/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/071115.mbx T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R E U R O P E Thursday, November 15, 2007, Vol. 8, No. 227 Headlines A U S T R I A ALTUNTAS KEG: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 27 EASY-BAU LLC: Vienna Court Orders Business Shutdown HASELSTEINER KEG: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 20 ISOT LLC: Vienna Court Orders Business Shutdown LASERZ INNENAUSBAU: Vienna Court Orders Business Shutdown SARIANA LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 20 STERLING LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 20 TOP-REAL LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 19 B E L G I U M CHIQUITA BRANDS: Posts US$28-Mln Net Loss in Qtr. Ended Sept. 30 C Z E C H R E P U B L I C HARVARDSKY PRUMYSLOVY: Supreme Court Rejects Bankruptcy Appeal D E N M A R K GRAPHIC PACKAGING: S&P Holds All Ratings and Revises Outlook F I N L A N D QUEBECOR WORLD: Moody's Junks New US$400 Mln Sr. Unsecured Notes F R A N C E BALLY TECH: Teams Up with Teradata to Provide Business Services BALLY TECH: Licenses Certicom for Next-Generation Casino Systems FCI INT'L: Moody's Lifts Rating to Ba3 on Improved Performance REXEL SA: In Exclusive Talks to Buy Hagemeyer for EUR3.1 Billion REXEL SA: Exclusive Takeover Talks Cue Fitch to Watch BB IDR G E R M A N Y BATRA LUEBECK: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 28 BBP VERWALTUNGSGESELLSCHAFT: Claims Registration Ends Nov. 27 CERBERUS SECURITY: Claims Registration Period Ends Dec. 3 DANISCHE BAUKOMPONENTEN: Claims Registration Period Ends Dec. 7 DO MO INDUSTRIE: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 30 HTL TRANSPORT: Claims Registration Period Ends Dec. 4 INTRA-HAUSSCHUH GMBH: Claims Registration Ends December 6 KRAFTVERKEHR GERHARD: Claims Registration Ends December 4 KLOCKE GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends Dec. 19 MOCCABAR GASTRONOMIE: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 30 NALIN EIGENHEIMBAU: Claims Registration Period Ends Dec. 1 NOVELIS INC: Earns US$13 Million in 2007 Second Quarter REFORM UND DIATHAUS: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 27 TAM HOLDING: Claims Registration Ends December 7 UNICUM GASTSTATTENBETRIEBS: Claims Registration Ends Nov. 27 I T A L Y ALITALIA SPA: Posts EUR57.6 Million Pretax Loss in Third Quarter PARMALAT SPA: Group Earns EUR276.9MM for First Nine Months 2007 PARMALAT SPA: New York Court Denies Third-Party Action Dismissal PARMALAT SPA: New York Court Junks Motion for Reconsideration TISCALI SPA: Posts EUR3.9 Mln Loss for 9-Months Ended Sept. 30 K A Z A K H S T A N AK-BASTAU LLP: Proof of Claim Deadline Slated for Dec. 12 HALYK BANK: Fitch Affirms BB+ IDR; Stable Outlook GOLDEN LINE: Creditors Must File Claims Dec. 14 NORD OIL: Claims Filing Period Ends Dec. 14 PALTOSTAL LLP: Creditors' Claims Due on Dec. 14 TEMIR-BARS-2030 LLP: Claims Registration Ends Dec. 14 K Y R G Y Z S T A N RELIABLE DOCUMENTATIONS: Creditors Must File Claims by Dec. 19 N O R W A Y PETROLEUM GEO-SERVICES: Acquires 78% Stake in Arrow Seismic PETROLEUM GEO-SERVICES: Arrow Acquisition Cues S&P's BB- Ratings R U S S I A CENTROCREDIT BANK: Moody's Puts B3/NP/E+/Baa2.ru Global Ratings FEDERAL GRID: S&P Holds BB+ Debt Rating on Proposed Notes LENINGRAD OBLAST: S&P Affirms BB- Ratings with Positive Outlook MILK OJSC: Creditors Must File Claims by Dec. 3 OMUTINSKAGROPROMSNAB OJSC: Court Hearing Slated for Jan. 9, 2008 PILOT PLANT 408: Creditors Must File Claims by Jan. 3, 2008 UST'-ILIMSKIJ OJSC: Creditors Must File Claims by Dec. 3 VELSKSTROY OJSC: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for Feb. 21, 2008 S P A I N BANKINTER 3 FTPYME: Moody's Junks EUR17.4 Mln Series E Notes CAIXA SABADELL 1: Fitch Junks EUR4.5 Million Class D Notes S W I T Z E R L A N D BBJ-DRUCK JSC: Creditors' Liquidation Claims Due by November 30 C. COCIVERA COLLOMBEY: Lucerne Court Starts Bankruptcy Process CRECON JSC: Zug Court Closes Bankruptcy Proceedings GARAGE LEUENBERGER: Creditors' Liquidation Claims Due by Dec. 8 GROW HOUSE: Creditors' Liquidation Claims Due by November 30 INTREX MESSE: Creditors' Liquidation Claims Due by November 30 JOHNSON PUMPEN: Creditors Must File Claims by March 4, 2008 KIESEL RETO: Thurgau Court Closes Bankruptcy Proceedings PROTOR JSC: Aargau Court Starts Bankruptcy Proceedings REEDEREI MS: Creditors' Liquidation Claims Due by December 12 U K R A I N E AMFITRITA LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 INTEKO-INVEST-GROUP: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 KHARKOV OIL: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 LUGANSK COAL: Claims Filing Bar Date Set November 18 MAKEYEVKA GLASS: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 ONIS LLC: Claims Filing Bar Date Set November 18 PROMAGRO: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 S.T.M. LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 TRADE EXPRESS: Claims Filing bar Date Set November 21 U N I T E D K I N G D O M BAKER STREET: Moody's May Cut Ba1 Rating After Review BAKER STREET US$: Moody's May Cut Ba1 Rating After Review BLUE FIN: S&P Puts BB+ Ratings to Two Series 1 Note Classes BRAKE BROS: Fitch Withdraws Ratings on Sale to Bain Capital BRITISH AIRWAYS: Fuel Surcharge Increase to Take Effect Today CABLE & WIRELESS: Restores Services in Cayman Islands CHRYSLER LLC: Plans to Offer Rebates in December CLIFTON STREET: Moody's May Cut Ba1 Rating After Review CONSTELLATION BRANDS: Buying Fortune's Wine Biz for US$885 Mln CONSTELLATION BRANDS: Fortune Deal Cues Fitch to Hold Ratings CREATIVE OUTSOURCING: Appoints Administrators from KPMG DURA AUTOMOTIVE: Asks Firm to Detail Purchase of Clients' Bonds GIRAFFE TOWN: Names Matthew Colin Bowker Liquidator HANOVER STREET: Moody's May Cut Ba1 Rating After Review ICONIX BRAND: Enters Into Five Global License Agreements MDG DRYWALL: Calls In Liquidator from Baker Tilly Restructuring MEGA BRANDS: S&P Places Low-B Ratings on CreditWatch Negative METRONET RAIL: Administration Costing Taxpayers GBP13 Mln a Week PEMBRIDGE SQUARE: Moody's May Cut Ba1 Rating After Review PLUS WALL: Appoints Stephen Robert Cork as Liquidator RED DRAGON: P. D. Masters Leads Liquidation Procedure SANDERSON FOOTWEAR: Taps Ian J. Gould to Liquidate Assets SPACE MODELS: Hires Liquidator from Mazars TOP BRAND: Claims Filing Period Ends December 10 TRUMAX LTD: Claims Filing Period Ends December 24 TYSON FOODS: Outlines International Expansion Plans * Beard Group's Featured Conference for November 2007 * Upcoming Meetings, Conferences and Seminars ********* ============= A U S T R I A ============= ALTUNTAS KEG: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 27 ----------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by KEG ALTUNTAS (FN 230292s) have until Nov. 27 to file written proofs of claim to court-appointed estate administrator Erwin Senoner at: Dr. Erwin Senoner Alser Strasse 21 1080 Vienna Austria Tel: 4060551 Fax: 4069601 E-mail: kanzlei@jus.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 10:15 a.m. on Dec. 11 for the examination of claims. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The Trade Court of Vienna Room 1607 Vienna Austria Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Oct. 18 (Bankr. Case No. 28 S 117/07w). EASY-BAU LLC: Vienna Court Orders Business Shutdown --------------------------------------------------- The Trade Court of Vienna entered Oct. 16 an order shutting down the business of LLC easy-bau (FN 170759t). Court-appointed estate administrator Stefan Jahn recommended the business shutdown after determining that the continuing operations would reduce the value of the estate. The estate administrator can be reached at: Mag. Stefan Jahn c/o Dr. Susi Pariasek Gonzagagasse 15 1010 Vienna Austria Tel: 532 17 11 Fax: 532 17 11 11 E-mail: kanzlei@jahns.co.at Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Sept. 28 (Bankr. Case No 2 S 132/07k). Susi Pariasek represents Mag. Jahn in the bankruptcy proceedings. HASELSTEINER KEG: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 20 --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by KEG Haselsteiner (FN 157509g) have until Nov. 20 to file written proofs of claim to court-appointed estate administrator Michael Pfleger at: Mag. Michael Pfleger Hauptplatz 1/2 3300 Amstetten Austria Tel: 07472/61 303 Fax: 07472/61 303-50 E-mail: amstetten@lhup.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 9:50 a.m. on Dec. 11 for the examination of claims. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The Land Court of St. Poelten Room 216 Second Floor Old Building St. Poelten Austria Headquartered in Blindenmarkt, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Oct. 15 (Bankr. Case No. 14 S 172/07w). ISOT LLC: Vienna Court Orders Business Shutdown ----------------------------------------------- The Trade Court of Vienna entered Oct. 16 an order shutting down the business of LLC ISOT (FN 260025s). Court-appointed estate administrator Arno Maschke recommended the business shutdown after determining that the continuing operations would reduce the value of the estate. The estate administrator can be reached at: Dr. Arno Maschke c/o Dr. Georg Unger Mariahilfer Strasse 50 1070 Vienna Austria Tel: 523 62 00 Fax: 526 72 74 E-mail: maschke@sup.at Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Sept. 28 (Bankr. Case No 2 S 131/07p). Georg Unger represents Dr. Maschke in the bankruptcy proceedings. LASERZ INNENAUSBAU: Vienna Court Orders Business Shutdown --------------------------------------------------------- The Trade Court of Vienna entered Oct. 17 an order shutting down the business of KEG Laserz Innenausbau (FN 284847v). Court-appointed estate administrator Stefan Jahns recommended the business shutdown after determining that the continuing operations would reduce the value of the estate. The estate administrator can be reached at: Mag. Stefan Jahns c/o Dr. Susi Pariasek Gonzagagasse 15 1010 Vienna Austria Tel: 532 17 11 Fax: 532 17 11-11 E-mail: kanzlei@jahns.co.at Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Oct. 1 (Bankr. Case No 3 S 124/07s). Susi Pariasek represents Mag. Jahns in the bankruptcy proceedings. SARIANA LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 20 ---------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Sariana (FN 111409m) have until Nov. 20 to file written proofs of claim to court-appointed estate administrator Candidus Cortolezis at: Dr. Candidus Cortolezis Hauptplatz 14 8010 Graz Austria Tel: 0316/81 39 73 Fax: 0316/84 77 97 E-mail: office@cortolezis.com Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 2:00 p.m. on Dec. 6 for the examination of claims. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The Land Court of Graz Hall L Room 230 Second Floor Graz Austria Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Oct. 12 (Bankr. Case No. 25 S 110/07z). STERLING LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 20 ----------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Stering (FN 35338v) have until Nov. 20 to file written proofs of claim to court-appointed estate administrator Marisa Schamesberge at: Dr. Marisa Schamesberge Hofgasse 6 / III 8010 Graz Austria Tel: 0316/842184 Fax: 0316/8421848 E-mail: kanzlei@ra-hofgasse6.com Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 2:25 p.m. on Dec. 6 for the examination of claims. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The Land Court of Graz Hall L Room 230 Second Floor Graz Austria Headquartered in Hitzendorf, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Oct. 15 (Bankr. Case No. 25 S 112/07v). TOP-REAL LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 19 ----------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC TOP-REAL Mag. Woegerer Immobilien (FN 71263z) have until Nov. 19 to file written proofs of claim to court-appointed estate administrator Felix Stortecky at: Dr. Felix Stortecky W.A. Mozartstrasse 4 7093 Jois Austria Tel: 02160/71207 Fax: 02160/71207-22 E-mail: office@stortecky.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Dec. 3 for the examination of claims. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The Land Court of Eisenstadt Hall F Eisenstadt Austria Headquartered in Neusiedl am See, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Oct. 12 (Bankr. Case No. 26 S 145/07m). ============= B E L G I U M ============= CHIQUITA BRANDS: Posts US$28-Mln Net Loss in Qtr. Ended Sept. 30 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Chiquita Brands International Inc. released financial and operating results for the third quarter 2007. Third quarter net sales increased 3% to US$1.1 billion, and the company reported a net loss of US$28 million, including a charge of US$4 million related to a previously announced downsizing in Chile. The company reported a net loss of US$96 million, including a noncash charge of US$43 million in the year-ago period. "As we had anticipated, our third quarter, excluding charges, showed a modest improvement in year-over-year operating results," said Fernando Aguirre, chairman and chief executive officer. "While we continue to face rising industry costs and other market challenges, we expect to deliver further year-over- year progress in operating results in the fourth quarter and in the year ahead. The banana-pricing environment in Europe stabilized earlier in the year and improved in the third quarter, particularly in the aftermath of industry supply disruptions caused by Hurricane Dean. In addition, our value- added salads business showed significant year-on-year recovery in the third quarter, which we expect to continue in the fourth quarter and in 2008." Mr. Aguirre added, "Last week, we announced a business restructuring designed to improve our profitability by consolidating operations and simplifying our overhead structure to enhance efficiency, stimulate innovation and further focus on customers and consumers. In addition to new, sustainable cost reductions of approximately US$60-80 million beginning in 2008, the changes will result in fewer layers of management, faster decisions and better accountability. Also, we will drive greater integration and efficiency across business units and geographies, resulting in one face to customers, one global supply chain from seed to shelf, and one global innovation program with targeted priorities and better execution. Taken together, I am confident these actions will strengthen our long- term market position and enhance our ability to achieve sustainable, profitable growth." Business Restructuring On Oct. 29, 2007, Chiquita outlined a restructuring plan and management changes designed to accelerate its previously announced strategy to become the global leader in healthy, fresh foods. This business restructuring is designed to improve the company's profitability by consolidating operations and simplifying its overhead structure to improve efficiency, stimulate innovation and further enhance focus on customers and consumers. As a result of these changes, the company expects to generate new, sustainable cost reductions of approximately US$60-80 million annually, beginning in 2008, after a one-time charge of approximately US$25 million in the fourth quarter 2007 related to severance costs and certain asset write-downs. Realized savings will improve profitability, and resulting additional cash flow will be used primarily to reduce debt, consistent with the company's target to achieve a debt-to-capital ratio of 40%. About Chiquita 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, Columbia, Germany, Panama, Philippines, among others. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on May 16, 2007, Moody's Investors Service Ratings affirmed these ratings on Chiquita Brands International Inc.: (i) corporate family rating at B3; (ii) probability of default rating at B3; (iii) USUS$250 million 7.5% senior unsecured notes due 2014 at Caa2 (LGD5, 89%); and (iv) USUS$225 million 8.875% senior unsecured notes due 2015 at Caa2 (LGD5, 89%). Moody's changed the rating outlook for Chiquita Brands to negative from stable. Troubled Company Reporter reported on May 4, 2007, that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'B' corporate credit and other ratings on Cincinnati, Ohio-based Chiquita Brands International Inc. on CreditWatch with negative implications, meaning that the ratings could be lowered or affirmed following the completion of their review. Total debt outstanding at the company was about USUS$1.3 billion as of March 31, 2007. =========================== C Z E C H R E P U B L I C =========================== HARVARDSKY PRUMYSLOVY: Supreme Court Rejects Bankruptcy Appeal -------------------------------------------------------------- The Czech Republic Supreme Court rejected an appeal declaring Harvardsky prumyslovy holding (HPH) bankrupt, Supreme Court spokesman Petr Knoetig told CTK Czech News Agency. According to the report, two HPH creditors had appealed to the Supreme Court against Prague High Court's reversal decision that HPH is not bankrupt. CTK recalls that the Prague Municipal Court approved the bankruptcy petition initiated by six HPH creditors. ============= D E N M A R K ============= GRAPHIC PACKAGING: S&P Holds All Ratings and Revises Outlook ------------------------------------------------------------ Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Graphic Packaging International Inc. to stable from negative. At the same time, it affirmed all of the ratings, including its 'B+' corporate credit rating. "The outlook revision reflects our expectations that Graphic Packaging's financial results will continue to improve because of greater price realization and cost reduction efforts," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Pamela Rice. "In addition, we believe that its pending merger with Altivity Packaging LLC should be modestly positive for the company's business risk profile because of both