became a market leader in Bavaria, Italy and Austria and the largest player in the faster growing but more volatile CEE countries. Most of its assets are in stable, wealthy economies. The Italian bank has been one of Europe's most consistently profitable banking groups to date. In H106 UCI's operating profit rose, thanks to loan growth and as favorable markets benefited trading and fee income. Earnings from capital markets are likely to become more client-driven, but may remain subject to some volatility. At 10% in H106, the trading earnings composed a larger proportion of operating revenues than in many peers. In H106, Fitch estimates that CEE banks contributed to around 16% of UCI's operating profit, a percentage, which is likely to rise. Fitch considers that UCI's plans for integration and boosting revenues are sound and likely to be implemented successfully. This plan should allow the bank to grow while keeping loan impairment charges stable at 61 bp of risk-weighted assets and achieve its target of 17% return on equity for 2008. Gross impaired loans are improving as a result of intensive work to recover value. However, at end-June 2006 they represented 7.25% of total loans, a worse level than in most major European banks. Impairment allowances are smaller than those seen in many peers but are deemed adequate. Former UCI's impaired loans declined in H106, but remain heavier than those at its international peers. Market risk is moderate while liquidity is good and increasingly will be managed centrally. Fitch considers UCI's goal of an equity Tier 1 ratio of 6.8% by end-2008 acceptable, up from a projected 6% at end-2006. In view of the execution and asset quality risks in the bank, Fitch considers current capitalization to be modest and takes a positive view of its improvement. "The upgrade of HVB's Individual rating reflects the bank's improved profitability and the expected benefits from its integration into UCI, including, but not limited to, the envisaged capital gain from selling BACA," Thomas von Luepke, Head of German Banking at Fitch disclosed. "While HVB will lose the risks and rewards stemming from BACA, the sizeable capital gain will considerably strengthen HVB's position." The revision of HVB's Outlook to Positive is driven by the revision of UCI's Outlook and Fitch's expectation that UCI will integrate HVB within its group over the next 18 months. Growth in HVB's operating profit in H106 was driven by all businesses, especially its corporates & markets division. In addition, reported H106 net income benefited from EUR807 million in disposal gains. HVB's focus on increasing its trading and fee income has started to bear fruit. Streamlining its business and reducing staff have helped to cut costs. By developing a sales-oriented culture, aligning efficiency to the best European standards and further improving risk management, UCI plans to take them to a level unprecedented in HVB. Weak domestic profitability and misjudged credit decisions have adversely affected HVB's performance. In 2005 its loan impairment charges totaled EUR1.5 billion. For 2006 the bank has budgeted still high LICs of EUR1.3 billionn per year. HVB's loan book remains sizeable. At end-June 2006 loans managed by the real estate restructuring unit were cut by 56% to EUR6.8billion. The remainder of the RER will be combined with some EUR20 billion performing, but non- strategic, assets and will be wound down. A change in loan mix away from large corporates and more stringent risk controls should benefit asset quality. UCI, Italy: -- Individual upgraded to B from B/C; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A+, F1 and 1 respectively. HVB, Germany: -- Individual upgraded to C from C/D; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1 and 1 respectively. BACA, Austria: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, B/C and 1 respectively. Bank Pekao, Poland: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, C and 1 respectively. The ratings of all other direct and indirect subsidiaries of UCI are affirmed or unchanged: Zagrebacka Banka, Bosnia Herzegovina: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BBB+, F2, C/D and 2 respectively. Outlook is Stable. UniCredit Romania, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2, D and 1 respectively. Outlook is Stable. Banca Comerciala HVB Tiriac, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2 and 1 respectively. The Individual rating is unchanged at D Evolving Rating Watch. The Outlook is Stable. International Moscow Bank, Russia: -- IDR BBB+ and Support 2 rating on Rating Watch Positive. Short-term and Individual ratings affirmed at F2 and C/D respectively. Kocbank, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B, D and 3. The Outlook is Positive. Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B and 3. The Individual rating is unchanged at D/E Positive Rating Watch. The Outlook is Positive. Bulbank, Bulgaria: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. Zivnostenska Banca, Czech Republic: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. BPH Bank, Poland: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. UniBanka, Slovakia: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. =============== B U L G A R I A =============== FIRST INVESTMENT: Fitch Changes Rating Outlook to Positive ---------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings changed the Outlook on Bulgaria-based First Investment Bank's Issuer Default rating to Positive from Stable. FIB's ratings are affirmed at Issuer Default BB-, Short-term B, Individual D, and Support 5. The new Outlook reflects the ongoing improvements seen in the Bulgarian operating and regulatory environments, as well as FIB's growing franchise. As a result, FIB has been able to grow fee income and diversify its funding sources while maintaining a relatively low percentage of impaired loans. However, the ratings also consider FIB's small capital base both in absolute terms and as a percentage of growing risk-weighted assets, its concentrated loan book and moderate profitability. "FIB's ratings are highly dependent on its capitalization and size," Lindsey Liddell, Director in Fitch's Financial Institutions Group disclosed. "While an improvement in these two rating drivers could contribute to an upgrade in the bank's ratings, a deterioration in capitalization and a failure to manage credit and operational risks would result in a downgrade," she added. FIB is the largest Bulgarian-owned bank. At end-2005, it had an 8% market share of banking sector assets. Ultimate control lies in the hands of two individuals, its founding shareholders, who have significant interests in the tourism and real estate sectors. Historically a corporate bank, FIB is also actively expanding retail lending. =========================== C Z E C H R E P U B L I C =========================== COOPER STANDARD: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings ----------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Automotive and Equipment sectors, the rating agency confirmed its B2 Corporate Family Rating for Cooper Standard Automotive Inc. Additionally, Moody's revised or held its probability-of-default ratings and assigned loss- given-default ratings on these loans and bond debt obligations: Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- senior secured revolving credit facility B2 Ba3 LGD 2 24% senior secured term loan C B2 Ba3 LGD 2 24% senior secured term loan D B2 Ba3 LGD 2 24% 7% senior notes B3 B3 LGD 4 62% 8.375% subordinated notes Caa1 Caa1 LGD 5 86% Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in our notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of our ratings as our research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). Cooper-Standard Automotive manufactures sealing system products, fluid systems, vibration control applications and other related products while focusing on innovative, continuously improved solutions to our customers' problems with world-class quality, leading edge technologies, service and competitive pricing. In Europe, the company maintains operations in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany and Czech Republic. KONINKLIJKE AHOLD: Johan Boeijenga to Head Central Europe Biz ------------------------------------------------------------- Koninklijke Ahold reports that Johan Boeijenga has been appointed President and CEO of Ahold Central Europe, effective immediately. Mr. Boeijenga is currently Executive Vice President Supply Chain and member of the Executive Board at Albert Heijn. Mr. Boeijenga will succeed Jacquot Boelen, who has resigned in order to pursue opportunities outside Ahold. Mr. Boelen will remain available for a period of time to allow for an effective transition. "Johan's extensive knowledge of the retail business makes him ideally suited to lead the team and maximize our opportunities in this region," Anders Moberg, Ahold President and CEO, said. "He will be bringing considerable talents and experience to his new role." Mr. Boeijenga joined Ahold in 1988 as a management trainee. Over the next 18 years, he gained experience in logistics and supply chain at Albert Heijn and also served as CEO of Ahold's former operations in Indonesia. Mr. Boeijenga took on his current role in 2003, leading Albert Heijn in building its state-of-the-art logistics capability and serving on the team that drove the successful repositioning of the company. Mr. Boelen joined Ahold Polska in January of 2001 as President and CEO and was appointed President and CEO of the Ahold Central Europe arena at its creation in 2003. "Over the past five years, I've learned that our team in Central Europe has a real passion for the business," Mr. Boelen commented on his time at the company. "I am confident that they will continue to do what is right for our company and, most of all, our customers." "I want to thank Jacquot for his many contributions to Ahold," said Mr. Moberg. "He was responsible for the significant task of integrating our operations in Central Europe into a single arena. Before that, Jacquot oversaw much progress by Ahold in the Polish market, including the rebranding of the company's supermarkets to Albert. We wish him all the best for the future." About Ahold Headquartered in Amsterdam, Koninklijke Ahold N.V. -- http://www.ahold.com/-- retails food through supermarkets, hypermarkets and discount stores in North and South America, Europe and Asia. The company's chain stores include Stop & Shop, Giant, TOPS, Albert Heijn and Bompreco. Ahold also supplies food to restaurants, hotels, healthcare institutions, government facilities, universities, stadiums, and caterers. * * * Moody's Investors Service and Standard and Poor's has assigned low-B ratings to the company's 5.625% senior notes due 2007. Also, the company's 5.875% senior unsubordinated notes due 2008 and 6.375% senior unsubordinated notes due 2007 carry Moody's, S&P's and Fitch's low-B ratings. ============= D E N M A R K ============= ADVANCED MEDICAL: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating ----------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the Medical Device sector, the rating agency confirmed its B1 Corporate Family Rating for Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. Moody's also revised its probability-of-default ratings and assigned loss-given-default ratings on these loans facilities: Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- Sr. Sec. Revolving Credit Facility B1 Ba1 LGD 1 7% 2.5% Convertible Sr. Sub. Notes B3 B2 LGD 4 66% Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss that incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in Moody's notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of Moody's ratings as Moody's research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be ower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). In Europe, the company maintains operations in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. ============= E S T O N I A ============= GALVEX HOLDINGS: U.S. Judge Converts Ch. 11 Case to Chapter 7 ------------------------------------------------------------- The Honorable Robert D. Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan converted the chapter 11 case of Galvex Holdings Limited to a chapter 7 liquidation proceeding. As reported in the TCR-Europe on Aug. 29, Galvex is "hopelessly" insolvent, has no assets remaining to reorganize or sell, and has no ability to file and confirm a plan of liquidation or pay any administrative expenses, Lori R. Fife, Esq., at at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, said. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors supported Galvex's request for the conversion of its bankruptcy case to a liquidation proceeding under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on May 30, 2006, the Court authorized Galvex and its debtor-affiliates to sell substantially all of their assets to SPCP Group LLC. The purchase was effected in exchange for the discharge of the Debtors' US$192 million debt to SPCP. SPCP acquired the shares of Galvex's subsidiaries: -- Galvex Estonia; -- Galvex Intertrade; and -- Galvex Trade. In accordance with the sale order, the Court further ruled that the Chapter 11 cases of the three debtor-subsidiaries will be dismissed effective upon the closing of the sale. Headquartered in New York City, New York, Galvex Holdings Limited -- http://www.galvex.com/-- and its affiliates operate the largest independent galvanizing line in Europe. The Debtors have offices in New York, Tallinn, Bermuda, Finland, Ukraine, Germany and the United Kingdom. The company and four of its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on Jan. 17, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Lead Case No. 06-10082). Galvex Capital, LLC, is represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Gerard DiConza, Esq., at DiConza Law, P.C. Galvex Holdings Ltd. and the other debtor-affiliates are represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Lori R. Fife, Esq., Marcia L. Goldstein, Esq., and Shai Waisman, Esq., at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. John P. McNicholas, Esq., and Thomas R. Califano, Esq., at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP, represent the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. When the Debtors filed for protection from their creditors, they estimated assets and debts of more than US$100 million. John S. Pereira is the Debtor's Chapter 7 Trustee. GALVEX HOLDINGS: US Trustee Names John Pereira as Ch. 7 Trustee --------------------------------------------------------------- Diana G. Adams, the U.S. Trustee for Region 2, appointed John S. Pereira as Galvex Holdings Limited's Chapter 7 Trustee on Sept. 5, 2006. On Aug. 30, 2006, the Honorable Robert D. Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York converted the chapter 11 case of Galvex Holdings to a chapter 7 liquidation proceeding. Headquartered in New York City, New York, Galvex Holdings Limited -- http://www.galvex.com/-- and its affiliates operate the largest independent galvanizing line in Europe. The Debtors have offices in New York, Tallinn, Bermuda, Finland, Ukraine, Germany and the United Kingdom. The company and four of its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on Jan. 17, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Lead Case No. 06-10082). Galvex Capital, LLC, is represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Gerard DiConza, Esq., at DiConza Law, P.C. Galvex Holdings Ltd. and the other debtor-affiliates are represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Lori R. Fife, Esq., Marcia L. Goldstein, Esq., and Shai Waisman, Esq., at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. John P. McNicholas, Esq., and Thomas R. Califano, Esq., at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP, represent the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. When the Debtors filed for protection from their creditors, they estimated assets and debts of more than US$100 million. GALVEX HOLDINGS: Section 341(a) Meeting Scheduled on November 6 --------------------------------------------------------------- Diana G. Adams, the United States Trustee for Region 2, will convene a meeting of Galvex Holdings Limited's creditors at 11:00 a.m., on Nov. 6, 2006, at the Second Floor of the Office of the United States Trustee, 80 Broad Street in New York. This is the first meeting of creditors required under Section 341(a) in all bankruptcy cases. This is the first meeting of creditors after the Debtor's chapter 11 case has been converted to a chapter 7 liquidation proceeding. All creditors are invited, but not required, to attend. This Meeting of Creditors offers the one opportunity in a bankruptcy proceeding for creditors to question a responsible office of the Debtor under oath about the company's financial affairs and operations that would be of interest to the general body of creditors. Headquartered in New York City, New York, Galvex Holdings Limited -- http://www.galvex.com/-- and its affiliates operate the largest independent galvanizing line in Europe. The Debtors have offices in New York, Tallinn, Bermuda, Finland, Ukraine, Germany and the United Kingdom. The company and four of its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on Jan. 17, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Lead Case No. 06-10082). Galvex Capital, LLC, is represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Gerard DiConza, Esq., at DiConza Law, P.C. Galvex Holdings Ltd. and the other debtor-affiliates are represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Lori R. Fife, Esq., Marcia L. Goldstein, Esq., and Shai Waisman, Esq., at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. John P. McNicholas, Esq., and Thomas R. Califano, Esq., at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP, represent the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. When the Debtors filed for protection from their creditors, they estimated assets and debts of more than US$100 million. On Aug. 30, 2006, Judge Drain converted the chapter 11 case of Galvex Holdings to a chapter 7 liquidation proceeding. John S. Pereira is the Debtor's Chapter 7 Trustee. =========== F R A N C E =========== AXLETECH INT'L: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings ----------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Automotive and Equipment sectors, the rating agency confirmed its B2 Corporate Family Rating for AxleTech International Holdings, Inc. Additionally, Moody's revised or held its probability-of-default ratings and assigned loss-given-default ratings on these loans: Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- secured revolving credit facility B2 Ba3 LGD 3 32% secured term loan B2 Ba3 LGD 3 32% second lien secured term loan Caa1 Caa1 LGD 5 80% Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in our notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of our ratings as our research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). About AxleTech International AxleTech International Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Troy, Michigan, is a leading supplier of planetary axles, brakes and other drivertrain components and aftermarket for off-highway, military and specialty vehicles. The company has approximately 425 employees with significant operations in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Belvidere, Illinois, St. Etienne, France, and Osasco, Brazil. FENDER MUSICAL: Moody's Puts LGD5 Rating to Secured Second Lien --------------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Consumer Products, Beverage, Toy, Natural Product Processors, Packaged Food Processors and Agricultural Cooperative sectors, the rating agency confirmed its B2 Corporate Family Rating for Fender Musical Instruments Corp., upgraded its B2 rating to B1, on the Company's US$50 million 1st lien senior secured revolver; its B2 rating to B1 on the Company's US$170 million secured term loan; and affirmed its Caa1 rating on the Company's US$100 million secured 2nd lien. Additionally, Moody's assigned an LGD3 rating to the US$50 million 1st lien secured revolver, suggesting noteholders will experience a 34% loss in the event of a default, an LGD3 rating to the US$170 million senior secured term loan, suggesting noteholders will experience a 34% loss in the event of a default, and an LGD5 rating on the Company's US$100 million secured 2nd lien, suggesting noteholders will experience an 84% loss in the event of a default. Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in Moody's notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of Moody's ratings as Moody's research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). Fender Musical Instruments Corp. -- http://www.fender.com/-- is the world's foremost manufacturer of guitars, basses, amplifiers and related equipment. The FMIC family includes several other distinctive musical instrument brands: Charvel(R), Gretsch(R), Guild(R), Jackson(R), Olympia(R), Orpheum(R), SWR(R), Squier(R) and Tacoma(R). FMIC also manufactures a complete line of professional audio equipment under the Fender brand, including the Passport(R) portable sound system. Fender also offers a complete line of accessories, including strings, authorized replacement parts, cases, straps and clothing among others. FMIC's U.S. facilities are located in Arizona, California, Tennessee and Washington, with international facilities in England, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain and Sweden. QUEBECOR WORLD: S&P Cuts Rating to B+ With Negative Watch --------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its ratings on commercial printer Quebecor World Inc., including its long-term corporate credit rating to 'B+' from 'BB-', and placed the ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications. "The downgrade and CreditWatch placement reflect concerns that earnings and credit measures at Quebecor World may weaken further in the medium term due to a challenging pricing environment, operating losses in the company's European division, inefficiencies related to the installation of new printing presses, and intense competition," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Lori Harris. "Furthermore, the company is expected to be a borrower in the near term, increasing debt levels to fund negative discretionary cash flow at a time when the cushion in credit facility covenants has narrowed," Ms. Harris added. In addition, unfavorable shifts in product mix and higher energy costs are adding to the company's challenges and are expected to result in margins well below historical levels. Free cash flow will continue to be negatively affected by the significant reduction in earnings and increased investments being made in the company's manufacturing platform. The ratings on Quebecor World reflect: * the company's highly leveraged financial profile; * its weakness in revenues, earnings, and free cash flow despite restructuring efforts; * challenges within the European operations; and * difficult industry conditions. * Quebecor World remains the world's second-largest printer, supported by its product and global diversity. To resolve its CreditWatch listing, Standard & Poor's will meet with management and review Quebecor World's overall financial policies, as well as its operating and financial strategies. ============= G E O R G I A ============= METROMEDIA INT'L: Shareholders Meeting Slated for Dec. 15 --------------------------------------------------------- Pursuant to the Stipulation and Order approved by the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware on Sept. 26, 2006, the stockholders meeting will be held on Dec. 15, 2006, in New York City, New York, with a record date of Nov. 1, 2006. In addition, all of the directorships of the Company will be subject to election at the stockholders meeting and all of the shares of Company common stock represented in person or by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote thereat shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of the meeting, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Company's certificate of incorporation or bylaws to the contrary. The Stipulation dismissed the action filed in the Court by Esopus Creek Value LP, a shareholder of the Company, pursuant to Section 211 of the Delaware General Corporation Law requesting that the Company hold an annual meeting of its stockholders. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Metromedia International Group (PINK SHEETS: MTRM-Common Stock and MTRMP-Preferred Stock) -- http://www.metromedia-group.com/-- through its subsidiary, Metromedia International Telecommunications, owns interests in telecom and cable TV operations in Russia, Georgia, and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. The Company's core businesses includes Magticom, Ltd., the leading mobile telephony operator in Tbilisi, Georgia, and Telecom Georgia, a well-positioned Georgian long distance telephony operator. * * * Moody's Investors Service has placed Metromedia's subordinated debt rating at B3 and junior subordinated debt rating at B2. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= ALBA GIPSER: Claims Registration Ends October 10 ------------------------------------------------ Creditors of ALBA Gipser- und Stukkateurmeisterbetrieb GmbH have until Oct. 10 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Dr. Helmut Hemmerling. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Nov. 21 at which time the administrator will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Karlsruhe Hall IV 1st Floor Schlossplatz 23 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The District Court of Karlsruhe opened bankruptcy proceedings against ALBA Gipser- und Stukkateurmeisterbetrieb GmbH on Sept. 1. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be contacted at: ALBA Gipser- und Stukkateurmeisterbetrieb GmbH Attn: Amer Hijazi and Werner Radicke, Managers Station Place 5 76327 Pfinztal, Germany The administrator can be contacted at: Helmut Hemmerling Talstr. 108 70188 Stuttgart, Germany Tel: 0711/168670 ARBEITSMITTELDIENST & PETTERS: Claims Registration Ends Oct. 10 --------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of arbeitsmitteldienst & Petters GmbH have until Oct. 10 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Andrew Seidl. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Nov. 21 at which time the administrator will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Dresden Hall D131 Olbrichtplatz 1 01099 Dresden, Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The District Court of Dresden opened bankruptcy proceedings against arbeitsmitteldienst & Petters GmbH on Aug. 29. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be contacted at: arbeitsmitteldienst & Petters GmbH G.-Hauptmann-Str. 20 02977 Hoyerswerda, Germany The administrator can be contacted at: Andrew Seidl Chemnitzer Str. 46 01187 Dresden, Germany Web: http://www.RA-andrew-seidl.de/ BAUGESCHAFT KUNZE: Claims Registration Ends Oct. 13 --------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Baugeschaft Kunze GmbH have until Oct. 13 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Michael Hawelka. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 13 at which time the administrator will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Leipzig Hall 056 Leipzig, Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The District Court of Leipzig opened bankruptcy proceedings against Baugeschaft Kunze GmbH on Aug. 23. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be contacted at: Baugeschaft Kunze GmbH Attn: Stefan Kunze, Manager Mastener Str. 10 04720 Doebeln, Germany The administrator can be contacted at: Michael Hawelka Nonnenstr. 37 04229 Leipzig, Germany BAYERISCHE HYPO: Fitch Lifts Individual Rating to C --------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings upgraded UniCredito Italiano's Individual rating to B from B/C and Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank's (HVB) Individual rating to C from C/D. At the same time the agency has revised the Outlooks on both banks' Issuer Default ratings to Positive from Stable. Both IDRs are affirmed at A+ for UCI and A fro HVB. Their other ratings are affirmed at Short-term F1 and Support 1. In a related action linked to the agency's expectations of Support, Fitch has also revised the Outlooks on Bank Austria Creditanstalt's and Bank Pekao's IDRs to Positive from Stable and affirmed all other ratings of banks in the group. The rating action reflects the progress made by UCI's management in integrating HVB and BACA, acquired in October 2005, into the UCI model. "The early signs are that UCI has demonstrated its ability to tackle execution risk arising from the acquisition of a much larger entity. It has continued to reduce credit risk in HVB's German operations, and has reached some of its intermediary targets, notably capital, ahead of initial expectations," Matthew Taylor, Senior Director in Financial Institutions disclosed. The ratings reflect UCI's sound prospects for consolidating its leading position in the Italian banking market, as well as in the German, Austrian and Central and Eastern European markets. They also reflect the Italian bank's record of strong profitability, sound risk management and its success in integrating acquired banks. They take into account UCI's improving, albeit still indifferent, asset quality and vulnerability to an economic slowdown in Germany and Austria arising from exposure to HVB's German and Austrian business. In addition, the ratings include the execution risk in implementing a complex integration and the new group's modest but strengthening regulatory capital ratios. On acquiring HVB in October 2005, UCI became a market leader in Bavaria, Italy and Austria and the largest player in the faster growing but more volatile CEE countries. Most of its assets are in stable, wealthy economies. The Italian bank has been one of Europe's most consistently profitable banking groups to date. In H106 UCI's operating profit rose, thanks to loan growth and as favorable markets benefited trading and fee income. Earnings from capital markets are likely to become more client-driven, but may remain subject to some volatility. At 10% in H106, the trading earnings composed a larger proportion of operating revenues than in many peers. In H106, Fitch estimates that CEE banks contributed to around 16% of UCI's operating profit, a percentage, which is likely to rise. Fitch considers that UCI's plans for integration and boosting revenues are sound and likely to be implemented successfully. This plan should allow the bank to grow while keeping loan impairment charges stable at 61 bp of risk-weighted assets and achieve its target of 17% return on equity for 2008. Gross impaired loans are improving as a result of intensive work to recover value. However, at end-June 2006 they represented 7.25% of total loans, a worse level than in most major European banks. Impairment allowances are smaller than those seen in many peers but are deemed adequate. Former UCI's impaired loans declined in H106, but remain heavier than those at its international peers. Market risk is moderate while liquidity is good and increasingly will be managed centrally. Fitch considers UCI's goal of an equity Tier 1 ratio of 6.8% by end-2008 acceptable, up from a projected 6% at end-2006. In view of the execution and asset quality risks in the bank, Fitch considers current capitalization to be modest and takes a positive view of its improvement. "The upgrade of HVB's Individual rating reflects the bank's improved profitability and the expected benefits from its integration into UCI, including, but not limited to, the envisaged capital gain from selling BACA," Thomas von Luepke, Head of German Banking at Fitch disclosed. "While HVB will lose the risks and rewards stemming from BACA, the sizeable capital gain will considerably strengthen HVB's position." The revision of HVB's Outlook to Positive is driven by the revision of UCI's Outlook and Fitch's expectation that UCI will integrate HVB within its group over the next 18 months. Growth in HVB's operating profit in H106 was driven by all businesses, especially its corporates & markets division. In addition, reported H106 net income benefited from EUR807 million in disposal gains. HVB's focus on increasing its trading and fee income has started to bear fruit. Streamlining its business and reducing staff have helped to cut costs. By developing a sales-oriented culture, aligning efficiency to the best European standards and further improving risk management, UCI plans to take them to a level unprecedented in HVB. Weak domestic profitability and misjudged credit decisions have adversely affected HVB's performance. In 2005 its loan impairment charges totaled EUR1.5 billion. For 2006 the bank has budgeted still high LICs of EUR1.3 billionn per year. HVB's loan book remains sizeable. At end-June 2006 loans managed by the real estate restructuring unit were cut by 56% to EUR6.8billion. The remainder of the RER will be combined with some EUR20 billion performing, but non- strategic, assets and will be wound down. A change in loan mix away from large corporates and more stringent risk controls should benefit asset quality. UCI, Italy: -- Individual upgraded to B from B/C; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A+, F1 and 1 respectively. HVB, Germany: -- Individual upgraded to C from C/D; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1 and 1 respectively. BACA, Austria: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, B/C and 1 respectively. Bank Pekao, Poland: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, C and 1 respectively. The ratings of all other direct and indirect subsidiaries of UCI are affirmed or unchanged: Zagrebacka Banka, Bosnia Herzegovina: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BBB+, F2, C/D and 2 respectively. Outlook is Stable. UniCredit Romania, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2, D and 1 respectively. Outlook is Stable. Banca Comerciala HVB Tiriac, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2 and 1 respectively. The Individual rating is unchanged at D Evolving Rating Watch. The Outlook is Stable. International Moscow Bank, Russia: -- IDR BBB+ and Support 2 rating on Rating Watch Positive. Short-term and Individual ratings affirmed at F2 and C/D respectively. Kocbank, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B, D and 3. The Outlook is Positive. Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B and 3. The Individual rating is unchanged at D/E Positive Rating Watch. The Outlook is Positive. Bulbank, Bulgaria: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. Zivnostenska Banca, Czech Republic: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. BPH Bank, Poland: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. UniBanka, Slovakia: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. CHIQUITA BRANDS: Lower Pricing Spurs Moody's to Affirm Ratings -------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service affirmed all ratings for Chiquita Brands L.L.C. (senior secured at Ba3), as well as for its parent Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (corporate family rating at B2), but changed the outlook to negative from stable. This action follows the company's announcement that its operating performance continues to be negatively impacted by lower pricing in key European and trading markets, as well as excess fruit supply. Operations are also suffering from the impact of recent e. coli discoveries in U.S. fresh spinach products, which have resulted in an FDA advisory and industry-wide withdrawals of fresh spinach product by most processors, and lower consumption of some salad products. Moody's notes that to date, there have been no confirmed cases of chiquita products being traced to the e. coli issue. Continuing high fuel and other industry costs, as well as unusually high costs to source fruit during shortages in late 2005/early 2006, have also pressured earnings and cash flow. Chiquita also announced its intention to eliminate its US$17 million annual cash dividends and to explore the sale of its owned shipping assets, as well as the management of its logistics needs, with asset-sale proceeds being used primarily to reduce debt. There also continues to be the uncertainty concerning the longer-term impact on Chiquita's operations and market position due to the structural changes occurring in key European banana markets under the tariff-only system established in January 2006. Moody's believes that the net impact of these challenges will result in weaker-than-expected debt protection measures and financial flexibility. Should Chiquita be successful in selling its shipping fleet, it expects to lease back those same vessels in order to meet its shipping needs. Moody's notes that as one of our standard analytic adjustments, it capitalizes lease payment streams and add them back as debt in our leverage calculations. For this reason, the rating agency would not expect the sale of Chiquita's shipping fleet to result in any net reduction in effective debt or leverage, and in fact could increase effective debt and leverage depending upon the specific terms of any ultimate transaction and other debt repayments that occur with sale proceeds. Chiquita's existing ratings reflect a company with a good qualitative profile, but with credit metrics, which have been weakening due to a combination of leveraged acquisitions and weaker than expected operating performance, resulting in an overall B2 rating. The key rating factors currently influencing Chiquita's ratings and negative outlook are: -- The company is one of the largest global producers and marketers of fresh fruit and vegetables, with good geographic and product market diversity. -- Its franchise strength and growth potential are considered moderate, with good market share and volume growth in some segments, partially offset by the low margin commodity nature of much of its business which, at times, can lead to earnings and cash flow volatility. -- Liquidity under stress has been weak over the past year, as evidenced by the occasional need to seek financial covenant relief. -- Overall credit metrics had been relatively strong for its rating category, but have been weakening due to a combination of higher debt from leveraged acquisitions and weak operating performance. Chiquita's ratings could be downgraded if its earnings and cash flow remain weak - conceivably due to the impact of the new EU banana regulations being more negative than anticipated, litigation costs increasing more than expected, or the company's inability to successfully pass along higher energy costs. Specifically, Chiquita's ratings could be downgraded if three- year average Debt/EBITDA rose above 5.5 times and was likely to rise above 7 times on a lagging 12-month basis in a downturn, and/or three year average EBIT/Interest fell below 1.5 times and were likely to fall below 1 time on a lagging 12-month basis in a downturn. Given the negative outlook, a rating upgrade in the near term is unlikely. The rating outlook could stabilize if the company successfully adapts to the new EU banana import regulations, its litigation risk reduced, and it successfully completes the integration of Fresh Express. A stable outlook would also require Chiquita to be able to sustain three-year average Debt/EBITDA below 5 times and lagging 12-month Debt/EBITDA below 6.5 times in a downturn, and to maintain three-year average EBIT/Interest above 1.7 times, with lagging 12-month EBIT/Interest above 1.25 times in a downturn. Ratings affirmed with a negative outlook: Chiquita Brands LLC (operating subsidiary) * US$200 million senior secured revolving credit at Ba3 (LGD2, 26%) * US$24.5 million senior secured term loan B at Ba3 (LGD2, 26%) * US$372.2 million senior secured term loan C at Ba3 (LGD2, 26%) Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (holding company parent) * US$250 million 7.50% senior unsecured notes due 2014 at Caa1 (LGD 5, 89%) * US$225 million 8.875% senior unsecured notes due 2015 at (LGD 5, 89%) * Corporate family rating at B2 * Probability of default rating at B2 With 2005 sales of US$3.9 billion, Cincinnati-based Chiquita is one of the largest global producers and marketers of fresh fruit and vegetables. CHIQUITA BRANDS: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings ----------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Consumer Products, Beverage, Toy, Natural Product Processors, Packaged Food Processors, and Agricultural Cooperative sectors, the rating agency confirmed its B2 Corporate Family Rating for Chiquita Brands LLC. Additionally, Moody's revised its probability-of-default ratings and assigned loss-given-default ratings on these loans facilities: Issuer: Chiquita Brands LLC Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- Gtd. Sr. Sec. Term Loan B Due 2012 B1 Ba3 LGD2 26% Gtd. Sr. Sec. Term Loan C Due 2012 B1 Ba3 LGD2 26% Gtd. Sr. Sec. Revolving Credit Facility Due 2010 B1 Ba3 LGD2 26% Issuer: Chiquita Brands International, Inc. Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- Sr. Global Notes Due 2014 B3 Caa1 LGD5 89% Sr. Global Notes Due 2015 B3 Caa1 LGD5 89% Moody's current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in Moody's notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of Moody's ratings as its research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% - 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% - 100%). Cincinnati, Ohio-based Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (NYSE: CQB) -- http://www.chiquita.com/-- markets and distributes fresh food products including bananas and nutritious blends of green salads. The company markets its products under the Chiquita(R) and Fresh Express(R) premium brands and other related trademarks. Chiquita employs approximately 25,000 people operating in more than 70 countries worldwide including Belgium and Germany. FALK+PARTNER: Claims Registration Ends October 13 ------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Falk+Partner Objekt Leipzig Lutherstrasse KG have until Oct. 13 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Kurt Bruder. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Nov. 15 at which time the administrator will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Munich Meeting Room 102 Infanteriestr. 5 Munich, Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The District Court of Munich opened bankruptcy proceedings against Falk+Partner Objekt Leipzig Lutherstrasse KG on Aug. 11. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be contacted at: Falk+Partner Objekt Leipzig Lutherstrasse KG Westendstr. 160 80339 Munich, Germany The administrator can be contacted at: Dr. Kurt Bruder Herzog-Wilhelm-Str. 17 80331 Munich, Germany Tel: 089/236858-0 Fax: 089/260344-0 FRIE GMBH: Claims Registration Ends October 13 ---------------------------------------------- Creditors of Frie GmbH Personal Leasing und Arbeitsvermittlung have until Oct. 13 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Andreas Stratenwerth. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Nov. 3 at which time the administrator will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Paderborn Meeting Room 216 2nd Floor Bogen 2-4 33098 Paderborn, Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The District Court of Paderborn opened bankruptcy proceedings against Frie GmbH Personal Leasing und Arbeitsvermittlung on Aug. 28. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be contacted at: Frie GmbH Personal Leasing und Arbeitsvermittlung Barkhauser Str. 251 A 33106 Paderborn, Germany Attn: Adriane Fecke and Jasmina Krause, Managers Raiffeisenstr. 8 83677 Reichersbeuren, Germany The administrator can be contacted at: Andreas Stratenwerth Lemgoer Road 4 33604 Bielefeld, Germany IB INDUSTRIELLE: Claims Registration Ends October 10 ---------------------------------------------------- Creditors of ib Industrielle Beschichtung GmbH Mitte have until Oct. 10 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Sabine von Stein-Lausnitz. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:45 a.m. on Nov. 7 at which time the administrator will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Halle-Saalkreis Hall 1.043 Judicial Center Thueringer Str. 16 06112 Halle, Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The District Court of Halle-Saalkreis opened bankruptcy proceedings against ib Industrielle Beschichtung GmbH Mitte on Aug. 17. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be contacted at: ib Industrielle Beschichtung GmbH Mitte Alten Bahnhof 16 06184 Kabelsketal OT Groebers, Germany Attn: Jasna Avdusinovic, Manager Passower Chaussee 1b 16303 Schwedt/Oder, Germany The administrator can be contacted at: Sabine von Stein-Lausnitz Magdeburger Road 38 D-06112 Halle, Germany Tel: 0345/232620 Fax: 0345/2326230 IWD INGENIEUR: Claims Registration Ends October 12 -------------------------------------------------- Creditors of IWD Ingenieur Werner Dill Verwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG have until Oct. 12 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Peter Jost. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 2:40 p.m. on Nov. 23 at which time the administrator will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Koenigstein/Ts. Area 106 A Law Courts Castle Way 9 61462 Koenigstein/Ts., Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The District Court of Koenigstein/Ts. opened bankruptcy proceedings against IWD Ingenieur Werner Dill Verwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG on June 7. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be contacted at: IWD Ingenieur Werner Dill Verwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG Oelmuehlweg 35c 61462 Koenigstein, Germany Attn: Kathrin Erbach, Manager Froebelstrasse 10 65549 Limburg, Germany The administrator can be contacted at: Peter Jost Pfingstweidstrasse 3 D-60316 Frankfurt/Main, Germany Tel: 069/2097390 Fax: 069/20973929 JOPA VERTRIEBS: Claims Registration Ends October 11 --------------------------------------------------- Creditors of JOPA Vertriebs GmbH have until Oct. 11 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Robert Pinter. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Nov. 15 at which time the administrator will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Bueckeburg Hall 504 Schulstr. 2 31675 Bueckburg, Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The District Court of Bueckeburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against JOPA Vertriebs GmbH on Aug. 15. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be contacted at: JOPA Vertriebs GmbH Bergdorfer Str. 51 31675 Bueckeburg, Germany Attn: Manfred Karl Brueckner, Manager Kreuzstr. 4 97509 Kolitzheim, Germany The administrator can be contacted at: Robert Pinter Suentelstr. 44c 31848 Bad Muender, Germany Tel: 05042/93770 Fax: 05042/937719 KARSTADTQUELLE AG: Inks Sourcing Deal with Li & Fung ---------------------------------------------------- The retail group KarstadtQuelle AG and Li & Fung Ltd., the worldwide largest sourcing company registered in Hongkong, signed the contract on a future cooperation. Li & Fung takes over KarstadtQuelle's entire international sourcing business. The former sourcing organization, which has been consolidated under KarstadtQuelle International Services AG (St. Gallen), is taken over including its around 1,000 employees. Both parties agreed on silence regarding the purchase price. The transaction is with reservation of the approval of the competition authorities. "The signing of contract means for us a further milestone in the development of the group," Prof. Dr. Helmut Merkel, Member of the Management Board of KarstadtQuelle AG and head of purchasing, logistics and IT, said. "With the hand over of the international sourcing activities to the worldwide leading sourcing company and our focusing on design, assortment and presentation of merchandise, we act in our business more professionally." "Furthermore, we benefit from a relevant EUR500 million reduction of the working capital, a prolonging of the payment terms to 120 days and significant effects due to the purchase price reductions from five to 10 percent on average. In 2008, a total direct sourcing volume of EUR2 billion should be handled by Li & Fung." Due to the newly gained flexibility, KarstadtQuelle will increase the number of collections up to twelve a year and therefore strongly improves its competitiveness in the future. To differentiate from the competitors the business will be strengthened effectively with own brands and competence in design and development. Both in Germany and in Asia own design- and development centers will be established. Li & Fung Ltd. has a long time experience as a sourcing partner of international companies like Marks & Spencer, Wal Mart, Coca Cola or Nike. The company with an annual turnover of c. 6 bn Euros and 77 offices in 42 countries, cooperates with 7,000 suppliers. The company engages 7,000 employees and operates mainly in the sourcing for U.S. companies so far. With the new partnership Li & Fung extends its European business. About KarstadtQuelle Headquartered in Essen, Germany, KarstadtQuelle AG -- http://www.karstadtquelle.com/-- operates department stores and mail order businesses. It has annual sales of EUR15.5 billion and employs around 70,000. The retailer has been suffering from sluggish consumption and high unemployment rate in Germany. KarstadtQuelle posted an EBITDA of -EUR428 million in 2004. The group is currently restructuring operations by selling off non- core assets and implementing cost-saving measures. The group achieved and exceeded its targets for the 2005 financial year. Group sales, adjusted for the strong impact of the realignment, were EUR15.45 billion, compared to EUR16.14 billion in the previous year, down 4.2 percent. Adjusted EBITDA improved by 5.1 percent to EUR544 million, compared to EUR518 million in the previous year. In 2005, net financial liabilities were reduced by a third to EUR3.0 billion (including Thomas Cook), down from EUR4.5 billion in the previous year. In the first six months of 2006, adjusted group sales totaled EUR6.5 billion (2005: EUR6.8 billion). Adjusted EBITDA declined to -EUR41.7 million (2005: -EUR19.4 million). As of June 30, 2006, net financial liabilities (pro forma) stood at EUR600 million. MAZINOX EDELSTAHL: Claims Registration Ends October 13 ------------------------------------------------------ Creditors of Mazinox Edelstahl-Vertriebs GmbH have until Oct. 13 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Rolf G. Pohlmann. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 13 at which time the administrator will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Munich Meeting Room 102 Infanteriestr. 5 Munich, Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The District Court of Munich opened bankruptcy proceedings against Mazinox Edelstahl-Vertriebs GmbH on Aug. 21. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be contacted at: Mazinox Edelstahl-Vertriebs GmbH Parsdorfer Str. 7 85591 Hergolding, Germany The administrator can be contacted at: Rolf G. Pohlmann Richard-Strauss-Str. 69 81677 Munich, Germany Tel: 089/548033-0 Fax: 089/548033-111 MEDPORTAL GMBH: Files for Bankruptcy Protection in Moers -------------------------------------------------------- Robert Garment of DOTmed News confirmed that MedPortal GmbH filed for bankruptcy protection in Moers, Germany, on Aug. 17, after reports that the company allegedly went out of business. The case is docketed under Bankr. Case No. 34 IN 68 / 06. Mr. Garment relates that creditors owed money by MedPortal could initiate a claim against the company through: Astrid Smolenski The Insolvency Office in Krefeld, Germany Tel: +49 2821 87-0 E-mail: smolenski@rae-stock.de MedPortal GmbH can be contacted at: MedPortal GmbH Zechenstr. 68 47443 Moers Tel: 02841 / 88080-0 OCEAN STAR: Fitch Keeps BB- Rating on US$19-Mln Class E Notes ------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings affirmed all of Ocean Star 2004 PLC's and Ocean Star 2005 PLC's credit-linked floating-rate notes due 2018 and 2012 respectively. This follows the replenishments of the underlying portfolios and a satisfactory review of both transactions' performance to date: Ocean Star 2004: -- US$0.25 mln Class A+ notes (ISIN XS0199954537) at AAA; -- US$52.75 mln Class A notes (ISIN XS0199957399) at AAA; -- US$79.15 mln Class B notes (ISIN XS0199957472) at AA; -- US$79.15 mln Class C notes (ISIN XS0199960005) at A; -- US$53.8 mln Class D notes (ISIN XS0199961078) at BBB-; and -- US$19 mln Class E notes (ISIN XS0199963108) at BB-. Ocean Star 2005: -- US$28.6 mln Class A notes (ISIN XS0230942152) at AAA; -- US$25.7 mln Class B notes (ISIN XS0230942582) at AA; -- US$42.8 mln Class C notes (ISIN XS0230942580) at A; -- US$23.4 mln Class D notes (ISIN XS0230944281) at BBB; and -- US$9.7 mln Class E notes (ISIN XS0230944794) at BB. Ocean Star 2004 and Ocean Star 2005 are revolving synthetic securitizations of shipping loan obligations originated by HSH Nordbank AG and its predecessors, LB Kiel and Hamburgische Landesbank, with respect to reference portfolios with an outstanding amount of up to US$1.05 billion and US$570.1 million respectively. The reference portfolio consists of loans secured by ships. This is Ocean Star 2004's fourth portfolio replenishment since closing and Ocean Star 2005's second replenishment since closing. The levels of credit enhancement have not changed since closing for both transactions. No defaults, credit events or losses have occurred and both transactions have performed satisfactorily to date. The current portfolio characteristics are in line with the transactions' general replenishment conditions. The proposed replenishment bears a lower concentration risk and lower weighted average loan-to-value compared to the initial portfolio at closing. TRAPIDO INDUSTRIEVERTRETUNGEN: Claims Registration Ends Oct. 13 --------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of TRAPIDO Industrievertretungen GmbH have until Oct. 13 to register their claims with court-appointed provisional administrator Dirk-Henning Toennesmann. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:20 a.m. on Nov. 20 at which time the administrator will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Aachen Meeting Room K 3 3rd Floor Alter Posthof 1 52062 Aachen, Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the administrator's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The District Court of Aachen opened bankruptcy proceedings against TRAPIDO Industrievertretungen GmbH on Aug. 25. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be contacted at: TRAPIDO Industrievertretungen GmbH Attn: Juergen Peter Johann, Manager Hospitalstr. 1 52353 Dueren, Germany The administrator can be contacted at: Dirk-Henning Toennesmann Josef-Ruhr-Road 30 53879 Euskirchen, Germany VISTEON CORP.: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings --------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Automotive and Equipment sectors, the rating agency confirmed its B2 Corporate Family Rating for Visteon Corporation, and its Visteon Capital Trust I, subsidiary. Additionally, Moody's revised its probability-of- default ratings and assigned loss-given-default ratings on these loans and debt obligations: Issuer: Visteon Corporation Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- secured term loan B1 Ba2 LGD 2 22% 8.25% senior unsecured notes B3 Caa1 LGD 6 91% 7.00% senior unsecured notes B3 Caa1 LGD 6 91% Shelf senior Unsecured (P)B3 (P)Caa1 LGD 6 91% Shelf subordinated (P)Caa2 (P)Caa1 LGD 6 97% Shelf preferred (P)Caa3 (P)Caa1 LGD 6 97% Issuer: Visteon Capital Trust I Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- Shelf trust Preferred (P)Caa2 (P)Caa1 LGD 6 97% Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in our notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of our ratings as our research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). Headquartered in Van Buren Township, Michigan, Visteon Corporation (NYSE: VC) -- http://www.visteon.com/-- is a global automotive supplier that designs, engineers and manufactures innovative climate, interior, electronic and lighting products for vehicle manufacturers, and also provides a range of products and services to aftermarket customers. With corporate offices in the Michigan (U.S.); Shanghai, China; and Kerpen, Germany; the company has more than 170 facilities in 24 countries and employs approximately 50,000 people. ============= H U N G A R Y ============= AES CORP: Dominicana Unit Begins Operations at Itabo Port --------------------------------------------------------- AES Dominicana, AES Corp.'s subsidiary in the Dominican Republic, disclosed the start of its plant operations at the Itabo International Port, Dominican Today reports. According to the Dominican Today, the port received its first freighter with 36,000 metric tons of mineral coal from Colombia. The freighter Baldor arrived on Sept. 24 and proceeded to continuously unload the material until the early hours on Thursday, Itabo told Dominican Today. The coal will be used to produce power in Itabo's plants, ensuring the availability of low-priced fuel to generate electricity. AES Dominicana told Dominican Today that Itabo is the first local port that receives coal. The port is located in the coastal area of the Itabo industrial complex, which is 18 kilometers west of the capital city in the municipality Haina, San Cristobal. The port's depth is 14 meters, which allows it to receive ships of the type Handymax and Panamax of up to 70,000 tons and has a capacity to unload solid materials at a rate of 1,600 tons per hour. The arrival of the freighter in Itabo constitutes a significant advancement for the Dominican Republic's present and future development, Dominican Today says, citing AES Dominicana. About the Company AES Corporation -- http://www.aes.com/-- is a global power company. The Company operates in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean countries. Generating 44,000 megawatts of electricity through 124 power facilities, the Company delivers electricity through 15 distribution companies. AES has been in Eastern Europe for nearly ten years, since it acquired three power plants in Hungary in 1996. Today, AES has two distribution companies in Ukraine, which serve 1.2 million customers and generation plants in the Czech Republic and Hungary. AES is also the leading company in biomass conversion in Hungary, generating 37% of the nation's total renewable generation in 2004. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on May 25, Fitch affirmed The AES Corporation's Issuer Default Rating at 'B+'. Fitch also affirmed and withdrew the ratings for the company's junior convertible debt. Fitch said the rating outlook for all remaining instruments is stable. In March, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its corporate credit rating on diversified energy company The AES Corp. to 'BB-' from 'B+'. S&P said the outlook is stable. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Jan. 11, Moody's affirmed the ratings of The AES Corporation, including its Ba3 Corporate Family Rating and the B1 rating on its senior unsecured debt. Moody's said the rating outlook remains stable. ========= I T A L Y ========= AVIO HOLDING: Moody's Withdraws B1 Corp. Family Rating ------------------------------------------------------ Moody's Investors Service withdrew the B1 corporate family rating assigned to Avio Holding S.p.A. Moody's has withdrawn Avio's rating at the request of the company. This follows the redemption of the 9.625% Senior Notes issued by ASPropulsion Capital B.V. on June 29, 2006. Headquartered near Turin, Italy, Avio Holding designs and supplies subsystems and components for military and civil aeroengines, including accessory gearbox modules and low- pressure turbine components. FERRO CORP: S&P Holds Low-B Corp. Credit & Unsec. Debt Ratings -------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' 'B+' long-term corporate credit and 'B' senior unsecured debt ratings on Ferro Corp. remained on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed Nov. 18, 2005. Standard & Poor's will resolve the CreditWatch after Ferro files its 2005 full year and 2006 quarterly financial statements, which are expected by Sept. 30th and Dec. 31st, respectively. The rating agency could lower the ratings if there are material negative surprises arising from disclosures in any of the financial statements or additional meaningful delays in the filings. "Still, in recent months the company has finalized a new credit facility and strengthened transparency with regard to current results," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Wesley E. Chinn. "Moreover, the company plans to use proceeds from a pending sale of its specialty plastics business to reduce debt." The ratings on Ferro reflect: * its aggressive debt leverage; * cyclicality of its markets; * vulnerability to raw material costs; * lackluster operating margins and return on capital; and * delays in the filing of the 10-K and 10-Qs for 2005 and 10-Qs for 2006. These negatives are partially offset by: * satisfactory liquidity under a new credit facility; * improving earnings; and * a likely debt reduction from planned asset sales. The filing delays caused by the lengthy accounting investigation and restatement process, as well as still-limited transparency on business conditions and operating results, which have resulted from this review work, are a significant credit quality negative. Standard & Poor's expects that any deficiencies in the company's internal controls regarding financial reporting or other accounting areas are being addressed in a timely manner and will not hamper Ferro's ability to strengthen profitability and its financial condition. Price increases, initiatives to reduce overhead and procurement costs, improved conditions in the electronic materials market, and restructured polymer additives operations should contribute to a modest strengthening of operating margins and earnings in 2006 from weak levels. But the raw material and energy cost environment remains challenging. An earnings rebound would benefit the weak funds from operations to total debt ratio, taking into account capitalized operating leases, an accounts receivable securitization program, and meaningful unfunded pension and other postretirement obligations. That measure would also be bolstered by likely debt reduction using proceeds from the pending sale of the specialty plastics business, which generated revenues of US$270 million in 2005. This divestiture, coupled with other asset sales, could eventually generate total net proceeds of roughly US$200 million. KNOLL INC: Moody's Assigns LGD2 Ratings to US$450-Mln Sr. Loans --------------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the for the U.S. Consumer Products, Beverage, Toy, Natural Product Processors, Packaged Food Processors and Agricultural Cooperative sectors, the rating agency assigned its B1 Corporate Family Rating for Knoll Inc., and upgraded its Ba3 rating on the company's US$200 million senior secured revolver and US$250 million senior secured term loan to Ba2. Additionally, Moody's assigned an LGD2 rating to both loans, suggesting noteholders will experience a 27% loss in the event of a default. Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in Moody's notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of Moody's ratings as Moody's research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha-numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). Headquartered in East Greenville, Pennsylvania, Knoll Inc., (NYSE:KNL) designs and manufactures branded office furniture products and textiles, serves clients worldwide. It distributes its products through a network of more than 300 dealerships and 100 showrooms and regional offices. The Company operates four manufacturing sites in North America: East Greenville, Pennsylvania; Grand Rapids and Muskegon, Michigan; and Toronto, Ontario. In addition, it has plants in Foligno and Graffignana, Italy. MILACRON INC.: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating -------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Automotive and Equipment sectors, the rating agency confirmed its Caa1 Corporate Family Rating for Milacron Inc., and its Caa1 rating on the company's 11.5% senior notes. Additionally, Moody's assigned an LGD 3 rating to those bonds, suggesting noteholders will experience a 44% loss in the event of a default. Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in our notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of our ratings as our research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Milacron Inc. (NYSE: MZ) -- http://www.milacron.com/-- is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of plastics-processing equipment and related supplies. Milacron is also one of the largest global manufacturers of synthetic water-based industrial fluids used in metalworking applications. The company has major manufacturing facilities in Brazil, North America, Europe, and Asia. In Europe, the company maintains operations in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and England. Milacron's annual revenues approximated US$805 million over the last twelve months. POPOLARE DI INTRA: Starts Merger Talks with Veneto Banca -------------------------------------------------------- Banca Popolare di Intra has entered into merger talks with Veneto Banca, Philip Webster writes for AFX News. Popolare di Intra's Board of Directors has accepted a binding all-cash offer from Veneto to acquire a maximum 75% of the bank's capital at EUR15 per share. Under the agreement, the takeover will proceed once Veneto receives 50.1% of di Intra's capital. Veneto will then convert di Intra from a cooperative to a limited liability company. Four banks filed binding offers to acquire di Intra: -- Banca Popolare di Vicenza, -- Credito Valtellinese, -- Banca Carige, and -- Veneto Banca. Veneto Banca is a co-operative bank based in the Province of Treviso in the region of the Veneto, which at end-2005 reported equity of EUR801 million. Its client base mainly comprises small and micro-enterprises and private individuals. About Banca Popolare di Intra Based in Verbania Intra, Italy, Banca Popolare di Intra -- http://www.bpintra.it/-- Intra is a small cooperative bank with a strong local franchise in Piedmont and Lombardy. The bank operates through a network of 80 branches and employs around 1,100 staff. * * * As reported in TCR-Europe on Aug. 17, Fitch downgraded Banca Popolare di Intra's Individual rating to E from D/E. The bank's other are affirmed at Issuer Default BB, Short-term B and Support 3. The Outlook is Stable. The rating action reflects the loss of EUR84 million for H106 reported by BPI, which caused its Tier 1 capital ratio to fall to 3.6%, below the Baca d'Italia's regulatory minimum of 4%. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term counterparty credit rating on Italian regional bank Banca Popolare di Intra SCPARL to 'BB' from 'BB+'. At the same time, the short-term rating was affirmed at 'B'. The ratings remain on CreditWatch with developing implications, where they were originally placed on Feb. 15. POPOLARE DI INTRA: Fitch Places BB IDR on Rating Watch Positive --------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings placed Veneto Banca's Issuer Default rating of A- on Rating Watch Negative. Its other ratings are affirmed at Short-term F2, Individual B/C and Support 3. At the same time, the agency has placed Banca Popolare di Intra's IDR BB, Short- term B, Individual E, and Support 3 ratings on Rating Watch Positive. The rating action follows the announcement by Intra's board of directors that it has accepted VB's binding offer to acquire a maximum 75% of Intra's capital in an all cash offer of EUR15 per share. The offer price would value Intra at EUR845 million at 100% ownership and EUR634 million at the maximum 75%. The transaction is subject to approval by Banca d'Italia and by Intra's extraordinary shareholders' meeting. It will be completed by January 2007, which would result in the resolution of the Rating Watches. "The RWN on VB's IDR reflects Fitch's view of the execution and integration risks arising from the acquisition of an entity that is nearly half of its size in terms of total assets and loans and from the severe problems it has suffered in the recent past," Francesca Vasciminno, Associate Director in Fitch's Financial Institutions team disclosed. It also reflects the challenge of managing EUR828 million gross impaired loans that Intra will bring to the consolidated entity. VB plans to raise less capital than it is spending on the acquisition and is paying significant goodwill, weakening its capital ratios. At the same time, it is Fitch's view that VB has sufficient managerial resources to handle such an acquisition. In view of the bank's plans to raise capital, to reduce the burdensome level of impaired loans and to resolve quickly Intra's outstanding legal issues, Fitch does not expect to downgrade VB's IDR by more than one notch on completion of the acquisition. The RWP on Intra's ratings reflects the fact that the bank will be part of a stronger banking group, thus solving some of the problems arising from its current limited financial flexibility. "Fitch expects to upgrade Intra's IDR and Short-term rating to just investment-grade to take account of the increased potential support provided by the new majority shareholder," Paolo Fioretti, Associate Director in Fitch's Financial Institutions team added. The Support rating will most likely be upgraded to 2 to show the greater propensity of Intra's new majority shareholder compared to the national authorities to offer support in the first instance. The Individual rating is likely to be upgraded by up to two notches to reflect the injection of new capital and the operational benefits that VB's management should bring. However, Intra's capital ratios will remain weak despite the expected conversion of its EUR80m convertible bond by end- November 2006. The takeover will only proceed on VB receiving at least 50.1% acceptances. According to the agreement, Intra will first convert to a limited liability company from banca popolare status and will remain listed after the acquisition. VB is a co-operative bank based in the Province of Treviso in the region of the Veneto, which at end-2005 reported equity of EUR801 million and a Tier 1 ratio of 8.5%. Its client base mainly comprises small and micro-enterprises and private individuals. By means of its federal structure, VB is also active in Lombardy with Banca di Bergamo and in the southern regions of Puglia and Basilicata with Banca Meridiana. It has had a foothold in Romania since 2000 through its Italy-based subsidiary Banca Italo-Romena and has recently acquired two small local banks based in Moldavia and Croatia. The VB group also includes some specialized product companies. Intra is a small cooperative bank based in Piedmont in northern Italy. It provides retail-banking services and is closely linked to the local economy. At end-2005, it operated 80 branches and employed 1,106 staff. It is a limited liability cooperative bank, with about 30,000 shareholders limited to one vote each. POPOLARE ITALIANA: Earns EUR91.97 Million for First Half 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------ Banca Popolare Italiana Scrl released it financial results for the first half ended June 30, 3006. Popolare Italiana posted EUR91.97 million in net profit on EUR400.99 million in revenues for the first half of 2006, compared with EUR181.59 million in net losses on EUR394.72 million in revenues for the same period in 2005. At June 30, 2006, the Group had 8,342 employees, down from 8,598 at end 2005. The decease in the overall workforce is mainly due to the corporate disposals that took place in the period. The total number of bank branches at June 30, 2006, was 978. At June 30, 2006, Popolare Italiana had EUR45.87 billion in total assets, EUR44.42 billion in total liabilities and EUR1.45 billion in shareholders' equity. About Banca Popolare Italiana Headquartered in Lodi, Italy, Banca Popolare Italiana -- http://www.bancapopolareitaliana.it/-- attracts deposits and offers commercial banking services. The Bank offers securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage loans, insurance, lease financing and treasury services and manages mutual funds. Through a subsidiary, Banca Popolare Italiana offers merchant banking services and medium- and long-term lending. * * * As reported in TCR-Europe on April 3, Fitch Ratings downgraded Banca Popolare Italiana's Issuer Default and Short-term ratings to BBB from BBB+ and F3 from F2 respectively. Its Individual and Support rating are affirmed at C and 3 respectively. Its senior debt and trust preferred stock are also downgraded to BBB and BB+ respectively from BBB+ and BBB-. The Issuer Default, Short-term and Individual ratings are removed from Rating Watch Negative. A Stable Outlook is assigned for the Issuer Default rating. TEREX CORP.: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings ------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Automotive and Equipment sectors, the rating agency confirmed its Ba3 Corporate Family Rating for Terex Corp. Additionally, Moody's revised or held its probability-of-default ratings and assigned loss-given-default ratings on these loans and bond debt obligations: Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- Sr. Sec. Revolving Credit Facility due 2012 Ba3 Ba1 LGD 2 22% Sr. Sec. Term Loan due 2013 Ba3 Ba1 LGD 2 22% 9.25% Sr. Sub. Notes due 2011 B2 B1 LGD 5 76% 7.375% Sr. Sub. Notes due 2014 B2 B1 LGD 5 76% Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in our notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of our ratings as our research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). =================== K A Z A K H S T A N =================== HARD WEST: Creditors Must File Claims by Oct. 24 ------------------------------------------------ LLP Hard West has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Oct. 24 to submit written proofs of claim to: LLP Hard West Rozybakiev Str. 35-18 Almaty, Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (3272) 41-61-92 KAZ.K.INTERNATIONAL: Creditors Must File Claims by Oct. 24 ---------------------------------------------------------- LLP Kaz.K.International has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Oct. 24 to submit written proofs of claim to: LLP Kaz.K.International Micro District 15, 7-92 Karaganda Karaganda Region Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (3212) 46-20-00 KAZSERVICE M: Proof of Claim Deadline Slated for Oct. 24 -------------------------------------------------------- LLP Kazservice M has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Oct. 24 to submit written proofs of claim to: LLP Kazservice M Office 12 Gogol Str. 84a Almaty, Kazakhstan KAZTRADECOMMERCE: Proof of Claim Deadline Slated for Oct. 24 ------------------------------------------------------------ LLP Kaztradecommerce has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Oct. 24 to submit written proofs of claim to: LLP Kaztradecommerce Dostyk Ave. 48a Almaty, Kazakhstan SPETSSTROYMARKET: Claims Registration Ends Oct. 24 -------------------------------------------------- LLP Special Building Market Spetsstroymarket has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Oct. 24 to submit written proofs of claim to: LLP Spetsstroymarket Micro District Stepnoi-4, 11-11 Karaganda Karaganda Region Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (3212) 51-96-70 SULTAN: Creditors' Claims Due Oct. 24 ------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Akmola Region declared LLP Innovation Company Sultan insolvent on Aug. 7. Creditors have until Oct. 24 to submit written proofs of claim to: LLP Sultan Room 228 Auelbekov Str. 139a Kokshetau Akmola Region Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (3162) 25-79-32 =================== K Y R G Y Z S T A N =================== JYLISHNO KOMMUNALNAYA: Creditors' Claims Due Nov. 12 ---------------------------------------------------- OJSC Housing and Communal Services Jylishno-Kommunalnaya Kontora has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Nov. 12 to submit written proofs of claim. Inquiries can be addressed to (0-502) 57-93-88. SHAHTA KOK-JANGAK: Claims Registration Ends Nov. 12 --------------------------------------------------- State JSC Mine Shahta Kok-Jangak has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Nov. 12 to submit written proofs of claim to: JSC Shahta Kok-Jangak Krasnoarmeyskaya Str. 7 Kokjangak Djalal-Abad Region Kyrgyzstan Tel: (+996 3743) 2-15-24 ===================== N E T H E R L A N D S ===================== GETRONICS NV: Completes Sale of PinkRoccade to Randstad Holding --------------------------------------------------------------- Getronics N.V. reports that the sale of its Netherlands HR Services (PinkRoccade HR Services) to Randstad Holding has been successfully concluded following all due regulatory checks. About Getronics Headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Getronics N.V. -- http://www.getronics.com/-- designs, integrates and manages ICT infrastructures and business solutions for many of the world's largest global and local companies and organizations, helping them maximize the value of their information technology investments. Getronics has some 27,000 employees in over 30 countries and approximate revenues of EUR3 billion. The company has regional offices in Boston, Madrid and Singapore. Its shares are traded on Euronext Amsterdam. * * * As reported in Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific Getronics N.V.'s 'B' long-term corporate credit rating, along with the 'CCC+' senior unsecured debt, 'B' bank loan, and '3' recovery ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they had originally been placed on Jan. 19. The '3' recovery rating indicates Standard & Poor's expectation of meaningful (50%-80%) recovery of principal for secured lenders in the event of a payment default. As reported in TCR-AP, Moody's Investors Service downgraded Getronics' corporate family rating to B2 from B1 and placed the ratings on review for possible downgrade following the company's announcement of half year results showing a widening of net losses and fall in margins below the company's expectations. Concurrently the rating on the EUR100 million senior unsecured convertible Dutch bonds due 2008 has been downgraded to Caa1 from B3. GRESHAM CAPITAL: S&P Rates EUR13.65-Mln Class E Notes at BB- ------------------------------------------------------------ Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its preliminary credit ratings to the EUR264.75 million secured and deferrable floating-rate notes, including EUR75 million (equivalent) variable funding notes, to be issued by Gresham Capital CLO II B.V., a special-purpose entity. At the same time, Gresham II will issue EUR35.25 million of unrated secured income notes, which will provide subordination to the senior notes. At closing, Gresham II will issue EUR225 million of notes, the proceeds of which will be invested in a portfolio of predominantly senior secured leveraged loans. At the same time, the issuer will enter into a variable funding agreement, under which it may draw, at any time, up to EUR75 million (equivalent) in euros and sterling. All notes, which will equate to 75% of the liabilities, will be issued in euros. The collateral manager is Investec Bank (U.K.) Ltd., an international specialist banking and financial services group. Gresham II is the second CLO to be managed by Investec. Ratings List Gresham Capital CLO II B.V. EUR225 Million Secured And Deferrable Floating-Rate Notes And EUR75 Million (Equivalent) Variable Funding Notes Prelim. Prelim. Class rating amount (Mil. EUR) ----- ------ ------ VFNs (1) AAA 75.00 A AAA 121.50 B AA 22.80 C A 17.10 D BBB- 14.70 E BB- 13.65 F (2) NR 35.25 (1) Variable funding notes. (2) Secured income notes, which will provide subordination to the senior notes. NR-Not rated. KONINKLIJKE AHOLD: Johan Boeijenga to Head Central Europe Biz ------------------------------------------------------------- Koninklijke Ahold reports that Johan Boeijenga has been appointed President and CEO of Ahold Central Europe, effective immediately. Mr. Boeijenga is currently Executive Vice President Supply Chain and member of the Executive Board at Albert Heijn. Mr. Boeijenga will succeed Jacquot Boelen, who has resigned in order to pursue opportunities outside Ahold. Mr. Boelen will remain available for a period of time to allow for an effective transition. "Johan's extensive knowledge of the retail business makes him ideally suited to lead the team and maximize our opportunities in this region," Anders Moberg, Ahold President and CEO, said. "He will be bringing considerable talents and experience to his new role." Mr. Boeijenga joined Ahold in 1988 as a management trainee. Over the next 18 years, he gained experience in logistics and supply chain at Albert Heijn and also served as CEO of Ahold's former operations in Indonesia. Mr. Boeijenga took on his current role in 2003, leading Albert Heijn in building its state-of-the-art logistics capability and serving on the team that drove the successful repositioning of the company. Mr. Boelen joined Ahold Polska in January of 2001 as President and CEO and was appointed President and CEO of the Ahold Central Europe arena at its creation in 2003. "Over the past five years, I've learned that our team in Central Europe has a real passion for the business," Mr. Boelen commented on his time at the company. "I am confident that they will continue to do what is right for our company and, most of all, our customers." "I want to thank Jacquot for his many contributions to Ahold," said Mr. Moberg. "He was responsible for the significant task of integrating our operations in Central Europe into a single arena. Before that, Jacquot oversaw much progress by Ahold in the Polish market, including the rebranding of the company's supermarkets to Albert. We wish him all the best for the future." About Ahold Headquartered in Amsterdam, Koninklijke Ahold N.V. -- http://www.ahold.com/-- retails food through supermarkets, hypermarkets and discount stores in North and South America, Europe and Asia. The company's chain stores include Stop & Shop, Giant, TOPS, Albert Heijn and Bompreco. Ahold also supplies food to restaurants, hotels, healthcare institutions, government facilities, universities, stadiums, and caterers. * * * Moody's Investors Service and Standard and Poor's has assigned low-B ratings to the company's 5.625% senior notes due 2007. Also, the company's 5.875% senior unsubordinated notes due 2008 and 6.375% senior unsubordinated notes due 2007 carry Moody's, S&P's and Fitch's low-B ratings. LAURUS NV: Plans to Trim Down Overhead After Store Sales -------------------------------------------------------- Laurus N.V. intends to reduce the number of office functions in order to align the company after the sale of its Edah and Konmar supermarkets. Laurus also plans to close its distribution center in Waddinxveen. By executing these plans, Laurus will be reshaped into an effective and lean organization, with an overhead structure and a logistic infrastructure fit to the present and future size of the store network. The number of employees in the offices is anticipated to be reduced with approximately 265 FTEs to a level of approximately 270 FTEs within a few months. The intended closing of the distribution centre in Waddinxveen will lead to a further reduction of approximately 225 FTEs. Laurus will take residence in the existing office facility of Super de Boer in Amersfoort. The transfer of functions from the office in 's-Hertogenbosch is anticipated to be completed before the end of this year, after which this office will be closed. Laurus expects that, besides the cost savings resulting from the planned reorganisation, the trimming of the overhead structure will lead to a more effective and focused company. Consultation of the works council and trade unions on the plans has been started. During the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, scheduled before the end of October 2006, further information will be given on the Business Plan for Super de Boer. Headquartered in AD's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, Laurus N.V. -- http://www.laurus.nl/-- operates 700 supermarket & off- license stores, employs about 24,000 workers and holds a 14.3% market share in 2005. Laurus was formed on Oct. 30, 1998, through a merger of De Boer Unigro N.V. and Vendex Food Groep B.V. In January, the company disclosed its intention to sell its Edah and Konmar Superstores operations in order to focus on its Super de Boer format. Super de Boer counts 400 supermarkets, half of it is owned by Laurus and the other half is run by affiliated retailers. * * * Laurus told Ian Bickerton of the Financial Times in September that the company was renegotiating financing arrangements with its banks, after it warned creditors that the company would breach loan covenants and be loss-making this year. In 2004, Laurus suffered a net loss of EUR128 million, a sharp reversal compared with 2003, when the positive net result of EUR9 million marked an -- albeit modest -- return to profitability for the first time in several years. In fighting the price war, which broke out in October 2003 and continued unabated in 2004, Laurus implemented substantial price cuts within all three retail formats, which, combined with the reduced sales volume, had a major negative impact on the result. In 2005, the company posted a EUR66 million net loss against EUR273 million in gross profits. MILACRON INC.: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating -------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Automotive and Equipment sectors, the rating agency confirmed its Caa1 Corporate Family Rating for Milacron Inc., and its Caa1 rating on the company's 11.5% senior notes. Additionally, Moody's assigned an LGD 3 rating to those bonds, suggesting noteholders will experience a 44% loss in the event of a default. Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in our notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of our ratings as our research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Milacron Inc. (NYSE: MZ) -- http://www.milacron.com/-- is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of plastics-processing equipment and related supplies. Milacron is also one of the largest global manufacturers of synthetic water-based industrial fluids used in metalworking applications. The company has major manufacturing facilities in Brazil, North America, Europe, and Asia. In Europe, the company maintains operations in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and England. Milacron's annual revenues approximated US$805 million over the last twelve months. PYATEROCHKA HOLDING: Shareholders Meeting Slated for Oct. 16 ------------------------------------------------------------ Pyaterochka Holding N.V. (LSE: FIVE) is inviting its shareholders and holders of global depository receipts to its Extraordinary Annual General Meeting of Shareholders at 11:00 a.m. on Oct. 16 at: Rokin 55 1012 KK Amsterdam The Netherlands Agenda for the meeting include: -- opening and announcements; -- proposal to amend the articles of association; -- proposal to accept the resignation of Nigel Robinson as Supervisory Board member as per the date of this meeting and to grant him full discharge for having acted as Supervisory Board member of the Company; -- to appoint Herve Defforey (or alternatively Franz Wolf) and Vladimir Ashurkov (or alternatively Olga Manuylova) as Supervisory Board members of the Company with effect per the date of this meeting for a period of four years until 2010; -- Proposal to approve the remuneration scheme of the Supervisory Board; -- authorization of the Management Board, to have the Company acquire shares or depository receipts, for a consideration in its own capital, to the maximum number that may, by virtue of the provisions of section 2:98 (2) of the Netherlands Civil Code, be acquired by the Company; -- authorization of the Management Board, to allow the Company to sell or otherwise dispose, the Company's own issued and fully paid up share capital or depository receipts; and -- any other business and conclusion. The draft deed of amendment of the articles of association, submitted to approval of the EGM, will be deposited for inspection by the shareholders and other persons entitled to attend the meeting at the Company's offices in Amsterdam until and including the date of the EGM and is available free of charge. The shareholders' register of the Company in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has been designated as register to certify the shareholders entitled to vote on the shares. The shareholders identified as entitled to vote on the basis of the shareholders register of the Company on the date of the EGM may exercise their rights to vote and attend the EGM. These shareholders may also exercise their rights to vote and/or attend the EGM by a written proxy, in the English language, duly executed and legalized in accordance with the laws of the country where the proxy is issued. Proxy holders shall present their power of attorney at the EGM. The register of GDR holders maintained by the Depositary indicates the persons entitled to GDRs on the relevant record date and entitled to give voting instructions to the Depositary pursuant to Condition 12 of the GDRs. GDR Holders may instruct the Depositary with regard to the exercise of voting rights with respect to Deposited Shares by completing, signing and returning to the Depositary the relevant voting documentation forwarded by the Depositary to the GDR Holders following receipt by the Depositary from the Company. The deadline for providing instructions to the Depositary will be specified by the Depositary in the information provided to GDR Holders. The Depositary will procure the exercise of voting instructions received from GDR Holders by the relevant deadline in accordance with the GDR conditions and the normal processes of the Depositary. Alternatively, GDR Holders who wish to vote in person at the EGM will, on request, be granted an exclusive proxy to do so by The Bank of New York. A GDR Holder to whom such exclusive proxy has been granted must notify the Management Board of the Company of their intention to attend and vote at the EGM and must provide the Management Board with a copy of such proxy at least five (5) days prior to the EGM. GDR Holders who intend to vote in this manner must provide sufficient proof of identification on admission to the EGM. In addition, if the exclusive proxy has been granted by The Bank of New York to a GDR Holder which is a legal entity, the person who represents such legal entity at the EGM must provide sufficient proof that he is duly authorized to do so by means of a statement from a local lawyer or notary admitted to practice in the jurisdiction of the GDR Holder, duly executed and legalized in accordance with the laws of such jurisdiction. About Pyaterochka Holding Headquartered in the Netherlands, Pyaterochka Holding N.V. -- http://www.5chka.com/-- operates a large store network largely covering the Moscow region and St. Petersburg but also has a good presence in other Russian regions through its franchise operations. The company has recently acquired two of its successful regional franchise operations -- in Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk. Pyaterochka's 2004 net revenues were US$1.1 billion. The company has reported unaudited net revenues of US$1.4 billion for 2005. * * * As reported in TCR-Europe on Aug. 29, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the corporate family rating of Pyaterochka Holding N.V. to B1 from Ba3. Moody's said the outlook for the rating is stable. Standard & Poor's Services affirmed its 'BB-' long-term corporate credit rating on Pyaterochka Holding N.V., the owner of Russia's largest grocery retail network. At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'BB-' long-term corporate credit and 'ruAA-' Russia national scale on Pyaterochka's guaranteed operating subsidiary OOO Agrotorg. The 'ruAA-' Russia national scale on the senior unsecured and senior secured debt issued by related entity Pyaterochka Finance have also been affirmed. All were removed from CreditWatch with negative implications, where they had been placed on April 12, following Pyaterochka's announced acquisition of Russia's leading supermarket chain Perekrestok. S&P said the outlook is negative. VNU GROUP: Mulls Sale of Business Media Europe Group ---------------------------------------------------- VNU Group B.V. plans to explore strategic alternatives for its Business Media Europe group, including a possible sale of the business. BME is a business-to-business media company in Europe. Both in print and online, it has strong market positions with its core recruitment, B2B information technology, special interest computer, and business and finance portfolios. BME is one of the first traditional media companies to have made the transition to an integrated, cross-media enterprise, with online media currently generating 25% of its advertising revenue. VNU said BME includes many valuable media properties that have played an important role in the growth and success of the company. However, the company is considering alternatives for BME because the group's activities are not well aligned with VNU's Marketing Information and Media Measurement businesses. VNU's Business Information group in the U.S., which has greater synergies with the company's core marketing and media information activities, will not be part of a potential sale. Similarly, VNU's joint venture with Jaarbeurs -- VNU Exhibitions Europe B.V. -- with activities in the Netherlands and China, will not be part of the strategic review and potential divestiture. VNU believes that valuable synergies exist between this group and its U.S. trade show division. The two businesses are currently working together to accelerate growth in the U.S. and Europe, and to expand their fast-growing activities in China. BME is active in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Belgium within seven wholly owned operating companies. The group has more than 70 trade magazines and events and a range of associated web sites, including the leading IT B2B position online via BME's network of technology websites. BME is well known for such premier brands as Intermediair, Computing, Computable, Accountancy Age and Management Team; its B2B online brand VNUNet, and such leading recruitment sites as Intermediair.nl and NationaleVacaturebank.nl. Headquartered in Haarlem, Netherlands, VNU N.V. -- http://www.vnu.com/-- operates publishing businesses and offers marketing and media information. The Company publishes and distributes telephone directories, children's books and periodicals, and business information periodicals. VNU also offers television and Internet usage data and advertising expenditure analysis. * * * As reported in TCR-Europe on July 20, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the Corporate Family Rating of VNU NV to B2 from B1 and its senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa1 from B1. This concludes Moody's review of VNU's ratings, which was last continued on May 26. Rating downgraded to B2 from B1: -- Corporate Family Rating Ratings downgraded to Caa1 from B1: -- floating rate Euro MT Notes due 2012; -- 6.75% Euro MT Notes due 2012; -- 2.5% Yen MT Notes due 2011, the floating rate Euro MT Notes due 2010; -- 5.625% GBP MT Notes due 2010/17; -- 5.5% Eurobonds due 2008; -- 6.75% Eurobonds due 2008; -- 6.625% Eurobonds due 2007; -- Euro MTN program; and -- Nielsen Media Research Inc.'s 7.6% Notes due 2009 guaranteed by VNU. In a TCR-Europe report on July 19, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on Dutch media group VNU N.V. to 'B' from 'B+', and affirmed its 'B' short-term corporate credit rating. All ratings have been removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications on Oct. 12, 2005. S&P said the outlook is negative. =========== N O R W A Y =========== AKER KVAERNER: Nears NOK8 Billion Platform Deal with Statoil ------------------------------------------------------------ Statoil ASA and Aker Kvaerner ASA have signed a memorandum of understanding for the contract for the semi-submersible platform to be located at the Gjoa field offshore Norway. A final contract is expected to be signed ultimo October 2006, with an estimated contract value of approximately NOK8 billion. Preparation work will start immediately and the platform will be towed to the field in 2010. "We are extremely excited to have signed this memorandum of understanding for the design and construction of this new semi- submersible production platform", Simen Lieungh, Aker Kvaerner's executive vice president, said. "We have a very good working relationship with Statoil, with recent experience both from Snohvit and from the similar, but slightly smaller Kristin platform which we completed last year." The Gjoa production facilities topsides measure 110 meters long and 85 meters wide and weighs in just below the 20,000 tons mark. The hull weighs 14,200 tons. Aker Kvaerner is currently performing the front-end engineering design for the platform under a smaller contract that was signed in January 2006. The scope of work to be performed by Aker Kvaerner following contract signing in October will be detail design of topside and hull, procurement, construction and hook-up of topside, and mating of topside and hull. Statoil will place a separate fabrication contract for the hull and a separate engineering, procurement and construction contract for the living quarters. Detailed engineering will be headed from Aker Kvaerner's office in Oslo, and a significant part of the engineering hours will be carried out by Aker Kvaerner's engineering entity in Mumbai in India. In total, more than 500 Aker Kvaerner engineers will be mobilized to design the platform and the peak manning will reach 2000 persons. The platform will be constructed at Aker Kvaerner Stord AS, who also is Statoil ASA's contract partner. Several Aker Kvaerner companies will deliver to Gjoa. Lars Eide will be project director for Gjoa. He is currently president for Aker Kvaerner's offshore yard in Egersund, Norway. May Wenche Hammert is appointed as the new president for Aker Kvaerner Egersund. Gjoa was discovered in 1989. It is a combined oil and gas field located off the coast of the Norwegian city of Floro. Statoil (owner of 20%) is the operator in the field development phase, while Gaz de France (30%) will be the operator. The other partners are Petoro (30%), AS Norske Shell (12%), RWE Dea Norge AS (8%). The Camilla, Belinda and Fram B fields (known as CBB and operated by Hydro) will be connected to the Gjoa semi- submersible platform by a common flowline subsea tie-back solution. Gas will be sent to Scotland and oil will be exported to Mongstad in Norway. About Aker Kvaerner Headquartered in Lysaker, Norway, Aker Kvaerner ASA -- http://www.akerkvaerner.com/-- through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading global provider of engineering and construction services, technology products and integrated solutions. The Aker Kvaerner group is organized into two principal business streams, namely Oil & Gas and E&C, each consisting of a number of separate legal entities. * * * As reported in TCR-Europe on April 26, Moody's Investors Service upgraded the of Aker Kvaerner Oil & Gas Group and Aker Kvaerner AS, primarily to reflect the sustainable strong recovery in profitability and cash flow generation of the ring- fenced oil and gas group over the past two years, coupled with the clear reduction in senior debt, repaid from internally generated funds. Ratings affected: Aker Kvaerner Oil & Gas Group AS -- Corporate family rating: upgraded to Ba1 from Ba3 Aker Kvaerner AS -- Rating of the second priority lien notes due 2011: upgraded to Ba1 from Ba3. Moody's said the outlook on all is stable. ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating ---------------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the Wholesale Distribution (Excluding Healthcare) sector, the rating agency confirmed its Ba1 Corporate Family Rating for Anixter International Inc. Moody's also revised its probability-of-default ratings and assigned loss-given-default ratings on these loans facilities: Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- US$200 million 5.95% Unsecured Notes Ba1 Baa3 LGD2 28% US$155 million Subordinated LYON's notes Ba3 Ba2 LGD6 94% US$100 million Shelf P(Ba1) P(Baa3) LGD2 28% Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss that incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in Moody's notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of Moody's ratings as Moody's research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). In Europe, the company maintains operations in Ireland, Poland, Norway, Russia, and the United Kingdom, among others. FALCONBRIDGE LTD: Dominican Unit Names New General Manager ---------------------------------------------------------- Falconbridge Dominicana, a subsidiary of Falconbridge Ltd. in the Dominican Republic, has appointed Earnest Mast as the firm's new president and general manager, Dominican Today says. According to the report, Sergio Chavez, the former general manager, passed away in a car accident on March 25. Mr. Mast joined Falconbridge Dominicana in 1968 and has held various positions at the Noranda technological center and at the Canadian Copper Refinery in Altonorte, Chile, Dominican Today states. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Falconbridge Limited (TSX:FAL.LV)(NYSE: FAL) -- http://www.falconbridge.com/-- is a leading copper and nickel company with investments in fully integrated zinc and aluminum assets. Its primary focus is the identification and development of world-class copper and nickel orebodies. It employs 14,500 people at its operations and offices in 18 countries. The Company owns nickel mines in Canada and the Dominican Republic and operates a refinery and sulfuric acid plant in Norway. It is also a major producer of copper (38% of sales) through its Kidd mine in Canada and its stake in Chile's Collahuasi mine and Lomas Bayas mine. Its other products include cobalt, platinum group metals, and zinc. * * * Falconbridge's CDN$150 million 5% convertible and callable bonds due April 30, 2007, carry Standard & Poor's BB+ rating. =========== P O L A N D =========== BANK PEKAO: Fitch Amends Outlook to Positive on Expected Support ---------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings upgraded UniCredito Italiano's Individual rating to B from B/C and Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank's Individual rating to C from C/D. At the same time the agency has revised the Outlooks on both banks' Issuer Default ratings to Positive from Stable. Both IDRs are affirmed at A+ for UCI and A fro HVB. Their other ratings are affirmed at Short-term F1 and Support 1. In a related action linked to the agency's expectations of Support, Fitch has also revised the Outlooks on Bank Austria Creditanstalt's and Bank Pekao's IDRs to Positive from Stable and affirmed all other ratings of banks in the group. The rating action reflects the progress made by UCI's management in integrating HVB and BACA, acquired in October 2005, into the UCI model. "The early signs are that UCI has demonstrated its ability to tackle execution risk arising from the acquisition of a much larger entity. It has continued to reduce credit risk in HVB's German operations, and has reached some of its intermediary targets, notably capital, ahead of initial expectations," Matthew Taylor, Senior Director in Financial Institutions disclosed. The ratings reflect UCI's sound prospects for consolidating its leading position in the Italian banking market, as well as in the German, Austrian and Central and Eastern European markets. They also reflect the Italian bank's record of strong profitability, sound risk management and its success in integrating acquired banks. They take into account UCI's improving, albeit still indifferent, asset quality and vulnerability to an economic slowdown in Germany and Austria arising from exposure to HVB's German and Austrian business. In addition, the ratings include the execution risk in implementing a complex integration and the new group's modest but strengthening regulatory capital ratios. On acquiring HVB in October 2005, UCI became a market leader in Bavaria, Italy and Austria and the largest player in the faster growing but more volatile CEE countries. Most of its assets are in stable, wealthy economies. The Italian bank has been one of Europe's most consistently profitable banking groups to date. In H106 UCI's operating profit rose, thanks to loan growth and as favorable markets benefited trading and fee income. Earnings from capital markets are likely to become more client-driven, but may remain subject to some volatility. At 10% in H106, the trading earnings composed a larger proportion of operating revenues than in many peers. In H106, Fitch estimates that CEE banks contributed to around 16% of UCI's operating profit, a percentage, which is likely to rise. Fitch considers that UCI's plans for integration and boosting revenues are sound and likely to be implemented successfully. This plan should allow the bank to grow while keeping loan impairment charges stable at 61 bp of risk-weighted assets and achieve its target of 17% return on equity for 2008. Gross impaired loans are improving as a result of intensive work to recover value. However, at end-June 2006 they represented 7.25% of total loans, a worse level than in most major European banks. Impairment allowances are smaller than those seen in many peers but are deemed adequate. Former UCI's impaired loans declined in H106, but remain heavier than those at its international peers. Market risk is moderate while liquidity is good and increasingly will be managed centrally. Fitch considers UCI's goal of an equity Tier 1 ratio of 6.8% by end-2008 acceptable, up from a projected 6% at end-2006. In view of the execution and asset quality risks in the bank, Fitch considers current capitalization to be modest and takes a positive view of its improvement. "The upgrade of HVB's Individual rating reflects the bank's improved profitability and the expected benefits from its integration into UCI, including, but not limited to, the envisaged capital gain from selling BACA," Thomas von Luepke, Head of German Banking at Fitch disclosed. "While HVB will lose the risks and rewards stemming from BACA, the sizeable capital gain will considerably strengthen HVB's position." The revision of HVB's Outlook to Positive is driven by the revision of UCI's Outlook and Fitch's expectation that UCI will integrate HVB within its group over the next 18 months. Growth in HVB's operating profit in H106 was driven by all businesses, especially its corporates & markets division. In addition, reported H106 net income benefited from EUR807 million in disposal gains. HVB's focus on increasing its trading and fee income has started to bear fruit. Streamlining its business and reducing staff have helped to cut costs. By developing a sales-oriented culture, aligning efficiency to the best European standards and further improving risk management, UCI plans to take them to a level unprecedented in HVB. Weak domestic profitability and misjudged credit decisions have adversely affected HVB's performance. In 2005 its loan impairment charges totaled EUR1.5 billion. For 2006 the bank has budgeted still high LICs of EUR1.3 billionn per year. HVB's loan book remains sizeable. At end-June 2006 loans managed by the real estate restructuring unit were cut by 56% to EUR6.8billion. The remainder of the RER will be combined with some EUR20 billion performing, but non- strategic, assets and will be wound down. A change in loan mix away from large corporates and more stringent risk controls should benefit asset quality. UCI, Italy: -- Individual upgraded to B from B/C; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A+, F1 and 1 respectively. HVB, Germany: -- Individual upgraded to C from C/D; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1 and 1 respectively. BACA, Austria: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, B/C and 1 respectively. Bank Pekao, Poland: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, C and 1 respectively. The ratings of all other direct and indirect subsidiaries of UCI are affirmed or unchanged: Zagrebacka Banka, Bosnia Herzegovina: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BBB+, F2, C/D and 2 respectively. Outlook is Stable. UniCredit Romania, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2, D and 1 respectively. Outlook is Stable. Banca Comerciala HVB Tiriac, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2 and 1 respectively. The Individual rating is unchanged at D Evolving Rating Watch. The Outlook is Stable. International Moscow Bank, Russia: -- IDR BBB+ and Support 2 rating on Rating Watch Positive. Short-term and Individual ratings affirmed at F2 and C/D respectively. Kocbank, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B, D and 3. The Outlook is Positive. Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B and 3. The Individual rating is unchanged at D/E Positive Rating Watch. The Outlook is Positive. Bulbank, Bulgaria: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. Zivnostenska Banca, Czech Republic: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. BPH Bank, Poland: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. UniBanka, Slovakia: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. ============= R O M A N I A ============= UNICREDIT ROMANIA: Fitch Affirms D Individual Rating ---------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings upgraded UniCredito Italiano's Individual rating to B from B/C and Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank's Individual rating to C from C/D. At the same time the agency has revised the Outlooks on both banks' Issuer Default ratings to Positive from Stable. Both IDRs are affirmed at A+ for UCI and A fro HVB. Their other ratings are affirmed at Short-term F1 and Support 1. In a related action linked to the agency's expectations of Support, Fitch has also revised the Outlooks on Bank Austria Creditanstalt's and Bank Pekao's IDRs to Positive from Stable and affirmed all other ratings of banks in the group. The rating action reflects the progress made by UCI's management in integrating HVB and BACA, acquired in October 2005, into the UCI model. "The early signs are that UCI has demonstrated its ability to tackle execution risk arising from the acquisition of a much larger entity. It has continued to reduce credit risk in HVB's German operations, and has reached some of its intermediary targets, notably capital, ahead of initial expectations," Matthew Taylor, Senior Director in Financial Institutions disclosed. The ratings reflect UCI's sound prospects for consolidating its leading position in the Italian banking market, as well as in the German, Austrian and Central and Eastern European markets. They also reflect the Italian bank's record of strong profitability, sound risk management and its success in integrating acquired banks. They take into account UCI's improving, albeit still indifferent, asset quality and vulnerability to an economic slowdown in Germany and Austria arising from exposure to HVB's German and Austrian business. In addition, the ratings include the execution risk in implementing a complex integration and the new group's modest but strengthening regulatory capital ratios. On acquiring HVB in October 2005, UCI became a market leader in Bavaria, Italy and Austria and the largest player in the faster growing but more volatile CEE countries. Most of its assets are in stable, wealthy economies. The Italian bank has been one of Europe's most consistently profitable banking groups to date. In H106 UCI's operating profit rose, thanks to loan growth and as favorable markets benefited trading and fee income. Earnings from capital markets are likely to become more client-driven, but may remain subject to some volatility. At 10% in H106, the trading earnings composed a larger proportion of operating revenues than in many peers. In H106, Fitch estimates that CEE banks contributed to around 16% of UCI's operating profit, a percentage, which is likely to rise. Fitch considers that UCI's plans for integration and boosting revenues are sound and likely to be implemented successfully. This plan should allow the bank to grow while keeping loan impairment charges stable at 61 bp of risk-weighted assets and achieve its target of 17% return on equity for 2008. Gross impaired loans are improving as a result of intensive work to recover value. However, at end-June 2006 they represented 7.25% of total loans, a worse level than in most major European banks. Impairment allowances are smaller than those seen in many peers but are deemed adequate. Former UCI's impaired loans declined in H106, but remain heavier than those at its international peers. Market risk is moderate while liquidity is good and increasingly will be managed centrally. Fitch considers UCI's goal of an equity Tier 1 ratio of 6.8% by end-2008 acceptable, up from a projected 6% at end-2006. In view of the execution and asset quality risks in the bank, Fitch considers current capitalization to be modest and takes a positive view of its improvement. "The upgrade of HVB's Individual rating reflects the bank's improved profitability and the expected benefits from its integration into UCI, including, but not limited to, the envisaged capital gain from selling BACA," Thomas von Luepke, Head of German Banking at Fitch disclosed. "While HVB will lose the risks and rewards stemming from BACA, the sizeable capital gain will considerably strengthen HVB's position." The revision of HVB's Outlook to Positive is driven by the revision of UCI's Outlook and Fitch's expectation that UCI will integrate HVB within its group over the next 18 months. Growth in HVB's operating profit in H106 was driven by all businesses, especially its corporates & markets division. In addition, reported H106 net income benefited from EUR807 million in disposal gains. HVB's focus on increasing its trading and fee income has started to bear fruit. Streamlining its business and reducing staff have helped to cut costs. By developing a sales-oriented culture, aligning efficiency to the best European standards and further improving risk management, UCI plans to take them to a level unprecedented in HVB. Weak domestic profitability and misjudged credit decisions have adversely affected HVB's performance. In 2005 its loan impairment charges totaled EUR1.5 billion. For 2006 the bank has budgeted still high LICs of EUR1.3 billionn per year. HVB's loan book remains sizeable. At end-June 2006 loans managed by the real estate restructuring unit were cut by 56% to EUR6.8billion. The remainder of the RER will be combined with some EUR20 billion performing, but non- strategic, assets and will be wound down. A change in loan mix away from large corporates and more stringent risk controls should benefit asset quality. UCI, Italy: -- Individual upgraded to B from B/C; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A+, F1 and 1 respectively. HVB, Germany: -- Individual upgraded to C from C/D; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1 and 1 respectively. BACA, Austria: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, B/C and 1 respectively. Bank Pekao, Poland: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, C and 1 respectively. The ratings of all other direct and indirect subsidiaries of UCI are affirmed or unchanged: Zagrebacka Banka, Bosnia Herzegovina: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BBB+, F2, C/D and 2 respectively. Outlook is Stable. UniCredit Romania, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2, D and 1 respectively. Outlook is Stable. Banca Comerciala HVB Tiriac, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2 and 1 respectively. The Individual rating is unchanged at D Evolving Rating Watch. The Outlook is Stable. International Moscow Bank, Russia: -- IDR BBB+ and Support 2 rating on Rating Watch Positive. Short-term and Individual ratings affirmed at F2 and C/D respectively. Kocbank, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B, D and 3. The Outlook is Positive. Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B and 3. The Individual rating is unchanged at D/E Positive Rating Watch. The Outlook is Positive. Bulbank, Bulgaria: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. Zivnostenska Banca, Czech Republic: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. BPH Bank, Poland: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. UniBanka, Slovakia: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. =========== R U S S I A =========== ASTRAKHAN-POLYMER: Court Names P. Alekseev as Insolvency Manager ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Astrakhan Region appointed Mr. P. Alekseev as Insolvency Manager for OJSC Astrakhan-Polymer (TIN 3015002983). He can be reached at: P. Alekseev Office 400 7th Gvardeyskaya Str. 2a 400005 Volgograd Region Russia The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A06-233b/3-11k/2006. The Arbitration Court of Astrakhan Region is located at: Gubernatora A. Guzhvina Str. 6. Astrakhan Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Astrakhan-Polymer Kommunisticheskaya Str. 10/7 414000 Astrakhan Region Russia AVIASTAR ENGINEERING-STROY: P. Arkhipov to Manage Assets ---------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Ulyanovsk Region appointed Mr. P. Arkhipov as Insolvency Manager for LLC Aviastar Engineering- Story. He can be reached at: P. Arkhipov Post User Box 15616 443016 Samara Region Russia The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A72-1486/06-21-I6-V. The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Aviastar - Engineering-Story Building 801 Antonova Pr. 1 432072 Ulyanovsk Region Russia BULATNIKOVO: Court Names S. Skachkov as Insolvency Manager ---------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Tver Region appointed Mr. S. Skachkov as Insolvency Manager for CJSC Bulatnikovo (TIN 6943005110, KPP 694301001). He can be reached at: S. Skachkov Post User Box 425 170000 Tver Region Russia The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A66-1076/2006. The Arbitration Court of Tver Region is located at: Room 7 Sovetskaya Str. 23b Tver Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: CJSC Bulatnikovo Bulatnikovo Torzhokskiy Region 172060 Tver Region Russia DAVLEKANOVSKAYA FOUNDRY: Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision ------------------------------------------------------------ The Arbitration Court of Bashkortostan Republic commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC Davlekanovskaya Foundry Mechanical Workshop (TIN 0259007123). The case is docketed under Case No. 07-16824/06-G-PAV. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: E. Ivanov Apartment 9 Prospekt Oktyabrya Str. 89/03 Ufa 450057 Bashkortostan Republic Russia The Arbitration Court of Bashkortostan Republic is located at: Oktyabrskoy Revolyutsii Str. 63A Ufa Bashkortostan Republic Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Davlekanovskaya Foundry Mechanical Workshop Chernoyarskaya Str. 9 Davlekanovo 453400 Bashkortostan Republic Russia ELANSKIY: Court Names A. Kravtsev as Insolvency Manager ------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Saratov Region appointed Mr. A. Kravtsev as Insolvency Manager for OJSC Breeding Factory Elanskiy (TIN/KPP 6431003737/643101001). He can be reached at: A. Kravtsev Zelenyj Per. 10 Samoylovka 412370 Saratov Region Russia The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A57-751B/05-31. The Arbitration Court of Saratov Region is located at: Babushkin Vvoz 1 Saratov Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Breeding Factory Elanskiy Svyatovslavka Samoylovskiy Region 412390 Saratov Region Russia EUROPEAN TRUST: S&P Affirms Junk Counterparty Credit Ratings ------------------------------------------------------------ Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Russia-based European Trust Bank to positive from stable. At the same time, Standard & Poor's raised its Russia national scale rating on the bank to 'ruB+' from 'ruB', and affirmed its 'CCC/C' counterparty credit ratings. "The outlook revision reflects the bank's improving customer franchise and competitive position," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Elena Romanova. "The bank's new development strategy, which emphasizes regional expansion, business diversification, and development of its retail business, is also positive for the ratings." The ratings on ETB remain constrained, however, by: -- its high concentrations on both sides of the balance sheet, -- high exposure to the real estate sector, low core profitability, and -- weak, although improving, funding profile. The positive outlook reflects Standard & Poor's expectation that ETB will continue to build up its customer franchise and implement business expansion in accordance with its development strategy, while maintaining capital at an adequate level. Standard & Poor's also expects that these developments would reduce the bank's related-party exposure and direct exposure to the real estate sector. "We would consider raising the ratings on the bank if it improves the quality and diversification of its funding, reduces its loan concentration, and demonstrates sustainable profits from a wider customer base," said Ms. Romanova. A negative rating action would follow if the bank's profitability or capitalization were to deteriorate significantly. FACTORY CLOTHES: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for November 8 --------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Bashkortostan Republic will convene at 10:00 a.m. on Nov. 8 to hear the bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC Factory Clothes (TIN 0268013677). The case is docketed under Case No. A07-9781/06-G-MOG. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: S. Ivanov Room 60 Sovetskaya Str. 104 Sterlitamak 453124 Bashkortostan Republic Russia The Arbitration Court of Bashkortostan Republic is located at: Oktyabrskoy Revolyutsii Str. 63a Ufa Bashkortostan Republic Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Factory Clothes Khudayberdina Str. 120 Sterlitamak 453116 Bashkortostan Republic Russia INSTRUMENT-REGION: Court Names A. Sorokin as Insolvency Manager --------------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Moscow appointed Mr. A. Sorokin as Insolvency Manager for CJSC Instrument-Region (TIN 7723107728). The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A40-28800/06-103-444B. The Arbitration Court of Moscow is located at: Novaya Basmannaya Str. 10 Moscow Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: CJSC Instrument-Region Verkhniye Polya 41 109382 Moscow Region Russia INVESTMENT CLUB: Court Names Sh. Fazailov as Insolvency Manager --------------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Moscow appointed for Mr. Sh. Fazailov as Insolvency Manager CJSC Investment Club (TIN 7710264650). The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A40-27658/06-38-431B. The Arbitration Court of Moscow is located at: Novaya Basmannaya Str. 10 Moscow Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: CJSC Investment Club Tverskaya Zastava Square 3 125047 Moscow Region Russia KONOSKSKIY WOOD: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for December 5 --------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Arkhangelsk Region will convene at 3:00 p.m. on Dec. 5 to hear the bankruptcy supervision procedure on LLC Konoskskiy Wood Processing Combine. The case is docketed under Case No. A15-8080/2006-6. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: A. Garkusha Petina Str. 8-35 160002 Vologda Region Russia The Arbitration Court of Arkhangelsk Region is located at: Loginova Str. 17 163069 Arkhangelsk Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Konoskskiy Wood Processing Combine Kollektivizitsi Str. 38 Konosha 164010 Arkhangelsk Region Russia KRASNAYA ZARYA: Orel Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision -------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Orel Region has commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC Krasnaya Zarya. The case is docketed under Case No. A48-2711/06-17B. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: E. Galstyan Sovkhoznaya Str. 18A Lipetsk Region Russia The Arbitration Court of Orel Region is located at: Gorkogo Str. 42 302000 Orel Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Krasnaya Zarya Gagarina Str. 30 Krasnaya Zarya Orel Region Russia KURMANAEVKA-AGRO-PROM-KHIMIYA: D. Taushev to Manage Assets ---------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Orenburg Region appointed Mr. D. Taushev as Insolvency Manager for OJSC Kurmanaevka-Agro-Prom- Khimiya (TIN 5622001522). He can be reached at: D. Taushev Gaya Str. 23A 460000 Orenburg Region Russia Tel/Fax: (3532) 78-38-36 The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A47-15797/05-14 GK. The Arbitration Court of Orenburg Region is located at: 9th January Str. 64 460046 Orenburg Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Kurmanaevka-Agro-Prom-Khimiya Kurmanaevka Orenburg Region Russia LIVENSKOYE REPAIR: Orel Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision ----------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Orel Region has commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC Livenskoye Repair Technical Enterprise. The case is docketed under Case No. A48-3085/ 06-16B. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: V. Stavtsev Gorkogo Str. 45 302040 Orel Region Russia The Arbitration Court of Orel Region is located at: Gorkogo Str. 42 302000 Orel Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Livenskoye Repair Technical Enterprise Nagornyj Livny 303800 Orel Region Russia MARYANOVSKIY COMBINE: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for Dec. 19 ----------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Omsk Region will convene on Dec. 19 to hear the bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC Maryanovskiy Combine (TIN 5520001472). The case is docketed under Case No. A46-10274/2006. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: A. Shipitsyn Post User Box 5222 644043 Omsk Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Maryanovskiy Combine Yuzhnaya Str. 1 Maryanovka 644040 Omsk Region Russia METROMEDIA INT'L: Shareholders Meeting Slated for Dec. 15 --------------------------------------------------------- Pursuant to the Stipulation and Order approved by the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware on Sept. 26, 2006, the stockholders meeting will be held on Dec. 15, 2006, in New York City, New York, with a record date of Nov. 1, 2006. In addition, all of the directorships of the Company will be subject to election at the stockholders meeting and all of the shares of Company common stock represented in person or by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote thereat shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of the meeting, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Company's certificate of incorporation or bylaws to the contrary. The Stipulation dismissed the action filed in the Court by Esopus Creek Value LP, a shareholder of the Company, pursuant to Section 211 of the Delaware General Corporation Law requesting that the Company hold an annual meeting of its stockholders. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Metromedia International Group (PINK SHEETS: MTRM-Common Stock and MTRMP-Preferred Stock) -- http://www.metromedia-group.com/-- through its subsidiary, Metromedia International Telecommunications, owns interests in telecom and cable TV operations in Russia, Georgia, and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. The Company's core businesses includes Magticom, Ltd., the leading mobile telephony operator in Tbilisi, Georgia, and Telecom Georgia, a well-positioned Georgian long distance telephony operator. * * * Moody's Investors Service has placed Metromedia's subordinated debt rating at B3 and junior subordinated debt rating at B2. NATIONAL TRUST: Court Names P. Tarasov as Insolvency Manager ------------------------------------------------------------ The Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region appointed Mr. P. Tarasov as Insolvency Manager for CJSC National Trust Company. He can be reached at: P. Tarasov Post User Box 19 OPS-100 170100 Tver Region Russia The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A56-24840/2006. The Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region is located at: Hall 113 Suvorovskiy Pr. 50/52 St. Petersburg Russia The Debtor can be reached at: CJSC National Trust Company Plekhanova Str. 46 St. Petersburg Region Russia NOVOKUZNETSK-GOR-GAS: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for Dec. 21 ----------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Kemerovo Region will convene at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 21 to hear the bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC Novokuznetsk-Gor-Gas. The case is docketed under Case No. A27-11402/2006-4. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: E. Pokosov Post User Box 121 Novokuznetsk 654005 Kemerovo Region Russia The Arbitration Court of Kemerovo Region is located at: Krasnaya Str. 8 Kemerovo Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Novokuznetsk-Gor-Gas Ordzhonikidze Str. 13 Novokuznetsk 654005 Kemerovo Region Russia OBOYAN-BREAD: Court Names N. Krasilnikov as Insolvency Manager -------------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Kursk Region appointed Mr. N. Krasilnikov as Insolvency Manager for OJSC Oboyan-Bread. He can be reached at: N. Krasilnikov Kurskaya Str. 138 Oboyan Oboyanskiy Region 306230 Kursk Region Russia The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A35-14421/05 g. The Arbitration Court of Kursk Region is located at: K. Marksa Str. 25 305004 Kursk Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Oboyan-Bread Kurskaya Str. 138 Oboyan Oboyanskiy Region 306230 Kursk Region Russia PYATEROCHKA HOLDING: Shareholders Meeting Slated for October 16 --------------------------------------------------------------- Pyaterochka Holding N.V. (LSE: FIVE) is inviting its shareholders and holders of global depository receipts to its Extraordinary Annual General Meeting of Shareholders at 11:00 a.m. on Oct. 16 at: Rokin 55 1012 KK Amsterdam The Netherlands Agenda for the meeting include: -- opening and announcements; -- proposal to amend the articles of association; -- proposal to accept the resignation of Nigel Robinson as Supervisory Board member as per the date of this meeting and to grant him full discharge for having acted as Supervisory Board member of the Company; -- to appoint Herve Defforey (or alternatively Franz Wolf) and Vladimir Ashurkov (or alternatively Olga Manuylova) as Supervisory Board members of the Company with effect per the date of this meeting for a period of four years until 2010; -- Proposal to approve the remuneration scheme of the Supervisory Board; -- authorization of the Management Board, to have the Company acquire shares or depository receipts, for a consideration in its own capital, to the maximum number that may, by virtue of the provisions of section 2:98 (2) of the Netherlands Civil Code, be acquired by the Company; -- authorization of the Management Board, to allow the Company to sell or otherwise dispose, the Company's own issued and fully paid up share capital or depository receipts; and -- any other business and conclusion. The draft deed of amendment of the articles of association, submitted to approval of the EGM, will be deposited for inspection by the shareholders and other persons entitled to attend the meeting at the Company's offices in Amsterdam until and including the date of the EGM and is available free of charge. The shareholders' register of the Company in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has been designated as register to certify the shareholders entitled to vote on the shares. The shareholders identified as entitled to vote on the basis of the shareholders register of the Company on the date of the EGM may exercise their rights to vote and attend the EGM. These shareholders may also exercise their rights to vote and/or attend the EGM by a written proxy, in the English language, duly executed and legalized in accordance with the laws of the country where the proxy is issued. Proxy holders shall present their power of attorney at the EGM. The register of GDR holders maintained by the Depositary indicates the persons entitled to GDRs on the relevant record date and entitled to give voting instructions to the Depositary pursuant to Condition 12 of the GDRs. GDR Holders may instruct the Depositary with regard to the exercise of voting rights with respect to Deposited Shares by completing, signing and returning to the Depositary the relevant voting documentation forwarded by the Depositary to the GDR Holders following receipt by the Depositary from the Company. The deadline for providing instructions to the Depositary will be specified by the Depositary in the information provided to GDR Holders. The Depositary will procure the exercise of voting instructions received from GDR Holders by the relevant deadline in accordance with the GDR conditions and the normal processes of the Depositary. Alternatively, GDR Holders who wish to vote in person at the EGM will, on request, be granted an exclusive proxy to do so by The Bank of New York. A GDR Holder to whom such exclusive proxy has been granted must notify the Management Board of the Company of their intention to attend and vote at the EGM and must provide the Management Board with a copy of such proxy at least five (5) days prior to the EGM. GDR Holders who intend to vote in this manner must provide sufficient proof of identification on admission to the EGM. In addition, if the exclusive proxy has been granted by The Bank of New York to a GDR Holder which is a legal entity, the person who represents such legal entity at the EGM must provide sufficient proof that he is duly authorized to do so by means of a statement from a local lawyer or notary admitted to practice in the jurisdiction of the GDR Holder, duly executed and legalized in accordance with the laws of such jurisdiction. About Pyaterochka Holding Headquartered in the Netherlands, Pyaterochka Holding N.V. -- http://www.5chka.com/-- operates a large store network largely covering the Moscow region and St. Petersburg but also has a good presence in other Russian regions through its franchise operations. The company has recently acquired two of its successful regional franchise operations -- in Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk. Pyaterochka's 2004 net revenues were US$1.1 billion. The company has reported unaudited net revenues of US$1.4 billion for 2005. * * * As reported in TCR-Europe on Aug. 29, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the corporate family rating of Pyaterochka Holding N.V. to B1 from Ba3. Moody's said the outlook for the rating is stable. Standard & Poor's Services affirmed its 'BB-' long-term corporate credit rating on Pyaterochka Holding N.V., the owner of Russia's largest grocery retail network. At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'BB-' long-term corporate credit and 'ruAA-' Russia national scale on Pyaterochka's guaranteed operating subsidiary OOO Agrotorg. The 'ruAA-' Russia national scale on the senior unsecured and senior secured debt issued by related entity Pyaterochka Finance have also been affirmed. All were removed from CreditWatch with negative implications, where they had been placed on April 12, following Pyaterochka's announced acquisition of Russia's leading supermarket chain Perekrestok. S&P said the outlook is negative. ROS-INFORM-INSURANCE: Creditors Must File Claims by November 2 -------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Insurance Company Ros-Inform-Insurance (TIN 7709117072) have until Nov. 2 to submit written proofs of claim to: M. Vasilega, Insolvency Manager Post User Box 100 105318 Moscow Region Russia The Arbitration Court of Moscow commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A40-38627/06-74-729 B. The Arbitration Court of Moscow is located at: Novaya Basmannaya Str. 10 Moscow Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Insurance Company Ros-Inform-Insurance Vorontsovskaya Str. 23 Moscow Region Russia ROSBANK: SocGen Equity Purchase Cues Moody's Positive Outlook ------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service changed the outlook on Rosbank's D- financial strength rating, Ba3 long-term foreign currency deposit rating and Ba3 senior unsecured debt rating to positive from stable. Moody's Interfax Rating Agency also affirmed the bank's Aa3.ru national scale rating. The change in outlook has been prompted by the recent announcement that the Societe Generale - one of the largest financial services groups in the Eurozone -- has acquired an additional 10% stake in Rosbank for a total consideration of US$317 million, thereby increasing its holding to 20% less 1 share and signed a call option with Interros (Rosbank's majority shareholder) on 30% plus 2 shares of Rosbank, which will enable it to take control of the bank by the end of 2008 subject to the approval of the transaction by the Central Bank of Russia and other relevant authorities in Russia. The strike price for the further 30% plus 2 shares establishes the valuation of this stake at US$1.7 billion. Between 2006 and the expiration of the call option, Societe Generale will be represented by two members (out of a total of nine) on Rosbank's Board of Directors with a right of veto over the bank's key corporate decisions and will also be providing technical assistance to Rosbank on its risk and financial policies. According to Moody's, the positive outlook on Rosbank's ratings is underpinned by an expectation that Societe Generale 's involvement in the bank's key corporate decisions as well as its assistance in risk management, asset-liability management and IT fields through representation on the bank's major committees will have a beneficial impact on Rosbank's future development prospects -- particularly in the retail and SME segments, which are the cornerstones of the bank's new strategy and also fall within Societe Generale's solid expertise in both European and Russian markets. Moody's believes that this -- coupled with Rosbank's growing franchise in the retail and SME sectors, its already strong positions in corporate banking, its good customer reach through its vast distribution network in Russia and supported by the bank's access to Societe Generale's off-the-shelf products and partnerships with Societe Generale's existing Russia-based subsidiaries -- might boost Rosbank's franchise thus exerting a positive pressure on its FSR. At the same time Moody's noted that any upward movement in Rosbank's ratings would be dependent on the bank achieving stronger market positions and asset quality as well as a track record of solid financial performance and a further reduction in single-name concentrations on both sides of the balance sheet, including those with related parties. Moody's added that the outlook on the bank's deposit and debt ratings has been changed in tandem with the outlook change on the FSR. Moody's also noted that, although support from Rosbank's new financially stronger strategic shareholder cannot be completely ruled out, the bank's deposit and debt ratings only factor such expected support to a limited extent given that the expiration date on the call option is somewhat remote and there can be no certainty that the second part of the transaction will not be unwound (at the will of either Rosbank or Societe Generale). However, as the likely support from Societe Generale becomes more apparent and predictable, the deposit ratings of Rosbank may move upward. Rosbank is headquartered in Moscow, Russian Federation, and as of Dec. 31, 2005 reported total IFRS consolidated assets of US$7.4 billion and net IFRS income of US$107.2 million. RUSSIAN FIRES: Court Names A. Lantsov as Insolvency Manager ----------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Moscow appointed Mr. A. Lantsov as Insolvency Manager for CJSC Company Russian Fires. He can be reached at: A. Lantsov Post User Box 58 121614 Moscow Region Russia The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A40-27081/06-78-417 B. The Arbitration Court of Moscow is located at: Novaya Basmannaya Str. 10 Moscow Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: CJSC Company Russian Fires Filevskiy Avenue 21 121601 Moscow Region Russia SHERBAKULSKIY: Court Names A. Lyasman as Insolvency Manager ----------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Omsk Region appointed Ms. A. Lyasman as Insolvency Manager for OJS Good Combine Sherbakulskiy. She can be reached at: A. Lyasman Kuybysheva Str. 81-103 644010 Omsk-10 Russia The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A46-10462/2006. The Debtor can be reached at: OJS Good Combine Sherbakulskiy Syezda VLKSM Str. 7 Sherbakul 20 Sherbakulskiy Region 646700 Omsk Region Russia SHILING: Omsk Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure ----------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Omsk Region has commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on CJSC Shiling. The case is docketed under Case No. A46-9201/2006. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: M. Kuznetsov Post User Box 9303 Post Office 24 Omsk Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: CJSC Shiling K. Tsetkin Str. 34 Sosnovka ANNR 646885 Omsk Region Russia SOUTHERN TELECOMS: Earns RUR333 Million for First Half 2006 ----------------------------------------------------------- Southern Telecommunications Company reported its unaudited consolidated financial results for the first half of 2006 in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. No audit, examination or any other relevant activities will be performed in respect of the financial statements. At the same time the Company believes that taking into account UTK's experience in IFRS reporting users can rely on these financial statements. The Company's IFRS revenue for the first half of 2006 amounted to RUR8.551 billion. The main revenue components were earnings from local voice (representing a 43.19%-increase to RUR3.693 billion), revenues from national telecom operators (representing a 21.27%-increase to RUR1.819 billion) and earnings from intra- zonal calls (representing a 11.4%-increase to RUR974 million). Revenues from new telecom services grew by 13.6% to RUR709 million. First half 2006 operating expenses amounted to RUR7.395 billion. Expenses on wages, salaries and other employee benefits and payroll taxes, depreciation charges, payments to other telecom operators for traffic transit services as well as other operating expenses accounted for major part of operating expenses. First half 2006 net income in accordance with IFRS amounted to RUR333 million. Last year the Company reported the net loss of RUR387 million in its statutory financial statements for the first half of 2005. Interest expenses amounted to RUR924 million in the reporting period versus RUR1.516 billion during the first six months of 2005. 1H 2006 EBITDA increased 20.91% year on year to RUR2.966 billion representing an EBITDA margin of 34.68 % (vs. 27.32% for the first six months of 2005). About the Company Headquartered in Krasnador, Russia, Southern Telecommunications Co. -- http://www.stcompany.ru/-- provides local, long- distance, and cellular telephone, paging and telegraph services. * * * Southern Telecommunications carries Moody's Investors' Service's Caa1 issuer rating and B3 long-term corporate family rating since 2004. Standard & Poor's also assigned junk ratings to the Company's issuer credit in 2005. SVETLINSKIY DIARY: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for November 14 ------------------------------------------------------------ The Arbitration Court of Orenburg Region will convene at 10:00 a.m. on Nov. 14 to hear the bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC Svetlinskiy Diary. The case is docketed under Case No. A47-2325/2006-14GK. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: K. Kibataev Proletarskaya Str. 216 460025 Orenburg Region Russia The Arbitration Court of Orenburg Region is located at: 9th January Str. 64 460046 Orenburg Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Svetlinskiy Diary Svetlyj Svetlinskiy Region 462740 Orenburg Region Russia SVETOCH: Ivanovo Court Names A. Provorov as Insolvency Manager -------------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Ivanovo Region appointed Mr. A. Provorov as Insolvency Manager for Federal State Unitary Enterprise Breeding Factory Svetoch (OGRN 1023701759513). He can be reached at: A. Provorov Post User Box 1866 153000 Ivanovo Region Russia Tel: 8-903-879-02-20 The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A17-1342/06-1-B. The Arbitration Court of Ivanovo Region is located at: B. Khmelnitskogo Str. 59B Ivanovo Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: Breeding Factory Svetoch Vichugskiy Proezd 19 Rodniki 155250 Ivanovo Region Russia TAGANKA CAR: S&P Rates US$54.8-Mln Asset-Backed Notes at BB ----------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its preliminary credit ratings to the US$430.025 million floating-rate asset- backed notes to be issued by Taganka Car Loan Finance PLC, a special purpose entity. The collateral consists of a static pool of Russian ruble- and U.S. dollar-denominated auto loans granted by MDM Bank to Russian individuals, which will be sold to the issuer at closing. The issuer will enter into a liquidity facility agreement and a balance-guaranteed currency and a basis hedge agreement, both of which will be available up to the scheduled maturity date. This is the first publicly placed auto loan securitization in Russia to be rated by Standard and Poor's, and the first auto loan ABS originated by MDM. Securitization is a novel practice in Russia and securitization concepts have yet to be tested in the courts. Ratings List Taganka Car Loan Finance PLC US$430.025 Million Asset-Backed Floating-Rate Notes Prelim. Prelim. Class rating amount (Mil. US$) ----- ------ ------ A A- 270.900 B BBB 77.400 C BB 54.825 Sub-loan NR 26.900 NR-Not rated. TEMRYUK: Krasnodar Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Krasnodar Region commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC Krasnodarskiy Centre of Transport Logistics Temryuk. The case is docketed under Case No. A-32-14989/2006-2/782-B. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: B. Fridman 5th floor Lva Kassilya Str. 14 Engels 413100 Saratov Region Russia The Arbitration Court of Krasnodar Region is located at: Krasnaya Str. 6 Krasnodar Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Krasnodarskiy Centre of Transport Logistics Terletskogo Square 7 Temryuk 353504 Krasnodar Region Russia TSELINA-2000: Court Names Sh. Fazailov as Insolvency Manager ------------------------------------------------------------ The Arbitration Court of Moscow appointed Mr. Sh. Fazailov as Insolvency Manager for CJSC Grain Company Tselina-2000 (TIN 7720250455). The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A40-26688/06-124-465B. The Arbitration Court of Moscow is located at: Novaya Basmannaya Str. 10 Moscow Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: CJSC Grain Company Tselina-2000 Ketcherskaya Str. 13 111402 Moscow Region Russia VLAD-STROY: Court Names V. Torgashev as Insolvency Manager ---------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Vladimir Region appointed Mr. V. Torgashev as Insolvency Manager for OJSC Vlad-Story. He can be reached at: V. Torgashev Pobedy Avenue 17B Dzerzhinsk 606025 Nizhniy Novgorod Region Russia The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A31-2694/2006-K1-73B. The Arbitration Court of Vladimir Region is located at: Oktyabrskiy Pr. 14 600025 Vladimir Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Vlad-Story Dobrynskoye Suzdalskiy Region Vladimir Region Russia VOLGA: Creditors Must File Claims by November 2 ----------------------------------------------- Creditors of CJSC Investment Company Volga (TIN 7730055527) have until Nov. 2 to submit written proofs of claim to: M. Vasilega, Insolvency Manager Post User Box 100 105318 Moscow Region Russia The Arbitration Court of Moscow commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A40-31043/06-71-566B. The Arbitration Court of Moscow is located at: Novaya Basmannaya Str. 10 Moscow Region Russia The Debtor can be reached at: CJSC Investment Company Volga Vas.Kozhinoy Str. 6 Apartment 2 Moscow Region Russia VOLGA-94: Claims Filing Deadline Ends Nov. 2 -------------------------------------------- Creditors of OJSC Volga-94 (TIN 3441008930) have until Nov. 2 to submit written proofs of claim to: P. Alekseev, Insolvency Manager Office 400 7th Gvardeyskaya Str. 2a 400005 Volgograd Region Russia The Arbitration Court of Volgograd Region commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A12-9106/06-S58. The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Volga-94 7th Gvardeyskaya Str. 37A 400005 Volgograd Region Russia ZYRYANSKIYE MILLS: Court Names A. Biryukov as Insolvency Manager ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Tomsk Region appointed Mr. A. Biryukov as Insolvency Manager for OJSC Zyryanskiye Mills. He can be reached at: A. Biryukov Post User Box 2004 Central Post Office 650000 Kemerovo Region Russia The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A67-4667/06. The Debtor can be reached at: A. Biryukov Post User Box 2004 Central Post Office 650000 Kemerovo Region Russia ============================= S L O V A K R E P U B L I C ============================= KONINKLIJKE AHOLD: Johan Boeijenga to Head Central Europe Biz ------------------------------------------------------------- Koninklijke Ahold reports that Johan Boeijenga has been appointed President and CEO of Ahold Central Europe, effective immediately. Mr. Boeijenga is currently Executive Vice President Supply Chain and member of the Executive Board at Albert Heijn. Mr. Boeijenga will succeed Jacquot Boelen, who has resigned in order to pursue opportunities outside Ahold. Mr. Boelen will remain available for a period of time to allow for an effective transition. "Johan's extensive knowledge of the retail business makes him ideally suited to lead the team and maximize our opportunities in this region," Anders Moberg, Ahold President and CEO, said. "He will be bringing considerable talents and experience to his new role." Mr. Boeijenga joined Ahold in 1988 as a management trainee. Over the next 18 years, he gained experience in logistics and supply chain at Albert Heijn and also served as CEO of Ahold's former operations in Indonesia. Mr. Boeijenga took on his current role in 2003, leading Albert Heijn in building its state-of-the-art logistics capability and serving on the team that drove the successful repositioning of the company. Mr. Boelen joined Ahold Polska in January of 2001 as President and CEO and was appointed President and CEO of the Ahold Central Europe arena at its creation in 2003. "Over the past five years, I've learned that our team in Central Europe has a real passion for the business," Mr. Boelen commented on his time at the company. "I am confident that they will continue to do what is right for our company and, most of all, our customers." "I want to thank Jacquot for his many contributions to Ahold," said Mr. Moberg. "He was responsible for the significant task of integrating our operations in Central Europe into a single arena. Before that, Jacquot oversaw much progress by Ahold in the Polish market, including the rebranding of the company's supermarkets to Albert. We wish him all the best for the future." About Ahold Headquartered in Amsterdam, Koninklijke Ahold N.V. -- http://www.ahold.com/-- retails food through supermarkets, hypermarkets and discount stores in North and South America, Europe and Asia. The company's chain stores include Stop & Shop, Giant, TOPS, Albert Heijn and Bompreco. Ahold also supplies food to restaurants, hotels, healthcare institutions, government facilities, universities, stadiums, and caterers. * * * Moody's Investors Service and Standard and Poor's has assigned low-B ratings to the company's 5.625% senior notes due 2007. Also, the company's 5.875% senior unsubordinated notes due 2008 and 6.375% senior unsubordinated notes due 2007 carry Moody's, S&P's and Fitch's low-B ratings. ========= S P A I N ========= AFFILIATED COMPUTER: 10-K Filing Delay Cues S&P to Lower Rating --------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its corporate credit rating and senior secured ratings on Dallas, Texas-based Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. to 'B+' from 'BB'. The ratings remain on CreditWatch with negative implications where they were placed on Jan. 27. "The ratings downgrade and CreditWatch follows the company's announcement that it is not in a position to file its annual report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2006, by Sept. 28, 2006, which was the additional time period permitted under the SEC rules for an issuer to be deemed to have filed in a timely manner," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Philip Schrank. The company said that it would not be in a position to determine the timing for the filing of its Form 10-K until its internal investigation is complete and the company's independent auditors have had the opportunity to review the investigation's findings. The company has received an amendment, consent, and waiver from the lenders under its March 2006 credit facility with respect to, among other provisions, certain of the covenants of the company under the credit facility, including the requirement that the company deliver audited financial statements within 90 days of the end of its fiscal year. Approximately US$2 billion in borrowings are outstanding under the credit facility and the amendment, consent, and waiver requires that audited financial statements be obtained by Dec. 31, 2006. Additionally, the company has filed a lawsuit after receiving a letter from persons claiming to hold certain of its senior notes advising the company that it was purportedly in default of its covenants under a June 6, 2005, bond offering. Standard & Poor's will monitor the progress being made with regard to the filing of audited financial statements and reassess the rating as the Dec. 31 deadline approaches. The rating agency will also monitor the company's available sources of liquidity, as well as negotiations with lenders and other triggering events that might cause a payment acceleration of ACS' debentures. COOPER STANDARD: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings ----------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Automotive and Equipment sectors, the rating agency confirmed its B2 Corporate Family Rating for Cooper Standard Automotive Inc. Additionally, Moody's revised or held its probability-of-default ratings and assigned loss- given-default ratings on these loans and bond debt obligations: Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- senior secured revolving credit facility B2 Ba3 LGD 2 24% senior secured term loan C B2 Ba3 LGD 2 24% senior secured term loan D B2 Ba3 LGD 2 24% 7% senior notes B3 B3 LGD 4 62% 8.375% subordinated notes Caa1 Caa1 LGD 5 86% Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in our notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of our ratings as our research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). Cooper-Standard Automotive manufactures sealing system products, fluid systems, vibration control applications and other related products while focusing on innovative, continuously improved solutions to our customers' problems with world-class quality, leading edge technologies, service and competitive pricing. In Europe, the company maintains operations in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany and Czech Republic. FENDER MUSICAL: Moody's Puts LGD5 Rating to Secured Second Lien --------------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Consumer Products, Beverage, Toy, Natural Product Processors, Packaged Food Processors and Agricultural Cooperative sectors, the rating agency confirmed its B2 Corporate Family Rating for Fender Musical Instruments Corp., upgraded its B2 rating to B1, on the Company's US$50 million 1st lien senior secured revolver; its B2 rating to B1 on the Company's US$170 million secured term loan; and affirmed its Caa1 rating on the Company's US$100 million secured 2nd lien. Additionally, Moody's assigned an LGD3 rating to the US$50 million 1st lien secured revolver, suggesting noteholders will experience a 34% loss in the event of a default, an LGD3 rating to the $170 million senior secured term loan, suggesting noteholders will experience a 34% loss in the event of a default, and an LGD5 rating on the Company's US$100 million secured 2nd lien, suggesting noteholders will experience an 84% loss in the event of a default. Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in Moody's notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of Moody's ratings as Moody's research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). Fender Musical Instruments Corp. -- http://www.fender.com/-- is the world's foremost manufacturer of guitars, basses, amplifiers and related equipment. The FMIC family includes several other distinctive musical instrument brands: Charvel(R), Gretsch(R), Guild(R), Jackson(R), Olympia(R), Orpheum(R), SWR(R), Squier(R) and Tacoma(R). FMIC also manufactures a complete line of professional audio equipment under the Fender brand, including the Passport(R) portable sound system. Fender also offers a complete line of accessories, including strings, authorized replacement parts, cases, straps and clothing among others. FMIC's U.S. facilities are located in Arizona, California, Tennessee and Washington, with international facilities in England, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain and Sweden. GETRONICS NV: Completes Sale of PinkRoccade to Randstad Holding --------------------------------------------------------------- Getronics N.V. reports that the sale of its Netherlands HR Services (PinkRoccade HR Services) to Randstad Holding has been successfully concluded following all due regulatory checks. About Getronics Headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Getronics N.V. -- http://www.getronics.com/-- designs, integrates and manages ICT infrastructures and business solutions for many of the world's largest global and local companies and organizations, helping them maximize the value of their information technology investments. Getronics has some 27,000 employees in over 30 countries and approximate revenues of EUR3 billion. The company has regional offices in Boston, Madrid and Singapore. Its shares are traded on Euronext Amsterdam. * * * As reported in Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific Getronics N.V.'s 'B' long-term corporate credit rating, along with the 'CCC+' senior unsecured debt, 'B' bank loan, and '3' recovery ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they had originally been placed on Jan. 19. The '3' recovery rating indicates Standard & Poor's expectation of meaningful (50%-80%) recovery of principal for secured lenders in the event of a payment default. As reported in TCR-AP, Moody's Investors Service downgraded Getronics' corporate family rating to B2 from B1 and placed the ratings on review for possible downgrade following the company's announcement of half year results showing a widening of net losses and fall in margins below the company's expectations. Concurrently the rating on the EUR100 million senior unsecured convertible Dutch bonds due 2008 has been downgraded to Caa1 from B3. =========== S W E D E N =========== COMMERCIAL VEHICLE: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating ------------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Automotive and Equipment sectors, the rating agency confirmed its B3 Corporate Family Rating for Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc., and revised its rating to B1 on the company's 8% senior notes. Additionally, Moody's assigned an LGD4 rating to those bonds, suggesting noteholders will experience a 68% loss in the event of a default. Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in our notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of our ratings as our research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). The Commercial Vehicle Group is a global leader in commercial vehicle system solutions for the heavy duty truck, construction, agricultural, industrial, marine and specialty industries. It maintains operations in Belgium, France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. TEREX CORP.: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Ratings ------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Automotive and Equipment sectors, the rating agency confirmed its Ba3 Corporate Family Rating for Terex Corp. Additionally, Moody's revised or held its probability-of-default ratings and assigned loss-given-default ratings on these loans and bond debt obligations: Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- Sr. Sec. Revolving Credit Facility due 2012 Ba3 Ba1 LGD 2 22% Sr. Sec. Term Loan due 2013 Ba3 Ba1 LGD 2 22% 9.25% Sr. Sub. Notes due 2011 B2 B1 LGD 5 76% 7.375% Sr. Sub. Notes due 2014 B2 B1 LGD 5 76% Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss, which incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in our notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of our ratings as our research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). ===================== S W I T Z E R L A N D ===================== AFFILIATED COMPUTER: 10-K Filing Delay Cues S&P to Lower Rating --------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its corporate credit rating and senior secured ratings on Dallas, Texas-based Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. to 'B+' from 'BB'. The ratings remain on CreditWatch with negative implications where they were placed on Jan. 27. "The ratings downgrade and CreditWatch follows the company's announcement that it is not in a position to file its annual report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2006, by Sept. 28, 2006, which was the additional time period permitted under the SEC rules for an issuer to be deemed to have filed in a timely manner," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Philip Schrank. The company said that it would not be in a position to determine the timing for the filing of its Form 10-K until its internal investigation is complete and the company's independent auditors have had the opportunity to review the investigation's findings. The company has received an amendment, consent, and waiver from the lenders under its March 2006 credit facility with respect to, among other provisions, certain of the covenants of the company under the credit facility, including the requirement that the company deliver audited financial statements within 90 days of the end of its fiscal year. Approximately US$2 billion in borrowings are outstanding under the credit facility and the amendment, consent, and waiver requires that audited financial statements be obtained by Dec. 31, 2006. Additionally, the company has filed a lawsuit after receiving a letter from persons claiming to hold certain of its senior notes advising the company that it was purportedly in default of its covenants under a June 6, 2005, bond offering. Standard & Poor's will monitor the progress being made with regard to the filing of audited financial statements and reassess the rating as the Dec. 31 deadline approaches. The rating agency will also monitor the company's available sources of liquidity, as well as negotiations with lenders and other triggering events that might cause a payment acceleration of ACS' debentures. =========== T U R K E Y =========== EDISON MISSION: Standard & Poor's Upgrades Rating to BB ------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its ratings on Mission Energy Holding Co. to 'B' from 'B-', and those on subsidiaries Edison Mission Energy, Edison Mission Marketing and Trading Inc., and Edison Mission Energy Funding Corp. to 'BB-' from 'B+'. The outlook is positive. "The rating action reflects management's revised view of the availability of its parent, Edison International, and affiliate companies to make capital contributions to further expand the unregulated Edison Mission Group companies," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst David Bodek. Standard & Poor's also raised its senior secured debt rating and first lien term loan rating on Midwest Generation LLC to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The upgrades reflect the movement of the affected companies' credit quality toward the consolidated Edison International companies' credit quality. The rating upgrades coincide with the downgrade of Edison International to 'BBB-' from 'BBB'. The rating action on Edison International also reflects the movement toward a consolidated credit profile of the parent and its unregulated subsidiaries. The outlook on Edison International is stable. The positive outlook on the Edison Mission Group companies reflects the potential benefit that may result from the anticipated retirement of about US$800 million of MEHC debt in 2008. The ratings on EME, MEHC, Edison Mission Marketing and Trading, Edison Mission Energy Funding, and Midwest Gen, continue to reflect the credit quality of the distributable cash flow from a portfolio of generating assets. The ratings also takes into account the financial risk of double and triple leverage at EME and MEHC. EME is an independent power producer and, through Edison Mission Marketing and Trading, the company is involved in power marketing and trading. KOCBANK: Fitch Affirms BB Issuer Default Rating ----------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings upgraded UniCredito Italiano's Individual rating to B from B/C and Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank's Individual rating to C from C/D. At the same time the agency has revised the Outlooks on both banks' Issuer Default ratings to Positive from Stable. Both IDRs are affirmed at A+ for UCI and A fro HVB. Their other ratings are affirmed at Short-term F1 and Support 1. In a related action linked to the agency's expectations of Support, Fitch has also revised the Outlooks on Bank Austria Creditanstalt's and Bank Pekao's IDRs to Positive from Stable and affirmed all other ratings of banks in the group. The rating action reflects the progress made by UCI's management in integrating HVB and BACA, acquired in October 2005, into the UCI model. "The early signs are that UCI has demonstrated its ability to tackle execution risk arising from the acquisition of a much larger entity. It has continued to reduce credit risk in HVB's German operations, and has reached some of its intermediary targets, notably capital, ahead of initial expectations," Matthew Taylor, Senior Director in Financial Institutions disclosed. The ratings reflect UCI's sound prospects for consolidating its leading position in the Italian banking market, as well as in the German, Austrian and Central and Eastern European markets. They also reflect the Italian bank's record of strong profitability, sound risk management and its success in integrating acquired banks. They take into account UCI's improving, albeit still indifferent, asset quality and vulnerability to an economic slowdown in Germany and Austria arising from exposure to HVB's German and Austrian business. In addition, the ratings include the execution risk in implementing a complex integration and the new group's modest but strengthening regulatory capital ratios. On acquiring HVB in October 2005, UCI became a market leader in Bavaria, Italy and Austria and the largest player in the faster growing but more volatile CEE countries. Most of its assets are in stable, wealthy economies. The Italian bank has been one of Europe's most consistently profitable banking groups to date. In H106 UCI's operating profit rose, thanks to loan growth and as favorable markets benefited trading and fee income. Earnings from capital markets are likely to become more client-driven, but may remain subject to some volatility. At 10% in H106, the trading earnings composed a larger proportion of operating revenues than in many peers. In H106, Fitch estimates that CEE banks contributed to around 16% of UCI's operating profit, a percentage, which is likely to rise. Fitch considers that UCI's plans for integration and boosting revenues are sound and likely to be implemented successfully. This plan should allow the bank to grow while keeping loan impairment charges stable at 61 bp of risk-weighted assets and achieve its target of 17% return on equity for 2008. Gross impaired loans are improving as a result of intensive work to recover value. However, at end-June 2006 they represented 7.25% of total loans, a worse level than in most major European banks. Impairment allowances are smaller than those seen in many peers but are deemed adequate. Former UCI's impaired loans declined in H106, but remain heavier than those at its international peers. Market risk is moderate while liquidity is good and increasingly will be managed centrally. Fitch considers UCI's goal of an equity Tier 1 ratio of 6.8% by end-2008 acceptable, up from a projected 6% at end-2006. In view of the execution and asset quality risks in the bank, Fitch considers current capitalization to be modest and takes a positive view of its improvement. "The upgrade of HVB's Individual rating reflects the bank's improved profitability and the expected benefits from its integration into UCI, including, but not limited to, the envisaged capital gain from selling BACA," Thomas von Luepke, Head of German Banking at Fitch disclosed. "While HVB will lose the risks and rewards stemming from BACA, the sizeable capital gain will considerably strengthen HVB's position." The revision of HVB's Outlook to Positive is driven by the revision of UCI's Outlook and Fitch's expectation that UCI will integrate HVB within its group over the next 18 months. Growth in HVB's operating profit in H106 was driven by all businesses, especially its corporates & markets division. In addition, reported H106 net income benefited from EUR807 million in disposal gains. HVB's focus on increasing its trading and fee income has started to bear fruit. Streamlining its business and reducing staff have helped to cut costs. By developing a sales-oriented culture, aligning efficiency to the best European standards and further improving risk management, UCI plans to take them to a level unprecedented in HVB. Weak domestic profitability and misjudged credit decisions have adversely affected HVB's performance. In 2005 its loan impairment charges totaled EUR1.5 billion. For 2006 the bank has budgeted still high LICs of EUR1.3 billionn per year. HVB's loan book remains sizeable. At end-June 2006 loans managed by the real estate restructuring unit were cut by 56% to EUR6.8billion. The remainder of the RER will be combined with some EUR20 billion performing, but non- strategic, assets and will be wound down. A change in loan mix away from large corporates and more stringent risk controls should benefit asset quality. UCI, Italy: -- Individual upgraded to B from B/C; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A+, F1 and 1 respectively. HVB, Germany: -- Individual upgraded to C from C/D; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1 and 1 respectively. BACA, Austria: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, B/C and 1 respectively. Bank Pekao, Poland: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, C and 1 respectively. The ratings of all other direct and indirect subsidiaries of UCI are affirmed or unchanged: Zagrebacka Banka, Bosnia Herzegovina: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BBB+, F2, C/D and 2 respectively. Outlook is Stable. UniCredit Romania, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2, D and 1 respectively. Outlook is Stable. Banca Comerciala HVB Tiriac, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2 and 1 respectively. The Individual rating is unchanged at D Evolving Rating Watch. The Outlook is Stable. International Moscow Bank, Russia: -- IDR BBB+ and Support 2 rating on Rating Watch Positive. Short-term and Individual ratings affirmed at F2 and C/D respectively. Kocbank, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B, D and 3. The Outlook is Positive. Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B and 3. The Individual rating is unchanged at D/E Positive Rating Watch. The Outlook is Positive. Bulbank, Bulgaria: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. Zivnostenska Banca, Czech Republic: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. BPH Bank, Poland: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. UniBanka, Slovakia: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. YAPI VE KREDI: Fitch Keeps Issuer Default Rating at BB ------------------------------------------------------ Fitch Ratings upgraded UniCredito Italiano's Individual rating to B from B/C and Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank's Individual rating to C from C/D. At the same time the agency has revised the Outlooks on both banks' Issuer Default ratings to Positive from Stable. Both IDRs are affirmed at A+ for UCI and A fro HVB. Their other ratings are affirmed at Short-term F1 and Support 1. In a related action linked to the agency's expectations of Support, Fitch has also revised the Outlooks on Bank Austria Creditanstalt's and Bank Pekao's IDRs to Positive from Stable and affirmed all other ratings of banks in the group. The rating action reflects the progress made by UCI's management in integrating HVB and BACA, acquired in October 2005, into the UCI model. "The early signs are that UCI has demonstrated its ability to tackle execution risk arising from the acquisition of a much larger entity. It has continued to reduce credit risk in HVB's German operations, and has reached some of its intermediary targets, notably capital, ahead of initial expectations," Matthew Taylor, Senior Director in Financial Institutions disclosed. The ratings reflect UCI's sound prospects for consolidating its leading position in the Italian banking market, as well as in the German, Austrian and Central and Eastern European markets. They also reflect the Italian bank's record of strong profitability, sound risk management and its success in integrating acquired banks. They take into account UCI's improving, albeit still indifferent, asset quality and vulnerability to an economic slowdown in Germany and Austria arising from exposure to HVB's German and Austrian business. In addition, the ratings include the execution risk in implementing a complex integration and the new group's modest but strengthening regulatory capital ratios. On acquiring HVB in October 2005, UCI became a market leader in Bavaria, Italy and Austria and the largest player in the faster growing but more volatile CEE countries. Most of its assets are in stable, wealthy economies. The Italian bank has been one of Europe's most consistently profitable banking groups to date. In H106 UCI's operating profit rose, thanks to loan growth and as favorable markets benefited trading and fee income. Earnings from capital markets are likely to become more client-driven, but may remain subject to some volatility. At 10% in H106, the trading earnings composed a larger proportion of operating revenues than in many peers. In H106, Fitch estimates that CEE banks contributed to around 16% of UCI's operating profit, a percentage, which is likely to rise. Fitch considers that UCI's plans for integration and boosting revenues are sound and likely to be implemented successfully. This plan should allow the bank to grow while keeping loan impairment charges stable at 61 bp of risk-weighted assets and achieve its target of 17% return on equity for 2008. Gross impaired loans are improving as a result of intensive work to recover value. However, at end-June 2006 they represented 7.25% of total loans, a worse level than in most major European banks. Impairment allowances are smaller than those seen in many peers but are deemed adequate. Former UCI's impaired loans declined in H106, but remain heavier than those at its international peers. Market risk is moderate while liquidity is good and increasingly will be managed centrally. Fitch considers UCI's goal of an equity Tier 1 ratio of 6.8% by end-2008 acceptable, up from a projected 6% at end-2006. In view of the execution and asset quality risks in the bank, Fitch considers current capitalization to be modest and takes a positive view of its improvement. "The upgrade of HVB's Individual rating reflects the bank's improved profitability and the expected benefits from its integration into UCI, including, but not limited to, the envisaged capital gain from selling BACA," Thomas von Luepke, Head of German Banking at Fitch disclosed. "While HVB will lose the risks and rewards stemming from BACA, the sizeable capital gain will considerably strengthen HVB's position." The revision of HVB's Outlook to Positive is driven by the revision of UCI's Outlook and Fitch's expectation that UCI will integrate HVB within its group over the next 18 months. Growth in HVB's operating profit in H106 was driven by all businesses, especially its corporates & markets division. In addition, reported H106 net income benefited from EUR807 million in disposal gains. HVB's focus on increasing its trading and fee income has started to bear fruit. Streamlining its business and reducing staff have helped to cut costs. By developing a sales-oriented culture, aligning efficiency to the best European standards and further improving risk management, UCI plans to take them to a level unprecedented in HVB. Weak domestic profitability and misjudged credit decisions have adversely affected HVB's performance. In 2005 its loan impairment charges totaled EUR1.5 billion. For 2006 the bank has budgeted still high LICs of EUR1.3 billionn per year. HVB's loan book remains sizeable. At end-June 2006 loans managed by the real estate restructuring unit were cut by 56% to EUR6.8billion. The remainder of the RER will be combined with some EUR20 billion performing, but non- strategic, assets and will be wound down. A change in loan mix away from large corporates and more stringent risk controls should benefit asset quality. UCI, Italy: -- Individual upgraded to B from B/C; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A+, F1 and 1 respectively. HVB, Germany: -- Individual upgraded to C from C/D; -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1 and 1 respectively. BACA, Austria: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, B/C and 1 respectively. Bank Pekao, Poland: -- Outlook revised to Positive from Stable; and -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A, F1, C and 1 respectively. The ratings of all other direct and indirect subsidiaries of UCI are affirmed or unchanged: Zagrebacka Banka, Bosnia Herzegovina: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BBB+, F2, C/D and 2 respectively. Outlook is Stable. UniCredit Romania, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2, D and 1 respectively. Outlook is Stable. Banca Comerciala HVB Tiriac, Romania: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at A-, F2 and 1 respectively. The Individual rating is unchanged at D Evolving Rating Watch. The Outlook is Stable. International Moscow Bank, Russia: -- IDR BBB+ and Support 2 rating on Rating Watch Positive. Short-term and Individual ratings affirmed at F2 and C/D respectively. Kocbank, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term, Individual and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B, D and 3. The Outlook is Positive. Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi, Turkey: -- IDR, Short-term and Support ratings affirmed at BB, B and 3. The Individual rating is unchanged at D/E Positive Rating Watch. The Outlook is Positive. Bulbank, Bulgaria: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. Zivnostenska Banca, Czech Republic: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. BPH Bank, Poland: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. UniBanka, Slovakia: -- Support rating of 1 is affirmed. ============= U K R A I N E ============= ADVERTISING AGENCY: Court Names Vitalij Paterilov as Liquidator --------------------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Donetsk Region appointed Vitalij Paterilov as Liquidator/Insolvency Manager for LLC Advertising Agency (code EDRPOU 32187236). He can be reached at: Vitalij Paterilov a/b 6915 83050 Donetsk Region Ukraine Tel: (095) 563-63-59 The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent on Aug. 30. The case is docketed under Case No. 27/133 B. The Economic Court of Donetsk Region is located at: Artema Str. 157 83048 Donetsk Region Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Advertising Agency Pavshih Komunariv Avenue 1 83086 Donetsk Region Ukraine AES CORP: Dominicana Unit Begins Operations at Itabo Port --------------------------------------------------------- AES Dominicana, AES Corp.'s subsidiary in the Dominican Republic, disclosed the start of its plant operations at the Itabo International Port, Dominican Today reports. According to the Dominican Today, the port received its first freighter with 36,000 metric tons of mineral coal from Colombia. The freighter Baldor arrived on Sept. 24 and proceeded to continuously unload the material until the early hours on Thursday, Itabo told Dominican Today. The coal will be used to produce power in Itabo's plants, ensuring the availability of low-priced fuel to generate electricity. AES Dominicana told Dominican Today that Itabo is the first local port that receives coal. The port is located in the coastal area of the Itabo industrial complex, which is 18 kilometers west of the capital city in the municipality Haina, San Cristobal. The port's depth is 14 meters, which allows it to receive ships of the type Handymax and Panamax of up to 70,000 tons and has a capacity to unload solid materials at a rate of 1,600 tons per hour. The arrival of the freighter in Itabo constitutes a significant advancement for the Dominican Republic's present and future development, Dominican Today says, citing AES Dominicana. About the Company AES Corporation -- http://www.aes.com/-- is a global power company. The Company operates in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean countries. Generating 44,000 megawatts of electricity through 124 power facilities, the Company delivers electricity through 15 distribution companies. AES has been in Eastern Europe for nearly ten years, since it acquired three power plants in Hungary in 1996. Today, AES has two distribution companies in Ukraine, which serve 1.2 million customers and generation plants in the Czech Republic and Hungary. AES is also the leading company in biomass conversion in Hungary, generating 37% of the nation's total renewable generation in 2004. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on May 25, Fitch affirmed The AES Corporation's Issuer Default Rating at 'B+'. Fitch also affirmed and withdrew the ratings for the company's junior convertible debt. Fitch said the rating outlook for all remaining instruments is stable. In March, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its corporate credit rating on diversified energy company The AES Corp. to 'BB-' from 'B+'. S&P said the outlook is stable. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Jan. 11, Moody's affirmed the ratings of The AES Corporation, including its Ba3 Corporate Family Rating and the B1 rating on its senior unsecured debt. Moody's said the rating outlook remains stable. BILIJ KOLODYAZ: Harkiv Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision ---------------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Harkiv Region commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on Agricultural LLC Bilij Kolodyaz (code EDRPOU 31235456) on Aug. 14. The case is docketed under Case No. B-50/119-06. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is V. Verbitskij. The Economic Court of Harkiv Region is located at: Derzhprom 8th Entrance Svobodi Square 5 61022 Harkiv Region Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: Agricultural LLC Bilij Kolodyaz Dimitrov Str. 2 Bilij Kolodyaz Vovchanskij District Harkiv Region Ukraine BIT: Lviv Court Commences Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure ---------------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Lviv Region commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on LLC Bit (code EDRPOU 13818587). The case is docketed under Case No. 6/79-8/137. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: Vitalij Vinnikov Sportivna Str. 2/9 Pustomiti 81100 Lviv Region Ukraine The Economic Court of Lviv Region is located at: Lichakivska Str. 81 79010 Lviv Region Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Bit Shevchenko Str. 1/18 Drogobich 82100 Lviv Region Ukraine BUDIVELNIJ SVIT: Court Names Kirilo Liseyev as Liquidator --------------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Odessa Region appointed Kirilo Liseyev as Liquidator/Insolvency Manager for LLC Budivelnij Svit (code EDRPOU 33722448). The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent on Aug. 29. The case is docketed under Case No. 2/239-06-8232. The Economic Court of Odessa Region is located at: Shevchenko Avenue 4 65032 Odessa Region Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Budivelnij Svit General Bocharov Str. 21/55 Odessa Region Ukraine E.T.E. UKRAINE: Court Names Kirilo Liseyev as Insolvency Manager ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Odessa Region appointed Kirilo Liseyev as Liquidator/Insolvency Manager for LLC E.T.E. Ukraine (code EDRPOU 32511693). The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent on Aug. 29. The case is docketed under Case No. 2/240-06-8233. The Economic Court of Odessa Region is located at: Shevchenko Avenue 4 65032 Odessa Region Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC E.T.E. Ukraine Pratsi Square 8 Illichivsk Odessa Region Ukraine EAST: Lugansk Court Starts Bankruptcy Supervision Procedure ----------------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Lugansk Region commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on LLC Trading-Industrial Group East (code EDRPOU 30008779) on July 3. The case is docketed under Case No. 22/52. The Temporary Insolvency Manager is: Vadim Ostrovskij Geroiv VVV Square 2/32 91000 Lugansk Region Ukraine The Economic Court of Lugansk Region is located at: Geroiv VVV Square 3a 91000 Lugansk Region Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Trading-Industrial Group East Oktyabrska Str. 4 91000 Lugansk Region Ukraine PLEMZAVOD SVITANOK: Creditors Must File Claims by October 6 ----------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of OJSC Plemzavod Svitanok (code EDRPOU 008446375) have until October 6 to submit written proofs of claim to: Sergij Krupenko, Temporary Insolvency Manager a/b 93 02183 Kyiv Region Ukraine Tel: (050) 595-99-97 The Economic Court of Kyiv Region commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on the company. The case is docketed under Case No. 212/2 b-2006. The Economic Court of Kyiv Region is located at: B. Hmelnitskij Boulevard 44-B 01030 Kyiv Region Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Plemzavod Svitanok Svitanok Pereyaslav-Hmelnitskij District 08472 Kyiv Region Ukraine PETROL: Court Names Zhmerinka Pension Fund as Liquidator -------------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Vinnitsya Region appointed the Department of Pension Fund of Ukraine in Zhmerinka as Liquidator for LLC Petrol (code EDRPOU 13314591). The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The Economic Court of Vinnitsya Region is located at: Hmelnitske Shose 7 21036 Vinnitsya Region Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Petrol Lenin Str. 9/47 Zhmerinka Vinnitsya Region Ukraine PTITSYA: Lviv Court Names Sergij Lipskij as Insolvency Manager -------------------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Lviv Region appointed Sergij Lipskij as Liquidator/Insolvency Manager for LLC Ptitsya (code EDRPOU 25233403). He can be reached at: Sergij Lipskij Kiyivska Str. 38/2 79000 Lviv Region Ukraine The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent on Aug. 2. The case is docketed under Case No. 6/102-29/173. The Economic Court of Lviv Region is located at: Lichakivska Str. 81 79010 Lviv Region Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Ptitsya Gorodiliv Zolochiv District 80716 Lviv Region Ukraine PZP PALANOK: Kyiv Court Names D. Fortuna as Insolvency Manager -------------------------------------------------------------- The Economic Court of Kyiv appointed Mr. D. Fortuna as Liquidator/Insolvency Manager for LLC PZP Palanok (code EDRPOU 32920485). The Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent on Sept. 4. The case is docketed under Case No. 24/540-b. The Economic Court of Kyiv Region is located at: B. Hmelnitskij Boulevard 44-B 01030 Kyiv Region Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC PZP Palanok Tankova Str. 4 Kyiv Region Ukraine =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== A & A: Appoints K. B. Stout as Liquidator ---------------------------------------- K. B. Stout was appointed Liquidator of A & A Covers Ltd. on Sept. 13 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. The company can be reached at: A & A Covers Ltd. Stickfast Farm Sheppey Way Bobbing Sittingbourne Kent ME9 8QP United Kingdom Tel: 01795 479777 ACE TAXIS: Names Malcolm Edward Fergusson Liquidator ---------------------------------------------------- Malcolm Edward Fergusson of Fergusson & Co Ltd. was appointed Liquidator of Ace Taxis (Wrexham) Limited on Sept. 18 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. The company can be reached at: Ace Taxis (Wrexham) Limited High Street Gwersyllt Wrexham Clwyd LL114LA United Kingdom Tel: 01978 756 167 ALCO TAPS: Brings In Joint Liquidators from Smith & Williamson -------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen John Tancock and Vincent John Green of Smith & Williamson Limited were appointed Joint Liquidators of Alco Taps and Dies Limited on Sept. 15 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. The company can be reached at: Alco Taps and Dies Limited 17 Union Street Sheerness Kent ME121SX United Kingdom Tel: 01795 662 921 Fax: 01795 580 802 Web: http://www.alcotaps.co.uk/ ADVANCED MEDICAL: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating ----------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the Medical Device sector, the rating agency confirmed its B1 Corporate Family Rating for Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. Moody's also revised its probability-of-default ratings and assigned loss-given-default ratings on these loans facilities: Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- Sr. Sec. Revolving Credit Facility B1 Ba1 LGD 1 7% 2.5% Convertible Sr. Sub. Notes B3 B2 LGD 4 66% Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss that incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in Moody's notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of Moody's ratings as Moody's research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be ower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). In Europe, the company maintains operations in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. ANDROMEDA SOFTWARE: Claims Filing Period Ends Nov. 3 ---------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Andromeda Software Limited have until Nov. 3 to prove their debts by sending written statements of the amounts they claim to be due to them from the Company to appointed Joint Liquidator Paul John Clark of Menzies Corporate Restructuring at: Paul John Clark Menzies Corporate Restructuring 43-45 Portman Square London W1H 6LY United Kingdom The company can be reached at: Andromeda Software Limited Travellers Lane North Mymms Hatfield Hertfordshire AL9 7HF United Kingdom Tel: 01707 278 333 Fax: 01707 256 123 ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL: Moody's Assigns Loss-Given-Default Rating ---------------------------------------------------------------- In connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the Wholesale Distribution (Excluding Healthcare) sector, the rating agency confirmed its Ba1 Corporate Family Rating for Anixter International Inc. Moody's also revised its probability-of-default ratings and assigned loss-given-default ratings on these loans facilities: Projected Old POD New POD LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- US$200 million 5.95% Unsecured Notes Ba1 Baa3 LGD2 28% US$155 million Subordinated LYON's notes Ba3 Ba2 LGD6 94% US$100 million Shelf P(Ba1) P(Baa3) LGD2 28% Moody's explains that current long-term credit ratings are opinions about expected credit loss that incorporate both the likelihood of default and the expected loss in the event of default. The LGD rating methodology will disaggregate these two key assessments in long-term ratings. The LGD rating methodology will also enhance the consistency in Moody's notching practices across industries and will improve the transparency and accuracy of Moody's ratings as Moody's research has shown that credit losses on bank loans have tended to be lower than those for similarly rated bonds. Probability-of-default ratings are assigned only to issuers, not specific debt instruments, and use the standard Moody's alpha- numeric scale. They express Moody's opinion of the likelihood that any entity within a corporate family will default on any of its debt obligations. Loss-given-default assessments are assigned to individual rated debt issues -- loans, bonds, and preferred stock. Moody's opinion of expected loss are expressed as a percent of principal and accrued interest at the resolution of the default, with assessments ranging from LGD1 (loss anticipated to be 0% to 9%) to LGD6 (loss anticipated to be 90% to 100%). In Europe, the company maintains operations in Ireland, Poland, Norway, Russia, and the United Kingdom, among others. BRIGHTON BEER: Brings In Administrators from Portland Business -------------------------------------------------------------- Peter Robin Bacon and Carl Derek Faulds of Portland Business & Financial Solutions Ltd. were appointed joint administrators of Brighton Beer Company Ltd. (Company Number 4290626) on Sept. 15. The administrators can be reached at: Portland Business & Financial Solutions Ltd. 1640 Parkway Solent Business Park Whiteley Fareham Hampshire PO15 7AH United Kingdom Tel: 01489 550 440 E-mails: carl.faulds@portland-solutions.co.uk Headquartered in Peacehaven, United Kingdom, Brighton Beer Company Limited wholesales alcoholic drinks. BROOKLANDS PROCESS: Creditors Ratify Voluntary Liquidation ---------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Brooklands Process Technology (Skerman) Limited ratified on Sept. 14 the resolutions for voluntary liquidation and the appointment of Alan H. Tomlinson of Tomlinsons as the company's Liquidator. Headquartered in Weybridge U.K., BPT (Skerman) -- http://www.bptskerman.com/-- designs and manufactures process equipment for the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics/toiletries, and chemicals industry. CARRINGTON HOTELS: Creditors' Meeting Slated for October 5 ---------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Carrington Hotels & Leisure Services Ltd. (Company Number 05225107) will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 5 at: Ideal Corporate Solutions Limited 10 Eagley House Deakins Business Park Bolton BL7 9RP United Kingdom Creditors who want to be represented at the meeting may appoint proxies. Proxy forms must be submitted together with written debt claims at noon on Oct. 4 at: Andrew David Rosler Administrator Ideal Corporate Solutions Ltd. 10 Eagley House Deakins Business Park Bolton BL7 9RP United Kingdom Tel: 0800 731 2433 CEASE-FIRE SERVICES: Taps Liquidator from Clarke Bell ----------------------------------------------------- John Paul Bell of Clarke Bell was appointed Liquidator of Cease- Fire Services Limited on Sept. 13 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. Headquartered in Warrington, U.K., Cease-Fire Services Limited -- http://www.cease-fire.co.uk/-- are specialists in fire protection services, including: fire risk assessments, fire extinguishers (supply and service), dry riser and wet riser installation and maintenance, fire hydrants, fire detection systems, mechanical fire suppression systems and electrical fire suppression systems, including Argonite, Inergen, FM200, Novec and CO2. CHATEAU POURCEL: Creditors' Meeting Slated for October 5 -------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Chateau Pourcel U.K. Ltd. (Company Number 4972687) will meet at 11:00 a.m. on Oct. 5 at: David Rubin & Partners Pearl Assurance House 319 Ballards Lane London N12 8LY United Kingdom Creditors who want to be represented at the meeting may appoint proxies. Proxy forms must be submitted together with written debt claims at noon on Oct. 4 at: Asher David Miller Joint Administrator David Rubin & Partners Pearl Assurance House 319 Ballards Lane London N12 8LY United Kingdom Tel: 020 8343 5900 Fax: 020 8446 2994 David Rubin & Partners -- http://www.drpartners.com/-- specializes in corporate and personal insolvency, recovery, forensic accounting and