industry rationalization and potential synergies." The new company will have revenues of about US$4.40 billion, and management expects about US$90 million of synergies over the next four years. Marietta, Georgia-based Graphic Packaging had total adjusted debt of US$2.10 billion and debt to last-12-month EBITDA of 6.1x at Sept. 30, 2007. "Although pro forma leverage for the combined companies is similar, we expect gradual debt reduction and improved earnings to result in a strengthening of credit measures to levels appropriate for the ratings over the next two years," Ms. Rice said. Graphic Packaging manufactures paperboard and folding cartons used in beverage and consumer products packaging, as well as packaging machines that are leased to beverage manufacturers. "We could revise the outlook to negative if Graphic Packaging is unable to reduce its debt sufficiently over the next two years to bring credit measures in line with expectations because of high input costs, a general economic downturn, or difficulties integrating Altivity," Ms. Rice said. "We could revise the outlook to positive if earnings and cash flow are more robust than currently expected because of revenue initiatives, further meaningful cost reductions, or greater than expected synergies that allow a much more rapid pace of debt reduction." ============= F I N L A N D ============= QUEBECOR WORLD: Moody's Junks New US$400 Mln Sr. Unsecured Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service rated Quebecor World Inc.'s new US$400 million senior unsecured note issue Caa1. At the same time, ratings for approximately US$1.6 billion of existing senior unsecured notes for QWI and its wholly-owned subsidiary companies, Quebecor World Capital Corporation and Quebecor World Capital ULC, were downgraded to Caa1 from B3. In addition, QWI's corporate family rating was affirmed at B3, the ratings outlook for all instruments was revised to stable from negative, and QWI's speculative grade liquidity rating was upgraded to SGL-3 from SGL-4. The actions reflect the combined impact of two significant ongoing transactions, the first of which is partial divestiture of QWI's European operations. This will remove a cash flow drag and management distraction while converting the operation into a small amount of cash and a semi- liquid residual investment. Secondly, a CDN$250 million common share issue together with proceeds from the new senior unsecured note issue and a concurrent US$100 million convertible debenture facilitates redemption of QWI's Series 5 Preferred Shares (CDN$175 million), and a reduction of what would otherwise be outstanding under a new, 2-year, US$375 million (partially) secured and guaranteed revolving credit facility. The resulting improvement in liquidity and modest improvement in ongoing cash generation combine to cause the favorable ratings outlook revision and SGL rating upgrade. However, with it being confirmed that QWI's bank credit facility will permanently benefit from a package of security and upstream subsidiary guarantees not shared with its senior unsecured notes, the bank credit facility's preferential access to realization proceeds triggers the notes' ratings to be downgraded by one notch to Caa1. The new notes are rated at the same Caa1 level as the company's existing notes. The rating action assumes that the proposed transactions close as expected and that the related documentation conforms to what has been provided to Moody's thus far. Accordingly, the ratings are subject to adjustment should the transactions not close, or should they close on a basis different than that presented to Moody's. Assignment: * Issuer: Quebecor World, Inc. -- Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Assigned Caa1 (LGD4, 60) Downgrades: * Issuer: Quebecor World, Inc. -- Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Downgraded to Caa1 (LGD4, 60) from B3 (LGD4, 55) * Issuer: Quebecor World Capital Corporation -- Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Downgraded to Caa1 (LGD4, 60) from B3 (LGD4, 55) * Issuer: Quebecor World Capital ULC -- Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Downgraded to Caa1 (LGD4, 60) from B3 (LGD4, 55) Upgrades: * Issuer: Quebecor World, Inc. -- Speculative Grade Liquidity Rating, Upgraded to SGL-3 from SGL-4 Outlook Actions: * Issuer: Quebecor World Capital Corporation -- Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative * Issuer: Quebecor World Capital ULC -- Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative * Issuer: Quebecor World, Inc. -- Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative On Nov. 12, 2007, QWI announced the above-noted financing transactions. On Nov. 7, 2007, QWI announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to combine its European operations with those of RSDB NV's Roto Smeets, a Netherlands- based commercial printing company. With QWI retaining a 29.9% minority interest in the combined entity, Moody's views the transaction as being modestly positive by way of a problem operation being effectively divested, but with very little cash being returned, there is no immediate, significant financial benefit. Accordingly, Moody's continues to be very cautious in evaluating QWI's longer term prospects. In the interim, QWI's CFR remains B3, albeit Moody's sees the company as being weakly positioned at the B3 rating level. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Quebecor World Inc. (TSX: IQW) (NYSE: IQW) -- http://www.quebecorworld.com/-- provides marketing and advertising solutions to leading retailers, catalogers, branded-goods companies and other businesses with marketing and advertising activities, as well as complete, full-service print solutions for publishers. The company's major product categories include advertising inserts and circulars, catalogs, direct mail products, magazines, books, directories, digital premedia, logistics, mail list technologies and other value-added services. Quebecor World has approximately 27,500 employees working in more than 120 printing and related facilities in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Finland, France, India, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. =========== F R A N C E =========== BALLY TECH: Teams Up with Teradata to Provide Business Services --------------------------------------------------------------- Bally Technologies Inc. and Teradata Corporation will work together to provide solutions based on the new Bally Business Intelligence solution integrated with the Teradata(R) Warehouse. With Bally's expertise in casino systems and slot networks, along with Teradata's enterprise data warehouse leadership, mutual customers will benefit from optimized slot operations, better analysis and management of customer relationships and more robust marketing strategies. They will also gain new insight into the overall profitability of the business. Some mutual customers include Harrah's Entertainment, Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, Silverton Casino and Spotlight 29 Casino. Bally Technologies needed a technology partner that could provide deeper customer understanding to leverage its enterprise data visualization. In addition, Bally needed to enhance reporting capabilities and performance analytics on a platform that could support their growing user requirements for more sophisticated analytics. Enterprise Data Warehouses produced by Teradata analyze business operations to drive smarter, faster decisions by providing a complete view of the business and the agility to create a sustainable competitive advantage. Teradata provides integrated, optimized and extensible technology for a single application-neutral repository of a company's current and historical data, forming the framework of the business intelligence architecture. Bally Technologies chose to partner with Teradata to better serve its customers by providing them information in a centralized environment. This data can then be analyzed and presented to the business users as a series of static- or active-data visualizations that show how the business is performing. These visualizations allow decision-makers to make accurate business assessments and adjustments to positively affect customer entertainment experiences and operational results. "The Bally BI strategy is to bring our customers the best technology solutions, and Teradata brings to our portfolio a world-class pedigree in data warehousing and CRM applications," said Bruce Rowe, senior vice president of strategy and business development for Bally Technologies. "Both Bally Technology and Teradata recognize the importance of leveraging detailed data to drive customer understanding, satisfaction and a process of continuous business improvement. The Teradata and Bally Business Intelligence Solution provides the power of advanced visual space analytics to the casino management team, enabling them to operationalize their data warehouse," said Dave Porter, director of hospitality and gaming for Teradata. Teradata and Bally Technologies will be exhibiting and demonstrating the integrated solution at the Global Gaming Expo show in Las Vegas from Nov. 13 through Nov. 15 in booth numbers 522 and 524 respectively. About Teradata Teradata Corporation (NYSE:TDC) -- http://www.teradata.com/ -- is the world's largest company solely focused on raising intelligence through data warehousing and enterprise analytics. Teradata is in more than 60 countries. About Bally Technologies Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, Bally Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BYI) -- http://www.BallyTech.com/-- designs, manufactures, operates, and distributes advanced gaming devices, systems, and technology solutions worldwide. Bally's product line includes reel-spinning slot machines, video slots, wide- area progressives and Class II lottery and central determination games and platforms. Bally Technologies also offers an array of casino management, slot accounting, bonus, cashless, and table management solutions. The company also owns and operates Rainbow Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The company's South American operations are located in Argentina. The company also has operations in France, Germany, Macau, China, India, and the United Kingdom. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Nov. 7, 2007, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has raised its corporate credit and senior secured debt ratings on Bally Technologies Inc. to 'B+' from 'B-'. Concurrently, S&P revised the CreditWatch implications to positive from develo BALLY TECH: Licenses Certicom for Next-Generation Casino Systems ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bally Technologies, Inc. has licensed Certicom Corp.'s Game Guardian Server Based Gaming(TM) (SBG) security platform to protect its next-generation casino systems. Specifically, Bally Technologies will use Certicom's Game Guardian SBG Certificate Authority Server and Game Guardian SBG Client to enable secure, authenticated connections between applications, gaming machines and backend servers. The Game Guardian SBG platform will be integrated into Bally Technologies rapidly growing line of server-based gaming solutions, allowing the company to perform security operations and complex authentication demands in only a fraction of the time of other commonly-used security schemes. With Game Guardian, Bally Technologies can easily submit software upgrades to existing casinos without the undue burden of new hardware or entirely new infrastructure to deploy. Certicom's Game Guardian platform ensures the strongest level of security through leading-edge cryptography, including Elliptic Curve Cryptography. In 2005, the NSA recommended ECC as the public-key crypto-system to protect classified and unclassified government communications. Known as Suite B, these recommendations are part of an initiative to upgrade the security infrastructure of government communications to meet present and future security needs. ECC is used in a growing number of sectors ranging from networking, consumer electronics, wireless devices and semiconductors to government and financial services. Server based gaming is the next wave of casino technology that is gaining tremendous interest, offering users a much more dynamic and interactive gaming experience. Because it is centrally managed through a single console, casino owners can use a main computer to instantly control and connect all the machines on a casino floor, while tailoring each one to a player's preference. It offers players a way to play the games they want at any location without having to switch machines. It also saves casino owners money on personnel and staffing costs. "Bally Technologies prides itself on being a leading innovator in the next generation of gaming systems. As the gaming industry migrates toward networked-based systems and GSA- protocol standards, network security becomes an ever-increasing concern," said Bally Technologies' Vice President of Advanced Product Development, Robert Crowder. "We are pleased to partner with Certicom, utilizing Game Guardian security algorithms to protect the sensitive data moving through casino-floor networks and gaming machines." Certicom's Game Guardian SBG Certificate Authority Server is a turnkey product that provides sub-root certificate authority services for Bally Technologies' entire casino operator network. The Certificate Authority Server issues digital certificates used to create digital signatures and public-private key pairs. It guarantees that the individual granted the unique certificate is who he or she claims to be, so that users and relying parties can trust the information in Certicom's certificates. The Game Guardian Certificate Authority Server is a highly customized and high performance Gaming Certificate Authority 'end-to-end' security solution, which also follows the rigorous security standards set out by the Gaming Regulatory Agencies worldwide. "We are pleased that Bally Technologies has selected our Game Guardian security platform as it rolls out its next generation casino gaming systems," said Certicom President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard W. Crotty. "The capabilities in our Game Guardian platform will enable a complete new gaming experience and our secure protocols allow casinos everywhere to take advantage of all the benefits associated with server-based gaming, for instance, increased efficiency to changing games on the fly for customers. Game Guardian has the potential to become the gold standard of security in the gaming industry." About Certicom Certicom -- http://www.certicom.com/-- protects the value of content, applications and devices with government-approved security. Adopted by the National Security Agency (NSA) for government communications, Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) provides the most security per bit of any known public-key scheme. As the global leader in ECC, Certicom security offerings are currently licensed to more than 300 customers including General Dynamics, Motorola, Oracle, Research In Motion and Unisys. Founded in 1985, Certicom's corporate offices are in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada with worldwide sales and marketing headquarters in Reston, Virginia and offices in the U.S., Canada, Europe and China. About Bally Technologies Inc. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, Bally Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BYI) -- http://www.BallyTech.com/-- designs, manufactures, operates, and distributes advanced gaming devices, systems, and technology solutions worldwide. Bally's product line includes reel-spinning slot machines, video slots, wide- area progressives and Class II lottery and central determination games and platforms. Bally Technologies also offers an array of casino management, slot accounting, bonus, cashless, and table management solutions. The company also owns and operates Rainbow Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The company's South American operations are located in Argentina. The company also has operations in France, Germany, Macau, China, India, and the United Kingdom. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Nov. 7, 2007, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has raised its corporate credit and senior secured debt ratings on Bally Technologies Inc. to 'B+' from 'B-'. Concurrently, S&P revised the CreditWatch implications to positive from developing. FCI INT'L: Moody's Lifts Rating to Ba3 on Improved Performance -------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service upgraded to Ba3 from B1 the Corporate Family Rating of FCI International SAS. The Probability of Default Rating has been upgraded to B1 from B2 using a 65% Family Recovery Rate due to the debt capital structure which is now all first lien following the February 2007 refinancing. Concurrently Moody's has upgraded the senior credit facilities to Ba3 with an LGD3 assignment, and 30% LGD rate. The outlook for the ratings is stable. The rating upgrade reflects: (i) the company's improved operating efficiency with a reported Ebitda Margin of 15.4% for fiscal year 2006 up from 12.6% in fiscal year 2005 (ii) the company's substantial post-transaction de-leveraging with a reported net leverage down to 2.7 times on a net debt to Ebitda basis down from 3.9 times at the time of the initial rating action in October 2005, and (iii) the successful refinancing of the second lien facility, PIK and mezzanine resulting in total interest savings of EUR20 million per annum of which EUR3 million is cash interest. FCI's Ba3 Corporate Family Rating also reflects the company's significant brand recognition, its leading market positions within the four different segments they cover and the company's worldwide presence enabling FCI to take advantage of growth differential across geographies. The rating further recognizes FCI's established customer relationships with key OEMs and end- users added to knowledge of clients' specifications. Moody's notes the auto division which represents around 42% of FCI's 2006 sales is still affected by the US market slowdown and raw material price increase. This is however mitigated by the predictable nature of the business with 87% of forecasted sales for 2009 already secured at the end of FY 2006 and by the strong connector market growth resulting from the continuous increase in connector content per vehicle. The upgrade also reflects the success in restructuring Electronics (formerly CDC), FCI's other major division representing around 40% of FY2006 sales, evidenced by a return to profitability. This division has also been affected by rising copper and gold prices which have been partially offset by a pricing policy enabling the company to pass through costs to clients and through material consumption reductions initiated in the restructuring operation. Moody's notes the stated intention of the company to consider larger acquisitions in the fragmented connector market which could be debt funded. The rating factors headroom for debt funded acquisitions provided adjusted leverage remains below 4.5 times. Affected ratings are: -- Corporate Family Rating upgraded to Ba3. -- Probability of Default Rating upgraded to B1. -- Ratings on Term loans A, B and C (EUR549 million) upgraded to Ba3, LGD3, 30%. FCI, based in Versailles, France, is the world's fourth largest connector manufacturer with 2006 sales of EUR1,302 million. REXEL SA: In Exclusive Talks to Buy Hagemeyer for EUR3.1 Billion ---------------------------------------------------------------- Hagemeyer and Rexel SA have agreed to exclusive negotiations aimed at finalizing an agreement under which Rexel would make an all cash offer of EUR4.85 per Hagemeyer share, approximately EUR3.1 billion in total (US$4.5 billion), and Hagemeyer's Management and Supervisory Boards would recommend this revised proposed offer. According to a report carried by Modern Distribution Management, the offer is up from Rexel's original EUR4.60 per share bid, which had valued the company at US$4.3 billion. As part of the envisaged transaction Rexel has entered into an agreement with Sonepar to sell certain activities of Hagemeyer to Sonepar, following successful completion of the proposed offer. Rexel's revised proposed offer is subject to certain pre- conditions, including high level due diligence and finalization of a merger protocol. Due diligence was expected to commence on Nov. 14, 2007. If the proposed offer is made, Sonepar will tender its 10.49% shareholding in Hagemeyer at the same terms and conditions as applicable to all shareholders. Further announcements will be made in due course, the companies said in a joint statement. Headquartered in Paris, France, Rexel SA -- http://www.rexel.com/-- distributes more than one million kinds of electrical parts and supplies, including wiring devices, cabling systems, circuit protectors, lighting products, automation equipment, hand tools, climate control equipment, and electronic security components. For the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2006, Rexel reported total sales and EBITDA of EUR9,299 million and EUR637 million, respectively. REXEL SA: Exclusive Takeover Talks Cue Fitch to Watch BB IDR ------------------------------------------------------------ Fitch Ratings has placed Rexel SA's Long-term Issuer Default rating of 'BB' and senior secured ratings of 'BB+' on Rating Watch Negative. This rating action follows the joint announcement by Rexel, Hagemeyer and Sonepar that they will be entering exclusive negotiations for the finalization of a recommended offer for Hagemeyer by Rexel of EUR4.85 per share and confirmation of Hagemeyer's Management and Supervisory Boards supporting this offer. This follows Rexel's previous proposed offer of EUR4.60 per share on Oct. 25, 2007. As part of the agreement, Rexel would sell Hagemeyer's America, Asia-Pacific and certain European activities to French competitor, Sonepar. "The increased offer for Hagemeyer reflects Rexel's willingness to act as a consolidator in its core European region, offsetting to some extent the current downturn in the US residential construction market," says Pablo Mazzini, Director in Fitch's Leveraged Finance team. However, as anticipated in Fitch's earlier commentary, the agency expects a higher financial risk profile derived from this fully debt-funded acquisition, if it proceeds, for at least the next two years until full cost savings derived from the combined group start to materialize. Pro forma for the Hagemeyer acquisition, Rexel's revenue would increase by EUR3.6 billion, although net lease-adjusted leverage could increase to above 5.5x and net lease adjusted interest cover would be below 2.5x, which is more consistent with the low 'BB' range, possibly high 'B' range. The resolution of the RWN will be at completion of the deal, following Rexel's due diligence process, finalization of a merger protocol and customary regulatory approval. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= BATRA LUEBECK: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 28 ------------------------------------------------------ Creditors of Batra Luebeck GmbH have until Nov. 28 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Sven Krueger. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 13, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Luebeck Hall 256 Am Burgfeld 7 23568 Luebeck Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Sven Krueger Roeckstr. 40 23568 Luebeck Germany The District Court of Luebeck opened bankruptcy proceedings against Batra Luebeck GmbH on Oct. 26. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Batra Luebeck GmbH Einsiedelstrasse 6 23554 Luebeck Germany BBP VERWALTUNGSGESELLSCHAFT: Claims Registration Ends Nov. 27 ------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of BBP Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH have until Nov. 27 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Henning Schorisch. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:15 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager 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 insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Henning Schorisch Wasastrasse 15 01219 Dresden Germany E-mail: http://www.hww-kanzlei.de/ The District Court of Dresden opened bankruptcy proceedings against BBP Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH on Oct. 25. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: BBP Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH Attn: Uwe Davids, Manager Plan 30 15831 Grossbeeren OT Diedersdorf Germany CERBERUS SECURITY: Claims Registration Period Ends Dec. 3 --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Cerberus Security und Catering GmbH have until Dec. 3 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Klaus Wrede. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 14, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Magdeburg Hall D Insolvency Department Liebknechtstrasse 65-91 39110 Magdeburg Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Klaus Wrede Lennestrasse 10 39112 Magdeburg Germany Tel: 0391/5973315 Fax: 0391/5973333 E-mail: k.wrede@kwp-magdeburg.com The District Court of Magdeburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against Cerberus Security und Catering GmbH on Oct. 23. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Cerberus Security und Catering GmbH Muehlenweg 8 39326 Hohenwarsleben Germany DANISCHE BAUKOMPONENTEN: Claims Registration Period Ends Dec. 7 --------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of DBI Danische Baukomponenten Import GmbH have until Dec. 7 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Marc Schaumann. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 11, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Norderstedt Hall B Rathausallee 80 22846 Norderstedt Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Marc Schaumann Falkenstrasse 22 23564 Luebeck Germany The District Court of Norderstedt opened bankruptcy proceedings against DBI Danische Baukomponenten Import GmbH on Oct. 24. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Danische Baukomponenten Import GmbH Industriestrasse 3 23829 Wittenborn Germany Attn: Andreas Libera, Manager Wakenitzmauer 9 23552 Luebeck Germany DO MO INDUSTRIE: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 30 -------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of DO MO Industrie Service GmbH have until Nov. 30 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Dr. Christoph Schulte-Kaubruegger. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Dortmund Hall 3.201 Second Floor Gerichtsplatz 1 44135 Dortmund Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Dr. Christoph Schulte-Kaubruegger Koenigswall 21 44137 Dortmund Germany The District Court of Dortmund opened bankruptcy proceedings against DO MO Industrie Service GmbH on Oct. 22. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: DO MO Industrie Service GmbH ehemals Aplerbecker Str. 308 44309 Dortmund Germany HTL TRANSPORT: Claims Registration Period Ends Dec. 4 ----------------------------------------------------- Creditors of HTL Transport- und Logistik GmbH have until Dec. 4 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Karl-Heinz Trebing. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:20 a.m. on Jan. 15, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Hanau Area E09 Engelhardstrasse 21 63450 Hanau Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Karl-Heinz Trebing Hanauer Landstr. 287-289 60314 Frankfurt/Main Germany Tel: 069/15051530 Fax: 069/15051400 The District Court of Hanau opened bankruptcy proceedings against HTL Transport- und Logistik GmbH on Oct. 24. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: HTL Transport- und Logistik GmbH Hoefchen 1 36396 Steinau Germany Attn: Werner Peter Gerken Burgschmietstr. 41 90419 Nuernberg Germany INTRA-HAUSSCHUH GMBH: Claims Registration Ends December 6 --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of INTRA-Hausschuh GmbH have until Dec. 6 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Dr. Lucas F. Floether. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 1:00 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Leipzig Hall 056 Ground Floor Enforcement Court Bernhard Goering Strasse 64 04275 Leipzig Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Dr. Lucas F. Floether Specks Hof Eingang C Nikolaistrasse 3-5 04109 Leipzig Tel: 0341/652200 Fax: O341/65220111 The District Court of Leipzig opened bankruptcy proceedings against INTRA-Hausschuh GmbH on Oct. 29. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: INTRA-Hausschuh GmbH Sonnenstrasse 32 04746 Hartha Germany KRAFTVERKEHR GERHARD: Claims Registration Ends December 4 --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Kraftverkehr Gerhard Drescher Speditions und Logistik GmbH have until Dec. 4 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Dr. Peter Naarmann. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 15, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Chemnitz Hall 24 Fuerstenstrasse 21-23 09130 Chemnitz Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Dr. Peter Naarmann Dresdner Strasse 86 09130 Chemnitz Germany Tel:(0371) 444390 Fax:(0371) 4443911 Internet/Email: info-ch@mne-insolvenzbuero.de The District Court of Chemnitz opened bankruptcy proceedings against Kraftverkehr Gerhard Drescher Speditions und Logistik GmbH on Oct. 29. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Kraftverkehr Gerhard Drescher Speditions und Logistik GmbH Attn: Carmen Eckert, Manager Fabrikstrasse 2 09387 Jahnsdorf Germany KLOCKE GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends Dec. 19 ---------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Klocke GmbH have until Dec. 19 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Hans-Achim Ernst. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:50 a.m. on Jan. 9, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Bielefeld Hall 4065 Fourth Floor Gerichtstrasse 66 33602 Bielefeld Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Hans-Achim Ernst Bunsenstr. 3 32052 Herford Germany The District Court of Bielefeld opened bankruptcy proceedings against Klocke GmbH on Oct. 24. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Klocke GmbH Attn: Siegfried Sowa, Manager Gewerbestr. 5 32602 Vlotho Germany MOCCABAR GASTRONOMIE: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 30 ------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Moccabar Gastronomie Verwaltungs GmbH have until Nov. 30 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Carsten Morgenstern. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 8, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Chemnitz Hall 24 Fuerstenstrasse 21-23 09130 Chemnitz Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Carsten Morgenstern Michaelstrasse 71 09116 Chemnitz Germany Tel: (0371) 381770 Fax: (0371) 3817730 E-mail: chemnitz@hww-kanzlei.de The District Court of Chemnitz opened bankruptcy proceedings against Moccabar Gastronomie Verwaltungs GmbH on Oct. 26. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Moccabar Gastronomie Verwaltungs GmbH Humboldstrasse 14 08058 Zwickau Germany Attn: Jens Walther, Manager Kirschbergstrasse 19 04159 Leipzig Germany NALIN EIGENHEIMBAU: Claims Registration Period Ends Dec. 1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Nalin Eigenheimbau GmbH have until Dec. 1 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Nermin Sahin. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Gifhorn Hall 118 Schlossgarten 4 38518 Gifhorn Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Nermin Sahin Theaterstrasse 6 30159 Hannover Germany Tel: 0511/35771030 Fax: 0511/35771059 E-mail: ansahin@t-online.de The District Court of Gifhorn opened bankruptcy proceedings against Nalin Eigenheimbau GmbH on Oct. 29. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Nalin Eigenheimbau GmbH Elisabeth-Boehm-Str. 13a 31319 Sehnde Germany NOVELIS INC: Earns US$13 Million in 2007 Second Quarter ------------------------------------------------------- Novelis Inc., a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited, has reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2008, which ended on Sept. 30, 2007. (Novelis changed its fiscal year end from December 31 to March 31 following its acquisition by Hindalco on May 15, 2007) Total rolled products shipments in the quarter increased to 747 kilotonnes -- kt --- compared with 737 kt in the corresponding period of 2006. Novelis incurred a pre-tax loss of US$23 million on sales of US$2,821 million, compared with the prior- year period when it incurred a pre-tax loss of US$154 million on sales of US$2,494 million. The US$131 million increase in pre-tax earnings reflects significant underlying operational improvement despite difficult market conditions in North America and Asia. This increase is due to a number of positive business factors, including: -- The company's exposure to customer contracts with metal price ceilings was reduced by US$44 million, net of hedges, compared with the prior-year period. -- Product mix improvements, price increases, and volume increases primarily in Europe and South America, benefited net sales by approximately US$22 million compared with the prior-year period. -- The company realized a US$29 million improvement in metal price lag over the prior-year period, largely as a result of better risk management. Metal price lag negatively impacted pre-tax earnings by US$4 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2007, compared with US$33 million in the prior-year period. -- Corporate selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were reduced by US$17 million, driven by streamlining of corporate staff and unusual items related to financial reporting requirements and executive changes in the prior year. -- The company reversed US$21 million of reserves (US$15 million net of tax) relating to previously disputed applications of social contribution tax credits as a result of a favorable Superior Court ruling in Brazil. -- Improved operational performance was partially offset by higher input and operational costs in the current quarter compared with the prior year period. In addition to these items, pre-tax earnings during the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2007, were impacted by certain income and expense items associated with fair value adjustments recorded at the date of acquisition. The net pre-tax impact of these items was a benefit of US$29 million primarily driven by the amortization of accruals related to unfavorable contracts partially offset by higher depreciation and amortization. Novelis President and Chief Operating Officer, Martha Brooks said, "During the second quarter, further improvements in Novelis' business operations enabled us to achieve an increase in pre-tax results despite soft conditions in the North American marketplace. While the effect of these improvements was partially offset by increased input and operating costs, our financial performance also benefited from stronger risk management capabilities, and in particular, our ability to manage our metal price volatility in a more effective manner. Ms. Brooks added, "Market conditions in North America and Asia were challenging, primarily related to the transportation and housing sectors in North America and strong competition from Chinese manufacturers in Asia; however, we continued to see very strong demand for our products in South America and Europe. Demand for the aluminum beverage can, a market in which we have a strong global position, is growing strongly on three continents." For the three months ended Sept. 30, 2007, Novelis reported net income of US$13 million, compared