litigation support. COHNAN KNIGHT: Hires Liquidator from Fergusson & Co. Ltd. --------------------------------------------------------- Malcolm Edward Fergusson of Fergusson & Co. Ltd. was appointed Liquidator of Cohnan Knight Limited on Aug. 17 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. Headquartered in Stockton-On-Tees, U.K., Cohnan Knight Limited provides trade label printing services. COMECH LIMITED: Appoints Joint Administrators from Cooper Parry --------------------------------------------------------------- Tyrone Shaun Courtman and Jeremy Philip William Meadows of Cooper Parry LLP were appointed joint administrators of Comech Ltd. (Company Number 04684101) on Sept. 12. The administrators can be reached at: Cooper Parry LLP 14 Park Row Nottingham NG1 6GR United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1332 295544 Fax: +44 (0) 1332 295600 Headquartered in Derby, United Kingdom, Comech Ltd. is engaged in technical testing and analysis. COUNTY EXHIBITIONS: Calls In Liquidator from David Horner & Co. --------------------------------------------------------------- David Anthony Horner of David Horner & Co. was appointed Liquidator of County Exhibitions Limited on Sept. 15 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. The company can be reached at: County Exhibitions Limited 10 Middleton Road Gorleston Great Yarmouth Norfolk NR317AB United Kingdom Tel: 01493 600 770 D.M.D. SURFACING: Appoints Liquidators from City Plaza ------------------------------------------------------ Phillip Hartland Allen and Guy Edward Brooke Mander of City Plaza were appointed Liquidators D.M.D. Surfacing Limited (formerly Trademile Developments Limited) for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. Headquartered in Malpas, U.K., D.M.D. Surfacing Limited provides road surfacing services. DWS FREIGHT: Calls In Liquidator from CRG Insolvency ---------------------------------------------------- Charles Howard Ranby-Gorwood of CRG Insolvency & Financial Recovery was appointed Liquidator of DWS Freight Limited on Aug. 16 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. Headquartered in Scunthorpe, U.K., DWS Freigh Limited -- http://www.dwsfreightltd.co.uk/-- provides general haulage services. DATA NETWORK: Names Liquidator to Wind Up Business -------------------------------------------------- Malcolm Edward Fergusson of Fergusson & Co. Ltd. was appointed Liquidator of Data Network Solutions Limited on Aug. 17 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. Headquartered in Middlesbrough, U.K., Data Network Solutions Limited is a computer retailer and network service agent. DOLE FOOD: To Buy JP Fruit Distributors from Jamaica Producers -------------------------------------------------------------- Dole Food Company Inc. disclosed that pursuant to pre-existing agreements, it initiated a buy-sell process under which the Company either will buy the 65% of JP Fruit Distributors Ltd. it does not already own, or else will sell the 35% of JPFD that it does own. The owner of the 65% interest in JPFD, Jamaica Producers Group Ltd., is required either to accept the Company's offer to buy JPG's 65% interest or, alternatively, to accept the Company's offer to sell its 35% interest in JPFD. The Company expects the JPG Board to consider the offers today. The Company is considering expressions of interest by potential partners with respect to the ownership and operation of JPFD, if it ends up as the buyer. About JP Fruit Distributors JP Fruit Distributors Ltd. imports and sells fresh produce in the United Kingdom. Jamaica Producers Group Ltd. is the owner of the 65% interest in JPFD. About Dole Food Co. Based in Westlake Village, California, Dole Food Company, Inc., -- http://www.dole.com/-- is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and fresh- cut flowers based on revenues. Dole markets a growing line of packaged and frozen foods and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Sept. 21, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' ratings for Dole Food Co., Inc., remained on CreditWatch with negative implications. As reported in TCR-Europe on Sept. 28, in connection with Moody's Investors Service's implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the U.S. Consumer Products, Beverage, Toy, Natural Product Processors, Packaged Food Processors, and Agricultural Cooperative sectors, the rating agency confirmed its Ba3 Corporate Family Rating for Dole Food Company, Inc. ELLIS RICHMOND: Nominates Ninos Koumettou as Liquidator ------------------------------------------------------- Ninos Koumettou of AlexanderLawsonJacobs was nominated Liquidator of Ellis Richmond Ltd. on Sept. 15 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. Headquartered in Harlow, U.K., Ellis Richmond Ltd. provides clients with printing and lithographic services. FIBREASTIC LIMITED: Joint Liquidators Take Over Operations ---------------------------------------------------------- Philip Anthony Brooks and Julie Willetts of Blades Insolvency Services were appointed Joint Liquidators of Fibreastic Limited on Aug. 3 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. The company can be reached at: Fibreastic Limited 161-163 Cardiff Road Reading Berkshire RG1 8HD United Kingdom Tel: 0118 956 7715 GALVEX HOLDINGS: U.S. Judge Converts Ch. 11 Case to Chapter 7 ------------------------------------------------------------- The Honorable Robert D. Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan converted the chapter 11 case of Galvex Holdings Limited to a chapter 7 liquidation proceeding. As reported in the TCR-Europe on Aug. 29, Galvex is "hopelessly" insolvent, has no assets remaining to reorganize or sell, and has no ability to file and confirm a plan of liquidation or pay any administrative expenses, Lori R. Fife, Esq., at at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, said. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors supported Galvex's request for the conversion of its bankruptcy case to a liquidation proceeding under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on May 30, 2006, the Court authorized Galvex and its debtor-affiliates to sell substantially all of their assets to SPCP Group LLC. The purchase was effected in exchange for the discharge of the Debtors' US$192 million debt to SPCP. SPCP acquired the shares of Galvex's subsidiaries: -- Galvex Estonia; -- Galvex Intertrade; and -- Galvex Trade. In accordance with the sale order, the Court further ruled that the Chapter 11 cases of the three debtor-subsidiaries will be dismissed effective upon the closing of the sale. Headquartered in New York City, New York, Galvex Holdings Limited -- http://www.galvex.com/-- and its affiliates operate the largest independent galvanizing line in Europe. The Debtors have offices in New York, Tallinn, Bermuda, Finland, Ukraine, Germany and the United Kingdom. The company and four of its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on Jan. 17, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Lead Case No. 06-10082). Galvex Capital, LLC, is represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Gerard DiConza, Esq., at DiConza Law, P.C. Galvex Holdings Ltd. and the other debtor-affiliates are represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Lori R. Fife, Esq., Marcia L. Goldstein, Esq., and Shai Waisman, Esq., at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. John P. McNicholas, Esq., and Thomas R. Califano, Esq., at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP, represent the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. When the Debtors filed for protection from their creditors, they estimated assets and debts of more than US$100 million. John S. Pereira is the Debtor's Chapter 7 Trustee. GALVEX HOLDINGS: US Trustee Names John Pereira as Ch. 7 Trustee --------------------------------------------------------------- Diana G. Adams, the U.S. Trustee for Region 2, appointed John S. Pereira as Galvex Holdings Limited's Chapter 7 Trustee on Sept. 5, 2006. On Aug. 30, 2006, the Honorable Robert D. Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York converted the chapter 11 case of Galvex Holdings to a chapter 7 liquidation proceeding. Headquartered in New York City, New York, Galvex Holdings Limited -- http://www.galvex.com/-- and its affiliates operate the largest independent galvanizing line in Europe. The Debtors have offices in New York, Tallinn, Bermuda, Finland, Ukraine, Germany and the United Kingdom. The company and four of its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on Jan. 17, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Lead Case No. 06-10082). Galvex Capital, LLC, is represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Gerard DiConza, Esq., at DiConza Law, P.C. Galvex Holdings Ltd. and the other debtor-affiliates are represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Lori R. Fife, Esq., Marcia L. Goldstein, Esq., and Shai Waisman, Esq., at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. John P. McNicholas, Esq., and Thomas R. Califano, Esq., at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP, represent the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. When the Debtors filed for protection from their creditors, they estimated assets and debts of more than US$100 million. GALVEX HOLDINGS: Section 341(a) Meeting Scheduled on November 6 --------------------------------------------------------------- Diana G. Adams, the United States Trustee for Region 2, will convene a meeting of Galvex Holdings Limited's creditors at 11:00 a.m., on Nov. 6, 2006, at the Second Floor of the Office of the United States Trustee, 80 Broad Street in New York. This is the first meeting of creditors required under Section 341(a) in all bankruptcy cases. This is the first meeting of creditors after the Debtor's chapter 11 case has been converted to a chapter 7 liquidation proceeding. All creditors are invited, but not required, to attend. This Meeting of Creditors offers the one opportunity in a bankruptcy proceeding for creditors to question a responsible office of the Debtor under oath about the company's financial affairs and operations that would be of interest to the general body of creditors. Headquartered in New York City, New York, Galvex Holdings Limited -- http://www.galvex.com/-- and its affiliates operate the largest independent galvanizing line in Europe. The Debtors have offices in New York, Tallinn, Bermuda, Finland, Ukraine, Germany and the United Kingdom. The company and four of its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on Jan. 17, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Lead Case No. 06-10082). Galvex Capital, LLC, is represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Gerard DiConza, Esq., at DiConza Law, P.C. Galvex Holdings Ltd. and the other debtor-affiliates are represented by David Neier, Esq., at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Lori R. Fife, Esq., Marcia L. Goldstein, Esq., and Shai Waisman, Esq., at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. John P. McNicholas, Esq., and Thomas R. Califano, Esq., at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP, represent the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. When the Debtors filed for protection from their creditors, they estimated assets and debts of more than US$100 million. On Aug. 30, 2006, Judge Drain converted the chapter 11 case of Galvex Holdings to a chapter 7 liquidation proceeding. John S. Pereira is the Debtor's Chapter 7 Trustee. GENICO LTD: Nominates Liquidator from AlexanderLawsonJacobs ----------------------------------------------------------- Ninos Koumettou of AlexanderLawsonJacobs was nominated Liquidator of Genico Ltd. on Sept. 15 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. Headquartered in London, U.K., Genico Ltd. -- http://www.genico.co.uk/-- manufactures, imports and exports branded toiletries. Genico also exports floor coverings and various foodstuff across a number of countries. The company has a strong presence in West Africa particularly Nigeria, the Middle East and Southern Europe as well as the USA. GRESHAM CAPITAL: S&P Rates EUR13.65-Mln Class E Notes at BB- ------------------------------------------------------------ Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its preliminary credit ratings to the EUR264.75 million secured and deferrable floating-rate notes, including EUR75 million (equivalent) variable funding notes, to be issued by Gresham Capital CLO II B.V., a special-purpose entity. At the same time, Gresham II will issue EUR35.25 million of unrated secured income notes, which will provide subordination to the senior notes. At closing, Gresham II will issue EUR225 million of notes, the proceeds of which will be invested in a portfolio of predominantly senior secured leveraged loans. At the same time, the issuer will enter into a variable funding agreement, under which it may draw, at any time, up to EUR75 million (equivalent) in euros and sterling. All notes, which will equate to 75% of the liabilities, will be issued in euros. The collateral manager is Investec Bank (U.K.) Ltd., an international specialist banking and financial services group. Gresham II is the second CLO to be managed by Investec. Ratings List Gresham Capital CLO II B.V. EUR225 Million Secured And Deferrable Floating-Rate Notes And EUR75 Million (Equivalent) Variable Funding Notes Prelim. Prelim. Class rating amount (Mil. EUR) ----- ------ ------ VFNs (1) AAA 75.00 A AAA 121.50 B AA 22.80 C A 17.10 D BBB- 14.70 E BB- 13.65 F (2) NR 35.25 (1) Variable funding notes. (2) Secured income notes, which will provide subordination to the senior notes. NR-Not rated. GT DESIGN: Nominates Ninos Koumettou to Liquidate Assets -------------------------------------------------------- Ninos Koumettou of AlexanderLawsonJacobs was nominated Liquidator of GT Design & Build Ltd. on Sept. 12 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. The company can be reached at: GT Design & Build Ltd. 269 Green Lanes London N13 4XE United Kingdom Tel: 020 8886 6007 Fax: 020 8886 6030 Web: http://www.gtdesign-build.co.uk/ HOME-TEX LEICESTER: Alan Simon Leads Liquidation Procedure ---------------------------------------------------------- Alan Simon of Langley Group LLP was appointed Liquidator of Home-Tex (Leicester) Limited on Sept. 8 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. The company can be reached at: Home-Tex (Leicester) Limited Unit B Pintail Close Netherfield Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG4 2SG United Kingdom Tel: 0115 987 3709 HOWARD LANCASTER: Hires Joint Liquidators from Gerald Edelman ------------------------------------------------------------- Bernard Hoffman and Ian Douglas Yerrill of Gerald Edelman Business Recovery were appointed Joint Liquidators of Howard Lancaster Imports Limited on Sept. 18 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. Headquartered in Canterbury, U.K., Howard Lancaster Imports Limited -- http://www.hl-imports.co.uk/-- is a motor vehicle dealer. The company offers to source specific makes of vehicle direct from official main dealers in the EC to customer, whether factory collection/collection from supplying dealer/delivery to any point in the U.K. KIDS FOR LIFE: Liquidator Sets Oct. 18 Claims Bar Date ------------------------------------------------------ Creditors of Kids for Life Limited have until Oct. 18 to send in their full names, their addresses and descriptions, full particulars of their debts or claims, and the names and addresses of their Solicitors (if any) to appointed Liquidator Martin C. Armstrong of Turpin Baker Armstrong at: Martin C. Armstrong Turpin Baker Armstrong Allen House 1 Westmead Road Sutton Surrey SM1 4LA United Kingdom The company can be reached at: Kids for Life Limited 5 Southwell Park Road Camberley Surrey GU153PU United Kingdom Tel: 0845 450 8411 LEARNING CENTRE: Taps Joint Liquidators from Royce Peeling Green ---------------------------------------------------------------- Peter Jones and Roderick Withinshaw of Royce Peeling Green Limited were appointed Joint Liquidators of Learning Centre U.K. Limited on Sept. 13 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. The company can be reached at: Learning Centre U.K. Limited Mountbatten House Mountbatten Court Worrell Street Congleton Cheshire CW12 1JN United Kingdom Tel: 01260 295920 LLOYDS PRINTERS: Claims Registration Ends Nov. 9 ------------------------------------------------ Creditors of Lloyds Printers of Blackburn Limited have until Nov. 9 to send in their full names, their addresses and descriptions, full particulars of their debts or claims, and the names and addresses of their Solicitors (if any) to appointed Liquidator Claire L. Dwyer of Jones Lowndes Dwyer LLP at: Claire L. Dwyer Jones Lowndes Dwyer LLP John Swift Building 19 Mason Street Manchester M4 5FT United Kingdom Headquartered in Darwen, U.K., Lloyds Printers of Blackburn Limited -- http://www.lloydsprinters.co.uk/ -- supplies printing and stationery to private, local and national businesses. LONDON WALL: Fitch Affirms BB+ Ratings on Class E Notes ------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings affirmed London Wall 2002-2 PLC's floating-rate credit-linked notes: -- Class A++ (ISIN XS0157922302) affirmed at AAA; -- Class A+ (ISIN XS0157922302) affirmed at AAA; -- Class A1 (ISIN XS0157922997) affirmed at AAA; -- Class A2 (ISIN XS0158409275) affirmed at AAA; -- Class B1 (ISIN XS0157923292) affirmed at AA; -- Class B2 (ISIN NZLWLD0001S5) affirmed at AA; -- Class C (ISIN XS0157923888) affirmed at A; -- Class D (ISIN XS0157924423) affirmed at BBB; and -- Class E (ISIN XS0157925156) affirmed at BB+. This affirmation reflects the portfolio's stable performance. There have been no credit events to date, and the overall credit quality of the portfolio remains within the guidelines set by the eligibility criteria. The weighted-average Fitch factor in the June 2006 trustee report is unchanged at 8.50 from the September 2005 report. This is equivalent to a BBB+/BBB rating. The portfolio has benefited from seasoning, with a scheduled maturity of January 2009. The analysis took into consideration the existence of a replenishment period, which runs till December 2006, after which the portfolio becomes static. London Wall 2002-2 plc is a synthetic securitization of claims originated by Deutsche Bank AG, under which it purchased protection on a EUR1.8 billion reference portfolio of loans, revolving credit facilities and guarantees. The portfolio contains both publicly rated and unrated names. To assess the quality of the reference portfolio, Fitch analyzed Deutsche Bank's internal rating system and applied a mapping to its rating scale for unrated names. Collateral for the notes is in the form of cash deposit held at a suitably rated financial institution, currently Deutsche Bank. MAINLAND CAR: Taps BDO Stoy as Joint Administrators --------------------------------------------------- Dermot Justin Power and Matthew Dunham of BDO Stoy Hayward LLP were appointed joint administrators of Mainland Car Deliveries Ltd. (Company Number 00820486) on Sept. 18. BDO Stoy Hayward -- http://www.bdo.co.uk/-- is the U.K. member firm of BDO International, the world's fifth largest accountancy network with more than 600 offices in 100 countries. Its services include: audit and assurance, business restructuring, corporate finance, disputes and investigations, investment management, risk assurance services, tax services, and valuations. Headquartered in Cheshire, United Kingdom, Mainland Car Deliveries Ltd. is engaged in vehicle haulage. MOBEL TECHNIC: Names Richard Ian Williamson Liquidator ------------------------------------------------------ Richard Ian Williamson of Campbell Crossley and Davis was appointed Liquidator of Mobel Technic Limited on Sept. 13 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. Headquartered in Wigan, U.K., Mobel Technic Limited -- http://www.thecabinetcompany.co.uk/-- designs and manufactures cabinets, bookcases and occasional furniture such as tables and sideboards. MORTGAGE FINANCE: Moody's Rates Class B1 & B2 Notes at (P)Ba1 ------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service assigned these provisional ratings to the CMBS issuance of Business Mortgage Finance 5 plc : -- GBP Class A1 Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due 2039: (P)Aaa; -- Euro Class A2 Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due 2039: (P)Aaa; -- Detachable Class A Coupons due 2039: (P)Aaa; -- GBP Class M1 Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due 2039: (P)A2, -- Euro Class M2 Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due 2039: (P)A2; -- GBP Class B1 Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due 2039: (P)Ba1; -- Euro Class B2 Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due 2039: (P)Ba1; and -- Mortgage Early Redemption Certificates due 2039; (P)Aaa. The total debt raised by Business Mortgage Finance 5 plc will be used to purchase a portfolio of non-conforming U.K. commercial mortgage loans from Commercial First Mortgages Ltd, and will be split as follows: [73.5] per cent Class A1 Notes and Class A2 Notes, [17.1] per cent Class M1 and Class M2 Notes, and [6.5] per cent Class B1 and B2 Notes. The ratios of GBP and Euro amounts for the Class A, Class M and Class B Notes have yet to be determined. Moody's has not assigned a rating to the Class C Notes (2.9 per cent of proposed issuance). The ratings on the Notes are based upon: -- Moody's assessment of the real estate quality and characteristics of the underlying property portfolio, its loan-to-value and current debt service coverage; -- a loan-by-loan analysis of the mortgage pool backing the Notes; -- additional loans of approximately GBP [92.1] million to be acquired by the Issuer by the Prefunding Purchase Date (February 2007), subject to satisfaction of certain eligibility criteria; -- the availability of a committed liquidity facility provided by Barclays Bank PLC (Aa1, P-1), initially sized at [10] per cent of the outstanding notes to cover shortfalls in payments of interest on the Notes and certain senior expenses; -- the sequential pay structure, switching to pro rata subject to strict trigger conditions; -- Issuer-level currency, basis and interest rate hedging contracts to be provided by Barclays Bank PLC (Aa1, P-1); -- an opening reserve amount of GBP[6.90] million and, subject to sufficient excess spread, rising to a target balance of approximately GBP[12.75] million after closing; and -- the legal and structural characteristics of the issue. The initial pool as at the Cut-Off Date of Aug. 31 contains 938 commercial mortgages secured by first ranking legal mortgages on [938] mixed-use properties. The properties are all located in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with the largest proportion of [20.7] per cent being in the South East. Although Moody's has reflected in its analysis the portfolio's small size and lack of granularity compared to residential mortgage pools, the portfolio is somewhat diversified geographically and by property type. Moody's issues provisional ratings in advance of the final sale of securities and these ratings reflect Moody's preliminary credit opinion regarding the transaction. Upon a conclusive review of the final versions of all the documents and legal opinions, Moody's will endeavor to assign definitive ratings to the transaction. A definitive rating may differ from a provisional rating. The ratings of the Class A, Class M and Class B Notes address the expected loss posed to investors by the legal final maturity. In Moody's opinion, the structure allows for timely payment of interest and ultimate payment of principal at par on or before the rated final legal maturity date. Moody's ratings address only the credit risks associated with the transaction, other non-credit risks have not been addressed, but may have significant effect on yield to investors. The Detachable Class A Coupons (DACs) do not receive any payments of principal, and earn interest at a certain rate (2.75 per cent) calculated on the outstanding balance of the Class A Notes. The ratings of the DACs address the Issuer's ability to make the promised payment of interest. However, it does not address the size of balance used to calculate the amount due. The Mortgage Early Redemption Certificates (MERC) are backed solely by mortgage early redemption charges that may become payable by borrowers in the pool on early redemption of their loans within a certain period. The provisional Aaa rating on the MERC's is qualified as it addresses the likelihood of receipt by MERC holders of such amounts only if they are received by the Issuer. It assumes, without any independent investigation, -- that payment of the mortgage early redemption charges under the mortgage loans is legally valid, binding and enforceable, and -- that such amounts are actually collected from borrowers and received by the Issuer. The amount receivable by MERC holders also depends on prepayment rates within the pool. The rating does not address such prepayment rates. NEXSIS TECHNOLOGY: Claims Filing Period Ends Dec. 31 ---------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Nexsis Technology Limited have until Dec. 31 to send in their full names, their addreses and descriptions, full particulars of their debts or claims, and the names and addresses of their Solicitors (if any), to appointed Liquidator E. Walls of Marlor Walls at: E. Walls Marlor Walls C12 Marquis Court Marquis Way Team Valley Gateshead NE11 0RU United Kingdom The company can be reached at: Nexsis Technology Limited Unit 16 Team Valley Business Centre Earlsway Team Valley Trading Estate Gateshead Tyne And Wear NE110QH United Kingdom Tel: 0191 482 6656 ORACLE FLEET: Creditors Confirm Liquidator's Appointment -------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Oracle Fleet (U.K.) Limited confirmed Sept. 12 the appointment of Mark Stephen Goldstein as the company's Liquidator. Headquartered in Blandford Forum, U.K., Oracle Fleet (U.K.) Limited is a financial institution. PCS COMMERCIALS: Nominates Paul John Webb as Liquidator ------------------------------------------------------- Paul John Webb of Mayfields Insolvency Practitioners was nominated Liquidator of PCS Commercials Limited (t/a PJB Repair Specialists) on Sept. 15 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. Headquartered in Birmingham, U.K., PCS Commercials Limited provides motor vehicle maintenance and repair services. PARACOMM LIMITED: Ian Pattinson Leads Liquidation Procedure ----------------------------------------------------------- Ian Pattinson was appointed Liquidator of Paracomm Limited on Sept. 18 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. The company can be reached at: Paracomm Limited King Edward Business Centre King Edward Road Nuneaton Warwickshire CV114BB United Kingdom Tel: 01827 713 062 PEAK RECRUITMENT: Liquidator Sets Oct. 27 Claims Bar Date --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Peak Recruitment (Tamworth) Limited have until Oct. 27 to send in their full names, their addresses and descriptions, full particulars of their debts or claims, and the names and addresses of their Solicitors (if any), to appointed Liquidator Jonathan Elman Avery-Gee of Kay Johnson Gee at: Jonathan Elman Avery-Gee Kay Johnson Gee Griffin Court 201 Chapel Street Salford Manchester M3 5EQ United Kingdom The company can be reached at: Peak Recruitment (Tamworth) Limited 13 Colehill Tamworth Staffordshire B79 7HE United Kingdom Tel: 01827 62777 PILLOW TALK: Claims Registration Ends Oct. 23 --------------------------------------------- Creditors of Pillow Talk Limited have until Oct. 23 to send in their full names, their addresses and descriptions, full particulars of their debts or claims, and the names and addresses of their Solicitors (if any), to appointed Joint Liquidators Stewart Trevor Bennett and James Preston Bradney of Berg Kaprow Lewis LLP at: Stewart Trevor Bennett and James Preston Bradney Berg Kaprow Lewis LLP 35 Ballards Lane London N3 1XW United Kingdom The company can be reached at: Pillow Talk Limited 1 Laker Road Rochester Airport Industrial Estate Rochester Kent ME1 3QX United Kingdom Tel: 01634 864 295 Fax: 01634 861 463 Web: http://www.pillowtalkgroup.com/ PROVIDE HOME: S&P Puts Low-B Ratings on D & E Note Classes ---------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its ratings on the class B, C, and D notes in Provide Home 2001-1 PLC and affirmed its ratings on all the notes in PROVIDEHOME 2002-1 PLC. At the same time, the CreditWatch with negative implications placements were resolved for all notes affected. The rating actions are the result of a substantial analysis of both transaction pools, which was initiated following the CreditWatch negative placement on July 21 of various notes in both transactions. The analysis looked in particular at the nonperforming subpools in both transactions and relies on extensive data, which the originator, Aareal Bank AG provided in this context. The analysis also took into account insight gained by Standard & Poor's during an onsite review of Aareal's operations. The CreditWatch placement on the two German RMBS transactions was driven by the ongoing deterioration of the underlying loan portfolios. As of Sept. 29, PROVIDE HOME 2001-1, defaulted reference claims and credit events amount to 7.67% of the outstanding principal balance as of the end of July 2006, and another 2.23% of the outstanding reference claims are in arrears (60+ days). For PROVIDE HOME 2002-1, defaulted reference claims and credit events have reached 3.95% of the outstanding principal balance and arrears were up to 1.04% at the time of the latest reporting. "In our analysis, we took a two-fold approach," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Viktor Milev. "First, we estimated the expected loss on the current pool of NPLs in both transactions. This includes all defaulted reference claims and reference claims for which a credit event has occurred. The cut-off date for PROVIDE HOME 2001-1 was July 31 and for PROVIDE HOME 2002-1, June 30." Mr. Milev continued: "Second, we derived updated estimates for the weighted-average foreclosure frequency and loss severity at the various rating levels for the performing parts of the transactions by using our WAFF/WALS approach. Hence, we were able to compare the required credit enhancement versus actual enhancement levels after application of the expected loss to the first-loss pieces in the transactions." The approach was chosen in light of the comprehensive data provided by Aareal, which included, among other things, updated property valuations for all NPLs and a breakdown by loan status. The breakdown differentiates loans in restructuring, loans in foreclosure, and loans, which have already completed the foreclosure process, but have a remaining balance outstanding. This level of information, in combination with the insight on Aareal's workout procedures, enabled Standard & Poor's to determine the expected loss as of today. Outstanding loan claims after foreclosure, which were already addressed in Standard & Poor's CreditWatch placement, make up only a minimal portion in each of the two nonperforming subpools. Since these claims are not secured by mortgages any longer, Standard & Poor's has assumed in its analysis that their current balance is a net loss as of Sept. 29. Loans that are currently in foreclosure were assumed to complete the workout procedures, whereas Standard & Poor's assumed a 50% foreclosure frequency for the loans in restructuring. Loans in foreclosure make up the majority of both subpools of NPLs. However, the ratio of loans in restructuring versus loans in foreclosure is approximately 1:2. When assessing the loss severity on loans in foreclosure or restructuring, Standard & Poor's expected the loans to recover an amount equal to the new valuation of the property backing them. This is due to the strongly conservative mechanism applied by Aareal when deriving these valuations. Standard & Poor's did not consider it necessary to further stress these valuations, but applied adjusted market value decline assumptions to the original valuations provided for the performing parts of both transaction pools. The detailed analysis of the valuation declines for the subpools of NPLs showed that multifamily and other buy-to-let properties have demonstrated the sharpest decreases. Furthermore, properties in rural areas have experienced more severe valuation corrections than those in urban areas. For the cumulative foreclosure proceeds over the lifetime of both transactions, Standard & Poor's analysis revealed that, contrary to previous assumptions, there have been more substantial proceeds in the past. For the time being, however, Standard & Poor's has not been provided with precise quantitative information on this subject. In the case of PROVIDE HOME 2001-1, the results of the analysis showed that the currently expected loss would lead to a substantial exhaustion of the first-loss piece. In combination with the future expected losses on the