with the corresponding period of 2006 when it incurred a net loss of US$102 million. Included in net income of US$13 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2008 is US$36 million of income tax benefit. Significant tax items in the quarter included: -- US$27 million of tax expense related to exchange translation and re-measurement items; -- US$19 million of tax expense on valuation allowance increases primarily related to tax losses in certain jurisdictions where the company believes, based on current facts and circumstances, it will not be able to utilize those losses; and -- US$74 million of tax benefit associated with a reduction in tax rates in Germany. Cash taxes paid during the second quarter of fiscal year 2008 were US$18 million. Six Months For the six months ended Sept. 30, 2007, total rolled products shipments increased to 1,504 kt from 1,490 kt for the corresponding period of 2006. For the six-month period, the company incurred a combined pre-tax loss of US$134 million on combined net sales of US$5,649 million, an improvement of US$34 million compared with a pre-tax loss of US$168 million on net sales of US$5,058 million for the same period of 2006. The combined pre-tax loss for the first six months of fiscal 2008 includes a number of non-recurring expenses related to the acquisition by Hindalco. These include US$45 million of stock compensation expense triggered by the sale of Novelis and US$32 million for sale transaction costs, among other items, as the company previously disclosed in its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2008. Excluding the transaction expenses, pre-tax improvement was US$111 million compared with the corresponding period of 2006. For the six months ended Sept. 30, 2007, Novelis incurred a net loss of US$138 million, including US$4 million of income tax expense. This compares with the corresponding period of 2006 when it incurred a net loss of US$96 million. Significant tax items in the first six months of fiscal year 2008 included: -- US$80 million of exchange translation and re-measurement expense; -- US$53 million of valuation allowance increases primarily related to tax losses in certain jurisdictions where the company believes, based on current facts and circumstances, it will not be able to utilize those losses; and -- US$69 million of tax benefit associated with enacted tax rate changes (primarily in Germany). Cash taxes paid during the first six months of fiscal year 2008 were US$39 million. For further information regarding Novelis' second quarter and year-to-date results, please review the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as filed with United States Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 9, 2007. About Novelis Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Novelis Inc., (NYSE: NVL) (TSX: NVL) -- http://www.novelis.com/-- is the global provider of aluminum rolled products and aluminum can recycling. The company operates in 11 countries and has approximately 12,900 employees. Novelis has the capability to provide its customers with a regional supply of technologically sophisticated rolled aluminum products throughout Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Through its advanced production capabilities, the company supplies aluminum sheet and foil to the automotive and transportation, beverage and food packaging, construction and industrial, and printing markets. Novelis South America operates two rolling plants and primary production facilities in Brazil in the Latin American region. Novelis also has operations in Germany, Switzerland and Korea. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on July 26, 2007, Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Issuer Default Rating for Novelis, Inc. and Novelis, Corp. at 'B' and assigned a Negative Rating Outlook. The company's previous senior secured bank debt ratings have been withdrawn. Ratings for the new credit facility of 'BB' were assigned and the senior unsecured debt ratings have been affirmed as: Novelis, Inc. -- IDR 'B'; -- Senior secured asset-based revolver 'BB/RR1'; -- Senior secured term loan B 'BB/RR1'; -- Senior unsecured notes 'B/RR4'. Novelis, Corp. -- IDR 'B'; -- Senior secured asset-based revolver 'BB/RR1'; -- Senior secured term loan B 'BB/RR1'. REFORM UND DIATHAUS: Claims Registration Period Ends Nov. 27 ------------------------------------------------------------ Creditors of Reform und Diathaus RAISS-Braunwarth GmbH have until Nov. 27 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Olaf Suehrer. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Darmstadt Hall 4.307 Fourth Floor Building D Mathildenplatz 15 64283 Darmstadt Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Olaf Suehrer Steubenplatz 12 64293 Darmstadt Germany Tel: 06151/136270 Fax: 06151/1362729 The District Court of Darmstadt opened bankruptcy proceedings against Reform und Diathaus RAISS-Braunwarth GmbH on Oct. 23. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Reform und Diathaus RAISS-Braunwarth GmbH Eschollbruecker Str. 26 64295 Darmstadt Germany TAM HOLDING: Claims Registration Ends December 7 ------------------------------------------------ Creditors of TAM Holding GmbH & Co. Immobi KG have until Dec. 7 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Kathrin Schmidtmadel. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Neubrandenburg Hall 1 Fr.-Engels-Ring 15-18 Neubrandenburg Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Kathrin Schmidtmadel Ostermeyerstrasse 11 22607 Hamburg Germany The District Court of Neubrandenburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against TAM Holding GmbH & Co. Immobi KG on Oct. 30. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: TAM Holding GmbH & Co. Immobi KG Fleether Muehle 1 17252 Mirow Germany UNICUM GASTSTATTENBETRIEBS: Claims Registration Ends Nov. 27 ------------------------------------------------------------ Creditors of Unicum Gaststattenbetriebs-GmbH have until Nov. 27 to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Heinrich Stellmach. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager will present his first report on the insolvency proceedings. The meeting of creditors will be held at: The District Court of Osnabrueck Hall N 302 Kollegienwall 10 49074 Osnabrueck Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Heinrich Stellmach Kollegienwall 3-4 49074 Osnabrueck Germany Tel: 0541/1817-0 Fax: 0541/1817210 E-mail: osnabrueck@stellmach-broeckers.de The District Court of Osnabrueck opened bankruptcy proceedings against Unicum Gaststattenbetriebs-GmbH on Oct. 29. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Unicum Gaststattenbetriebs-GmbH Attn: Walter Gebing, Manager Neuer Graben 40 49074 Osnabrueck Germany ========= I T A L Y ========= ALITALIA SPA: Posts EUR57.6 Million Pretax Loss in Third Quarter ---------------------------------------------------------------- Alitalia S.p.A. posted EUR57.56 million in pretax losses on EUR1.27 billion in total consolidated revenues for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2007, compared with EUR66.43 million in pretax losses on EUR1.25 billion in total consolidated revenues for the same period in 2006. The third quarter 2007 was negatively affected by industrial unrest in the airport and flight, sectors, with EUR32 million in potential revenue loss. As of Sept. 30, 2007, the company's workforce saw a decrease of 496 people to 11,262 employees, from the same period last year. As of Sept. 30, 2007, Alitalia's operating fleet consisted of 185 aircraft of which 156 for short/medium-haul flights, and 29 for long-haul. As of Sept. 30, 2007, the company's net financial position amounted to -EUR1.150 billion. Outlook for 2007 Expected operating result in 2007 in line with 2006, without considering the EUR197 million write-down of the fleet. The company expects 2007 results to worsen compared to the previous year due to strong fuel price increase and substantial loss of traffic revenues in second half 2007. Amount of cash-on-hands is sufficient to ensure the Company going concern for more than 12 months without any significant critical issues in the implementation of the Plan's main elements. Otherwise, such critical issues could bring about the conditions for taking immediate action regarding the capital increase. About Alitalia Headquartered in Rome, Italy, Alitalia S.p.A. -- http://www.alitalia.it/-- provides air travel services for passengers and air transport of cargo on national, international and inter-continental routes. The Italian government owns 49.9% of Alitalia. The company has operations in Argentina. Despite a EUR1.4 billion state-backed restructuring in 1997, Alitalia posted net losses of EUR256 million and EUR907 million in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Alitalia posted EUR93 million in net profits in 2002 after a EUR1.4 billion capital injection. The carrier booked annual net losses of EUR520 million in 