performing part of the reference pool, Standard & Poor's analysis revealed that the resulting enhancement levels are not sufficient to warrant the current ratings on the class B, C, and D notes in the transaction. The lowering of the ratings on these classes of notes reflects the significantly increased likelihood of loss allocation to rated notes in the transaction. Given the fact that actual loss allocation so far has been marginal, but loans in foreclosure have built up, Standard & Poor's will closely monitor the further development of the defaulted pool with regard to loss crystallization and actual foreclosure proceeds. If, at any time, actual loss allocation differs from current expectations, further rating refining can occur. The analysis of PROVIDE HOME 2002-1 and the expected erosion of the first-loss piece demonstrated that, for the time being, the resulting enhancement levels are still sufficient to maintain the ratings on the notes. Hence, the ratings have been removed from CreditWatch negative and affirmed. Given the comparably high amount of NPLs, however, Standard & Poor's considers it necessary to continue its close monitoring of defaults and credit events in the transaction. As with PROVIDE HOME 2001-1, the actual loss crystallization will be critical to future rating decisions. Further increases to the subpool of defaulted reference claims and reference claims in credit event are likely to put the ratings on the notes under pressure. Ratings List Class Rating ----- ------ To From -- ---- PROVIDE HOME 2001-1 PLC EUR120.05 Million Credit-Linked Notes Ratings Removed From CreditWatch With Negative Implications And Lowered B A+ AA/Watch Neg C BBB A+/Watch Neg D BB BBB/Watch Neg Ratings Affirmed A AAA A+ AAA PROVIDE HOME 2002-1 PLC EUR53.6 Million Floating-Rate Credit-Linked Notes Ratings Removed From CreditWatch With Negative Implications And Affirmed C A A/Watch Neg D BBB BBB/Watch Neg E BB BB/Watch Neg Ratings Affirmed A1+ AAA A2+ AAA B AA PURSUIT MEDIA: Claims Registration Ends Nov. 3 ---------------------------------------------- Creditors of Pursuit Media Limited have until Nov. 3 to send in their full names, their addresses and descriptions, full particulars of their debts or claims, and the names and addresses of their Solicitors (if any), to appointed Liquidator Antony Robert Fanshawe of Fanshawe Lofts at: Antony Robert Fanshawe Fanshawe Lofts 41 Castle Way Southampton SO14 2BW United Kingdom The company can be reached at: Pursuit Media Limited 17 Willow Street Hackney London EC2A4BH United Kingdom Tel: 020 7729 6336 REFCO INC: Will Pay US$705 Million to Resolve All Secured Claims ---------------------------------------------------------------- Refco Group Ltd., LLC and its affiliated debtors received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, on Sept. 27, 2006, to pay its secured creditors, including a group of banks led by Banc of America Securities, as agent, approximately US$705 million to settle all secured claims against Refco. "We are very pleased with the Court's decision," said Refco's Chief Restructuring Officer David Pauker, who testified at the hearing. "The approval of this settlement was a necessary step toward effecting the global settlement, obtaining approval of the Debtor's bankruptcy plan and making distributions to unsecured creditors." Under the terms of the settlement approved by the Court, Refco's secured lenders will receive payment in full of principal, plus interest at the contract rate, through the payment date, but have agreed to forego payment of default interest. In addition, the Debtors, lenders and certain third parties will exchange mutual releases. In papers filed with the Bankruptcy Court, Refco said that the agreement with the secured creditors was in the best interest of the Refco estates and their creditors because, among other things, it limits "potentially substantial secured claims for additional interest, fees and indemnities." About Refco Inc. Based in New York, Refco Inc. -- http://www.refco.com/-- is a diversified financial services organization with operations in 14 countries and an extensive global institutional and retail client base. Refco's worldwide subsidiaries are members of principal U.S. and international exchanges, and are among the most active members of futures exchanges in Chicago, New York, London and Singapore. In addition to its futures brokerage activities, Refco is a major broker of cash market products, including foreign exchange, foreign exchange options, government securities, domestic and international equities, emerging market debt, and OTC financial and commodity products. Refco is one of the largest global clearing firms for derivatives. The Company and 23 of its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on Oct. 17, 2005 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 05-60006). J. Gregory Milmoe, Esq., at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, represent the Debtors in their restructuring efforts. Luc A. Despins, Esq., at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, represents the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. Refco reported US$16.5 billion in assets and US$16.8 billion in debts to the Bankruptcy Court on the first day of its chapter 11 cases. Refco LLC, an affiliate, filed for chapter 7 protection on Nov. 25, 2005 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 05-60134). Refco, LLC, is a regulated commodity futures company that has businesses in the United States, London, Asia and Canada. Refco, LLC, filed for bankruptcy protection in order to consummate the sale of substantially all of its assets to Man Financial Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Man Group plc. Albert Togut, the chapter 7 trustee, is represented by Togut, Segal & Segal LLP. On April 13, 2006, the Court appointed Marc S. Kirschner as Refco Capital Markets Ltd.'s chapter 11 trustee. Mr. Kirschner is represented by Bingham McCutchen LLP. RCM is Refco's operating subsidiary based in Bermuda. Three more affiliates of Refco, Westminster-Refco Management LLC, Refco Managed Futures LLC, and Lind-Waldock Securities LLC, filed for chapter 11 protection on June 6, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case Nos. 06-11260 through 06-11262) REFCO INC: Clarifies Trigger Date for Settlement with Lenders ------------------------------------------------------------- Refco Inc., and its debtor-affiliates and Marc Kirschner, the Chapter 11 trustee for Refco Capital Markets, Ltd., asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to approve a settlement agreement with Bank of America, N.A., and a syndicate of lenders under an Aug. 5, 2004, credit agreement. Some customers of Refco F/X Associates, LLC, the Ad Hoc Committee of Equity Security Holders of Refco, Inc., and RH Capital Associates, LLC, and Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC, the lead plaintiffs in In re Refco Inc. Securities Litigation, Case No. 05-Civ.-8626 (GEL), objected to the motion. On Sept. 20, 2006, the Refco Debtors filed an Amended Proposed Order with the Court. The Amended Order clarifies that the Trigger Date in the Lender Settlement will occur at the earlier of: (i) the Payment Date; and (ii) the date -- Other Trigger Date -- on which Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, notifies Refco Group, Inc., the Chapter 11 trustee for RCM, and the Creditors Committees in writing that a Trigger Date has occurred. Whether or not a Trigger Date has occurred, however, the Debtors party to the Loan Documents will use their reasonable best efforts to raise the funds required to pay, and to pay the amounts required to be paid as promptly as possible. If the Other Trigger Date will have occurred, and, at the time of the Other Trigger Date, the Debtors party to the Loan Documents do not have sufficient funds to pay the amounts in a lump sum, the Debtors will pay the amounts as soon as possible after the Other Trigger Date from whatever funds are available to them, provided that: (i) any partial payments will be made in increments of no less than US$1,000,000; and (ii) all amounts required to be paid will have been irrevocably paid in full and in cash not later than the Outside Payment Date. The Amended Order also clarifies that the Lender Releases will not include any person who is or was a director, officer, employee, shareholder, affiliate, professional or advisor of a Debtor or any affiliate of a Debtor, in that capacity. The Amended Order also notes that payments from the BAWAG Proceeds will reduce the Secured Claims against the Lenders' Collateral. If any Debtor, BAWAG, any other party-in-interest, or their successors, assigns or representatives assert a claim to or in respect of the BAWAG Proceeds allocated for the Lender Settlement, the payments will be deemed to have been made from the Collateral, and the claim will be asserted solely against the Collateral unencumbered by the payments, and not against BofA or any Lender. Refco, LLC; its Chapter 7 trustee, Albert Togut; and Fimex International, Ltd., have been removed from the list of participating parties. A full-text copy of the Amended Order is available at no charge at http://ResearchArchives.com/t/s?124d A revised list of participating parties is available at no charge at http://ResearchArchives.com/t/s?124e About Refco Inc. Based in New York, Refco Inc. -- http://www.refco.com/-- is a diversified financial services organization with operations in 14 countries and an extensive global institutional and retail client base. Refco's worldwide subsidiaries are members of principal U.S. and international exchanges, and are among the most active members of futures exchanges in Chicago, New York, London and Singapore. In addition to its futures brokerage activities, Refco is a major broker of cash market products, including foreign exchange, foreign exchange options, government securities, domestic and international equities, emerging market debt, and OTC financial and commodity products. Refco is one of the largest global clearing firms for derivatives. The Company and 23 of its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on Oct. 17, 2005 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 05-60006). J. Gregory Milmoe, Esq., at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, represent the Debtors in their restructuring efforts. Luc A. Despins, Esq., at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, represents the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. Refco reported US$16.5 billion in assets and US$16.8 billion in debts to the Bankruptcy Court on the first day of its chapter 11 cases. Refco LLC, an affiliate, filed for chapter 7 protection on Nov. 25, 2005 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 05-60134). Refco, LLC, is a regulated commodity futures company that has businesses in the United States, London, Asia and Canada. Refco, LLC, filed for bankruptcy protection in order to consummate the sale of substantially all of its assets to Man Financial Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Man Group plc. Albert Togut, the chapter 7 trustee, is represented by Togut, Segal & Segal LLP. On April 13, 2006, the Court appointed Marc S. Kirschner as Refco Capital Markets Ltd.'s chapter 11 trustee. Mr. Kirschner is represented by Bingham McCutchen LLP. RCM is Refco's operating subsidiary based in Bermuda. Three more affiliates of Refco, Westminster-Refco Management LLC, Refco Managed Futures LLC, and Lind-Waldock Securities LLC, filed for chapter 11 protection on June 6, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case Nos. 06-11260 through 06-11262). REFCO: Three Parties Object to Accord with Prepetition Lenders -------------------------------------------------------------- Refco Inc., and its debtor-affiliates and Marc Kirschner, the Chapter 11 trustee for Refco Capital Markets, Ltd., asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to approve a settlement agreement with Bank of America, N.A., and a syndicate of lenders under an Aug. 5, 2004, credit agreement. Objections (1) FXA Customers Some customers of Refco F/X Associates, LLC, object to the use of their funds deposited with FXA to pay the Secured Lenders. Specifically, the Ad Hoc Refco F/X Customer Committee; Forex Capital Markets, LLC; Forex Trading, LLC; and New York Financial, LLC, complain that the Debtors' request is silent as to whether or how the Motion would affect or treat their funds, which are being held by FXA or Refco Capital Markets, Ltd., for their benefit. Representing the FXA Customer Committee, Todd E. Duffy, Esq., at Duffy & Amedeo LLP, in New York, contends that none of the Debtors hold any proprietary or ownership interest in the financial accounts and funds of the FXA customers. As a result, the Debtors could not and did not grant a lien on or security interest in and to the funds or accounts to the Lenders as collateral for the obligations owed to the Lenders. The FXA customers are parties to separate agreements with FXA, pursuant to which the customers established trading accounts with FXA and into which cash and other property were delivered and maintained by FXA or RCM on the customers' behalf. The FXA Customer Committee, on its members' behalf, intends to file an adversary proceeding to (i) determine that the Financial Assets held and maintained by FXA or RCM are not the Debtors' property, but rather are property of its members, and (ii) require FXA or RCM to return and transfer the Financial Assets to its members based on several applicable legal theories, including the imposition of a constructive trust. Pending the filing of the adversary proceeding, the Debtors remain obligated to ensure that the customer funds are not wrongfully dissipated, Mr. Duffy asserts. (2) Ad Hoc Equity Committee The Ad Hoc Committee of Equity Security Holders of Refco, Inc., notes that approval of the Lender Settlement would predetermine the outcome of the Creditors Committees' request to allocate US$300,000,000 of the proceeds from the BAWAG Settlement. The creditors who support the Chapter 11 Plan will likely argue that the BAWAG Allocation Motion should be approved because approval is necessary to effectuate the Lender Settlement. That is not a legitimate reason to approve the BAWAG Allocation Motion, Paul N. Silverstein, Esq., at Andrews Kurth LLP, in New York, contends. The Ad Hoc Equity Committee intends to object to the BAWAG Allocation Motion on numerous grounds, including that: (i) Refco Group Ltd., LLC, is not entitled to US$300,000,000 of the BAWAG settlement; and (ii) the Court must allocate all the BAWAG proceeds at one time, not in a piecemeal fashion. The objections should not be litigated in the context of the Lender Settlement, Mr. Silverstein tells Judge Drain. The BAWAG Allocation Motion is scheduled for hearing first week of October, a week after the hearing on the Lender Settlement. Objections to the BAWAG Allocation Motion are not due until Oct. 2. The Ad Hoc Equity Committee also believes that the Lender Settlement is unnecessary because the Debtors could achieve the same or better result by seeking authority to use estate property to pay the Banks in full. Mr. Silverstein explains that consideration to be received by the Debtors under the Lender Settlement appears largely illusory. Mr. Silverstein notes that the claim for default interest -- 2% per annum or about US$13,000,000 -- is a relatively small amount in the context of the Debtors' cases, and less than the amount of fees authorized to be paid, without Court review, under the Lender Settlement. The Lender Settlement does not require the Banks to release their disputed claims against Refco, Inc., which is neither a party to, nor guarantor of, the Credit Agreement. The Banks should be required to release the proofs of claim they filed against all of the Debtors, Mr. Silverstein maintains. The Ad Hoc Equity Committee consists of JMB Capital Partners, LP; Lonestar Capital Management, LLC; Mason Capital Management; Smith Management LLC; and Triage Management LLC. (3) Securities Plaintiffs RH Capital Associates, LLC, and Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC, the lead plaintiffs in In re Refco Inc. Securities Litigation, Case No. 05-Civ.-8626 (GEL), seek a clarification that the release of the Lenders under the Settlement is not intended to impact, in any way, the Lead Plaintiffs' claims for violations of federal securities laws against Banc of America Securities, LLC; Credit Suisse First Boston; and Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. The Proposed Order is broad and ambiguous and may be interpreted to provide a more all-encompassing release to the Lenders and others than intended by the parties to the Settlement, Michael S. Etkin, Esq., at Lowenstein Sandler PC, in New York, explains. About Refco Inc. Based in New York, Refco Inc. -- http://www.refco.com/-- is a diversified financial services organization with operations in 14 countries and an extensive global institutional and retail client base. Refco's worldwide subsidiaries are members of principal U.S. and international exchanges, and are among the most active members of futures exchanges in Chicago, New York, London and Singapore. In addition to its futures brokerage activities, Refco is a major broker of cash market products, including foreign exchange, foreign exchange options, government securities, domestic and international equities, emerging market debt, and OTC financial and commodity products. Refco is one of the largest global clearing firms for derivatives. The Company and 23 of its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on Oct. 17, 2005 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 05-60006). J. Gregory Milmoe, Esq., at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, represent the Debtors in their restructuring efforts. Luc A. Despins, Esq., at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, represents the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. Refco reported US$16.5 billion in assets and US$16.8 billion in debts to the Bankruptcy Court on the first day of its chapter 11 cases. Refco LLC, an affiliate, filed for chapter 7 protection on Nov. 25, 2005 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 05-60134). Refco, LLC, is a regulated commodity futures company that has businesses in the United States, London, Asia and Canada. Refco, LLC, filed for bankruptcy protection in order to consummate the sale of substantially all of its assets to Man Financial Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Man Group plc. Albert Togut, the chapter 7 trustee, is represented by Togut, Segal & Segal LLP. On April 13, 2006, the Court appointed Marc S. Kirschner as Refco Capital Markets Ltd.'s chapter 11 trustee. Mr. Kirschner is represented by Bingham McCutchen LLP. RCM is Refco's operating subsidiary based in Bermuda. Three more affiliates of Refco, Westminster-Refco Management LLC, Refco Managed Futures LLC, and Lind-Waldock Securities LLC, filed for chapter 11 protection on June 6, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case Nos. 06-11260 through 06-11262). ROYAL & SUNALLIANCE: A.M. Best Places C++ Rating Under Review ------------------------------------------------------------- A.M. Best Co. has placed the financial strength ratings of C++ (Marginal) and the issuer credit ratings of "b" of the Royal & SunAlliance USA Insurance Pool and Royal Surplus Lines Insurance Company under review with developing implications pending the completion of the proposed sale of these operations to Arrowpoint Capital, a new company formed by the existing management team of these operations. All the above companies are domiciled in Wilmington, Delaware. R&SAUS and RSLIC are U.S. subsidiaries of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc (London, England). As part of this transaction, R&SA will infuse $287.5 million into its U.S. subsidiaries to facilitate the ongoing run-off of R&SAUS and RSLIC's existing liabilities. Subsequently, Arrowpoint Capital is purchasing R&SAUS and RSLIC for $300 million in deferred consideration, which will be based on the future performance of the run-off of the liabilities being transferred in the sale. R&SAUS and RSLIC ceased writing new business in 2003 and have been in run-off since then. A.M. Best will review the impact of this transaction on the U.S. subsidiaries' risk-adjusted capitalization as well as management's operational plans for the newly formed company. A.M. Best anticipates finalizing its review following the completion of the sale to Arrowpoint Capital and discussions with management, which are expected by year-end 2006. The FSR of C++ (Marginal) and the ICRs of "b" have placed under review with developing implications for Royal & SunAlliance USA Insurance Pool and its following members: -- Royal Indemnity Company -- Security Insurance Company of Hartford -- Guaranty National Insurance Company The FSR of C++ (Marginal) and the ICR of "b" have placed under review with developing implications for Royal Surplus Lines Insurance Company. A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. SAVILLE TRACTORS: Hires Joint Administrators from BDO Stoy ---------------------------------------------------------- C. K. Rayment and S. Bannon of BDO Stoy Hayward LLP were appointed joint administrators of Saville Tractors Ltd. (Company Number 00376443) on Sept. 14. BDO Stoy Hayward -- http://www.bdo.co.uk/-- is the U.K. member firm of BDO International, the world's fifth largest accountancy network with more than 600 offices in 100 countries. Its services include: audit and assurance, business restructuring, corporate finance, disputes and investigations, investment management, risk assurance services, tax services, and valuations. Headquartered in Sheffield, United Kingdom, Saville Tractors Ltd. -- http://www.savilles.com/-- wholesales industrial machinery and equipment. SCRATCH & NEWTON: Taps BDO Stoy as Joint Administrators ------------------------------------------------------- Toby Underwood and Matthew Dunham of BDO Stoy Hayward LLP were appointed joint administrators of Scratch & Newton Ltd. (Company Number 04926162) on Sept. 19. BDO Stoy Hayward -- http://www.bdo.co.uk/-- is the U.K. member firm of BDO International, the world's fifth largest accountancy network with more than 600 offices in 100 countries. Its services include: audit and assurance, business restructuring, corporate finance, disputes and investigations, investment management, risk assurance services, tax services, and valuations. Headquartered in Leeds, United Kingdom, Scratch & Newton Ltd. retails animal hutches. TOP TEMPS: Names Simon Gwinnutt as Administrator ------------------------------------------------ Simon Gwinnutt of Smith Cooper was appointed administrator of Top Temps Recruitment Ltd. (Company Number 03967266) on Sept. 15. The administrator can be reached at: Smith Cooper Wilmot House St James Court Friar Gate Derby Derbyshire DE1 1BT United Kingdom Tel: 01332 332021 Fax: 01332 290439 E-mail: smg@smithcooper.co.uk Top Temps Recruitment Ltd. can be reached at: Forefront House 26 Moorgate Street Rotherham South Yorkshire S60 2DA United Kingdom Tel: 01709 376 386 TOP WOK: Creditors' Meeting Slated for October 6 ------------------------------------------------ Creditors of Top Wok (Aul) Ltd. (Company Number 4132832) will meet at 2:00 p.m. on Oct. 6 at: Lines Henry 6th Floor Grafton Tower Stamford New Road Altrincham Cheshire WA14 1DQ United Kingdom Creditors who want to be represented at the meeting may appoint proxies. Proxy forms must be submitted together with written debt claims at noon on Oct. 5 at: Neil Henry and Michael Simister Joint Administrators Lines Henry 6th Floor Grafton Tower Stamford New Road Altrincham Cheshire WA14 1DQ United Kingdom VETERINARY PRACTICE: Hires PwC to Administer Assets --------------------------------------------------- Robert William Birchall and Stephen Mark Oldfield of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP were appointed joint administrators of Veterinary Practice Initiatives Ltd. (Company Number 03145771) on Sept. 15. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP -- http://www.pwcglobal.com/-- provides, among others, auditing services, accounting advice, tax compliance and consulting, financial consulting and advisory services to clients in a variety of industries. Veterinary Practice Initiatives Ltd. can be reached at: Unit 2 Salar House 61 Campfield Road St. Albans Hertfordshire AL1 5HT United Kingdom Fax: 01727 739 607 VINYL LOGISTICS: Appoints David Field as Liquidator --------------------------------------------------- David Field of Centrum Recovery was appointed Liquidator of Vinyl Logistics Limited on Sept. 5 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. Headquartered in Newark, U.K., Vinyl Logistics Limited is a distributor of sign makers' equipment and materials. WINDOWMERE LIMITED: Taps Joint Liquidators from Harrisons --------------------------------------------------------- Kenneth Webster Marland and John Neil Harrison of Harrisons were appointed Joint Liquidators of Windowmere Limited on Sept. 15 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. Headquartered in Wellingborough, U.K., Windowmere Limited -- http://www.windowmere.co.uk/-- installs conservatories, windows and doors. The company also manufactures window frames, roofs and supplies of Aztec Roofing Systems. WINLEASE LIMITED: Appoints Ernst & Young as Administrators ---------------------------------------------------------- Roy Bailey, Alan Bloom and Angela Swarbrick of Ernst & Young LLP were appointed joint administrators of Winlease Limited (Company Number 03239625) on Sept. 18. Ernst & Young -- http://www.ey.com/-- helps companies in businesses across all industries-from emerging growth companies to global powerhouses-deal with a broad range of business issues. It has 107,000 people in 140 countries around the globe pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality and professionalism to provide clients with a broad array of services relating to audit and risk-related services, tax, and transactions. Winlease Limited can be reached at: 4 Clarendon Place King Street Maidstone Kent ME14 1BQ United Kingdom * Large Companies with Insolvent Balance Sheets ----------------------------------------------- Shareholders Total Working Equity Assets Capital Ticker (US$MM) (US$MM) (US$MM) ------ ----------- ------- -------- AUSTRIA ------- Libro AG (111) 174 (182) Rhi AG (214) 1,756 293 BELGIUM ------- City Hotels CITY.BR (7) 210 (15) Sabena S.A. (86) 2,215 (297) CZECH REPUBLIC -------------- Ceskomoravska Kolben & Danek Praha Holding (89) 192 (2,186) DENMARK ------- Elite Shipping (28) 101 19 FRANCE ------ Acces Industrie (8) 106 (35) Arbel PA.ARB (98) 222 (72) Banque Nationale de Paris Guyane BNPG (41) 352 N.A. BSN Glasspack (101) 1,151 179 Charbo De France (3,872) 4,738 (2,868) Compagnie Francaise de l'Afrique Occidentale (65) 256 21 Dollfus Mieg & Cie S.A. DS (16) 143 (45) Euro Computer System (110) 682 377 Genesys S.A. GNS.PA (10) 120 (5) Grande Paroisse S.A. (927) 629 330 Immob Hoteliere (68) 233 29 Labo Dolisos DOLI.PA (28) 110 (33) Matussiere et Forest S.A. MTF (78) 294 (28) Oeneo S.A. SABT.PA (12) 292 38 Pneumatiques Kleber S.A. (34) 480 139 Rhodia S.A. RHA (788) 6,681 171 SDR Centrest (132) 252 N.A. SDR Picardie (135) 413 N.A. Selcodis S.A. SPVX (18) 128 22 Soderag (3) 404 N.A. Sofal S.A. (305) 6,619 N.A. Spie-Batignolles (16) 5,281 75 St Fiacre (FIN) (1) 111 (33) Teamlog TLO (19) 109 (3) Trouvay Cauvin (0) 134 10 Usines Chausson (23) 249 35 GERMANY ------- Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG (174) 3,003 606 Dortmunder Actien-Brauerei DABG (13) 118 (29) EM.TV AG EV4G.BE (22) 849 15 F.A. Guenther & Son AG GUSG (8) 111 N.A. Kaufring AG KAUG (19) 151 (51) Maternus Kliniken AG MAK.F (3) 207 (30) Nordsee AG (8) 195 (31) Plambeck Neue Energien AG PNE3 (4) 141 19 Primacom AG PRIG (268) 1,257 (1,048) Rinol AG RLIG (64) 104 (15) Schaltbau Hold SLTG (23) 144 (7) SinnLeffers AG WHGG (4) 454 (145) Spar Handels- AG SPAG (442) 1,433 (234) Vivanco Gruppe (55) 131 (31) GREECE ------ Empedos S.A. EMPED (34) 175 (48) Pouliadis Associates Corporation POUL (28) 124 (31) Radio A.Korassidis KORA (101) 181 (139) Commercial HUNGARY ------- Exbus Asset Management Nyrt. EXBUS (30) 118 (5,162) ICELAND ------- Decode Genetics Inc. DCGN (9) 229 141 ITALY ----- Binda S.p.A. BND (11) 129 (20) Cirio Finanziaria S.p.A. (422) 1,583 (396) Credito Fondiario e Industriale S.p.A. (200) 4,218 N.A. Finpart S.p.A. (152) 732 (322) Gruppo Coin S.p.A. GC (150) 4,218 N.A. I Viaggi del Ventaglio S.p.A. VVE.MI (61) 487 (58) Olcese S.p.A. OLCI.MI (13) 180 (64) Parmalat Finanziaria S.p.A. (18,419) 4,121 (12,481) Technodiffusione Italia S.p.A. TDIFF.PK (90) 152 (24) Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. (10) 12,698 (815) NETHERLANDS ----------- Baan Company N.V. BAAN (8) 610 46 United Pan-Euro Air UPC (5,266) 5,180 (8,730) NORWAY ------ Petroleum-Geo Services PGO (32) 2,963 (5,250) POLAND ------ Mostostal Zabrze MECOF.PK (6) 227 (366) Vista Alegre Atlantis SGPS S.A. VAAAE (18) 193 (83) ROMANIA ------- Oltchim RM Valce OLT (45) 232 (321) RUSSIA ------ OAO Samaraneftegas (332) 892 (16,942) Zil Auto (185) 378 (11,107) SPAIN ----- Altos Hornos de Vizcaya S.A. (116) 1,283 (278) Santana Motor S.A. (46) 223 41 Sniace S.A. (10) 134 (37) SWITZERLAND ----------- Wedins Skor Accessoarer AB (10) 139 (129) TURKEY ------ Nergis Holding (24) 125 26 Yasarbank (948) 623 N.A. UKRAINE ------- Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Plant Imeni Petrovsko (2) 278 (509) Dniprooblenergo (38) 478 (797) Donetskoblenergo (166) 706 (1,320) UNITED KINGDOM -------------- Abbott Mead Vickers (2) 168 (16) AEA Technology Plc AAT.L (24) 340 (50) Alldays Plc (120) 252 (202) Amey Plc (49) 932 (47) Anker Plc ANK.L (22) 115 13 Atkins (WS) Plc ATK (63) 1,279 70 Bonded Coach Holiday Group Plc (6) 188 (44) Blenheim Group (153) 198 (34) Booker Plc BKRUY (60) 1,298 (8) Bradstock Group BDK (2) 269 5 Brent Walker Group BWL (1,774) 867 (1,157) British Energy Plc BGY (5,823) 4,921 434 British Nuclear Fuels Plc (4,248) 40,326 977 Compass Group CPG (668) 2,972 (298) Costain Group COST (39) 567 (5) Danka Bus System DNK.L (108) 540 34 Dawson Holdings DWN.L (12) 158 (19) Easynet Group ESY.L (45) 323 38 Electrical and Music Industries Group EMI (1,264) 2,818 (253) Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc ERM.L (88) 297 (56) European Home Retail Plc EHRL (14) 111 (37) Gartland Whalley (11) 145 (8) Global Green Tech Group (156) 408 (18) Gondola Holdings Plc GND.L (239) 987 (396) Heath Lambert Fenchurch Group Plc (10) 4,109 (10) HMV Group Plc HMV (4) 948 (175) Homestyle Group Plc HME (29) 409 (124) Imperial Chemical Industries Plc ICI (835) 8,881 (49) Invensys PLC (1,031) 3,875 494 IPC Media Ltd. (685) 254 16 Jarvis Plc JRVS.L (683) 492 (371) Lambert Fenchurch Group (1) 1,827 3 Lattice Group (1,290) 12,410 (1,228) Leeds United LDSUF.PK (73) 144 (29) M 2003 Plc (2,204) 7,205 (756) Manchester City (17) 154 (21) Micro Focus International Plc MCRO.L (14) 115 (11) Mytravel Group MT.L (283) 1,159 (410) Orange Plc ORNGF (594) 2,902 7 Park Group Plc PKG.L (5) 111 (13) Partygaming Plc PRTY (46) 398 (110) Premier Farner Plc PFL (33) 964 127 Premier Foods Plc PFD.L (31) 1,475 16 Probus Estates Plc PBE.L (28) 113 (49) Regus Plc RGU.L (46) 367 (60) Rentokil Initial Plc RTO (1,134) 2,678 (45) RHM Plc RHM (586) 2,411 59 Saatchi & Saatchi SSI (119) 705 (41) Seton Healthcare (11) 157 0 SFI Group (108) 178 (162) Telewest Communications Plc TLWT (3,702) 7,581 (5,361) UK Coal Plc UKC (25) 865 (62) Virgin Mobile Holdings Plc VMOB.L (490) 155 (80) Wincanton Plc WIN (66) 1,236 (71) ********* Each Tuesday edition of the TCR contains a list of companies with insolvent balance sheets whose shares trade higher than US$3 per share in public markets. At first glance, this list may look like the definitive compilation of stocks that are ideal to sell short. Don't be fooled. Assets, for example, reported at historical cost net of depreciation may understate the true value of a firm's assets. A company may establish reserves on its balance sheet for liabilities that may never materialize. The prices at which equity securities trade in public market are determined by more than a balance sheet solvency test. A list of Meetings, Conferences and Seminars appears in each Thursday's edition of the TCR. Submissions about insolvency- related conferences are encouraged. Send announcements to conferences@bankrupt.com/ Each Friday's edition of the TCR includes a review about a book of interest to troubled company professionals. All titles are available at your local bookstore or through Amazon.com. Go to http://www.bankrupt.com/books/to order any title today. ********* 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., Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Frederick, Maryland USA. Jazel Laureno, Julybien Atadero, Carmel Zamesa Paderog, and Joy Agravante, Editors. Copyright 2006. 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 US$575 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. 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