2003, EUR813 million in 2004, EUR168 million in 2005, and EUR625.6 million in 2006. PARMALAT SPA: Group Earns EUR276.9MM for First Nine Months 2007 --------------------------------------------------------------- Parmalat S.p.A. released its financial results for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007. The Parmalat Group posted EUR276.9 million in net profit on EUR2.82 billion in net revenues for the first nine months of 2007, compared with EUR101.4 million in net profit on EUR2.68 billion in net revenues for the same period in 2006. The Group's net financial position improved significantly during the first nine months of 2007, with the balance changing from indebtedness of EUR170 million at Dec. 31, 2006, to net financial assets totaling EUR327.6 million at Sept. 30, 2007, a net gain of EUR497.6 million. These developments account for most of this improvement: -- the cash flow from operations, net of changes in operating working capital and after capital expenditures and income tax payments, amounted to EUR67.7 million. -- cash from litigation settlements totaled EUR257.4 million, which is the net result of proceeds of EUR302.7 million generated by settlements reached between the end of 2006 and the third quarter of 2007 and legal costs amounting to EUR45.3 million (attributable both to 2006 and 2007); -- cash flow from non-recurring transactions totaled EUR217.8 million. This amount is the net result of proceeds generated by the disposal of non-strategic non-current assets (EUR247.8 million), less outlays for acquisitions of equity investments (EUR14.2 million) and payment of unsecured claims (EUR9.8 million). -- the cash flow from financial transactions reflects net financial income of EUR0.9 million, dividend payments totaling EUR43.4 million and proceeds of EUR7.3 million generated by the exercise warrants. Sundry items totaled EUR1.5 million on balance. Parmalat S.p.A. Parmalat S.p.A. posted EUR199.4 million in net profit on EUR663.1 million in net revenues for the first nine months of 2007, compared with EUR67.7 million in net profit on EUR661.2 billion in net revenues for the same period in 2006. Proceeds from new settlements reached during the period and higher income generated by invested liquidity account for this improvement. Net financial assets improved significantly during the first nine months of 2007, rising from EUR341.4 million to EUR785.6 million, for a net positive change of EUR444.3 million compared with Dec. 31, 2006. This gain reflects the positive impact of the cash flow generated by the Company's regular operations and the non-recurring transactions mentioned when discussing the Group's performance, offset in part by dividend payments (EUR41.2 million) and the amount invested to buy back the interests held by minority shareholders in two subsidiaries in Russia and Romania (EUR8.3 million). Outlook for 2007 The results for the first nine months of 2007 were in line with expectations, despite a less than positive performance by the Venezuelan operations and an increase in the prices paid for raw milk. As for EBITDA, targets call for an annual increase ranging between 7% and 10%, compared with 2006. About Parmalat Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Parmalat S.p.A. -- http://www.parmalat.net/-- sells nameplate milk products that can be stored at room temperature for months. It also has about 40 brand product lines, which include yogurt, cheese, butter, cakes and cookies, breads, pizza, snack foods and vegetable sauces, soups and juices. The Company's U.S. operations filed for chapter 11 protection on Feb. 24, 2004 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 04-11139). Gary Holtzer, Esq., and Marcia L. Goldstein, Esq., at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, represent the Debtors. When the U.S. Debtors filed for bankruptcy protection, they reported more than US$200 million in assets and debts. The U.S. Debtors emerged from bankruptcy on April 13, 2005. Parmalat S.p.A. and its Italian affiliates filed separate petitions for Extraordinary Administration before the Italian Ministry of Productive Activities and the Civil and Criminal District Court of the City of Parma, Italy on Dec. 24, 2003. Dr. Enrico Bondi was appointed Extraordinary Commissioner in each of the cases. The Parma Court has declared the units insolvent. On June 22, 2004, Dr. Bondi filed a Sec. 304 Petition, Case No. 04-14268, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Parmalat has three financing arms: Dairy Holdings Ltd., Parmalat Capital Finance Ltd., and Food Holdings Ltd. Dairy Holdings and Food Holdings are Cayman Island special-purpose vehicles established by Parmalat S.p.A. The Finance Companies are under separate winding up petitions before the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. Gordon I. MacRae and James Cleaver of Kroll (Cayman) Ltd. serve as Joint Provisional Liquidators in the cases. On Jan. 20, 2004, the Liquidators filed Sec. 304 petition, Case No. 04-10362, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In May 2006, the Cayman Island Court appointed Messrs. MacRae and Cleaver as Joint Official Liquidators. Gregory M. Petrick, Esq., at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, and Richard I. Janvey, Esq., at Janvey, Gordon, Herlands Randolph, represent the Finance Companies in the Sec. 304 case. The Honorable Robert D. Drain presides over the Parmalat Debtors' U.S. cases. PARMALAT SPA: New York Court Denies Third-Party Action Dismissal ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Hon. Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that the request of Dr. Enrico Bondi, Extraordinary Administrator of Parmalat Finanziaria S.p.A., to dismiss Grant Thornton International's third-party complaints lacks merit, and, thus denied the request in all respects. About Parmalat Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Parmalat S.p.A. -- http://www.parmalat.net/-- sells nameplate milk products that can be stored at room temperature for months. It also has about 40 brand product lines, which include yogurt, cheese, butter, cakes and cookies, breads, pizza, snack foods and vegetable sauces, soups and juices. The Company's U.S. operations filed for chapter 11 protection on Feb. 24, 2004 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 04-11139). Gary Holtzer, Esq., and Marcia L. Goldstein, Esq., at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, represent the Debtors. When the U.S. Debtors filed for bankruptcy protection, they reported more than US$200 million in assets and debts. The U.S. Debtors emerged from bankruptcy on April 13, 2005. Parmalat S.p.A. and its Italian affiliates filed separate petitions for Extraordinary Administration before the Italian Ministry of Productive Activities and the Civil and Criminal District Court of the City of Parma, Italy on Dec. 24, 2003. Dr. Enrico Bondi was appointed Extraordinary Commissioner in each of the cases. The Parma Court has declared the units insolvent. On June 22, 2004, Dr. Bondi filed a Sec. 304 Petition, Case No. 04-14268, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Parmalat has three financing arms: Dairy Holdings Ltd., Parmalat Capital Finance Ltd., and Food Holdings Ltd. Dairy Holdings and Food Holdings are Cayman Island special-purpose vehicles established by Parmalat S.p.A. The Finance Companies are under separate winding up petitions before the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. Gordon I. MacRae and James Cleaver of Kroll (Cayman) Ltd. serve as Joint Provisional Liquidators in the cases. On Jan. 20, 2004, the Liquidators filed Sec. 304 petition, Case No. 04-10362, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In May 2006, the Cayman Island Court appointed Messrs. MacRae and Cleaver as Joint Official Liquidators. Gregory M. Petrick, Esq., at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, and Richard I. Janvey, Esq., at Janvey, Gordon, Herlands Randolph, represent the Finance Companies in the Sec. 304 case. The Honorable Robert D. Drain presides over the Parmalat Debtors' U.S. cases. (Parmalat Lumber Bankruptcy News, Issue No. 94; http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000). PARMALAT SPA: New York Court Junks Motion for Reconsideration ------------------------------------------------------------- The Hon. Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has denied the request of Gerald K. Smith and G. Peter Pappas for reconsideration of the court's order dismissing their Second Amended Complaints. Messrs. Smith and Pappas had sought to amend their pleadings and to correct certain deficiencies. Judge Kaplan stated that Messrs. Smith and Pappas failed to demonstrate any error of fact or law with respect to the denial of leave to amend, and the fact that proposed amended complaints have been submitted does not render his ruling a manifest error of law. In addition, Judge Kaplan ruled that relief is not warranted to take account of newly discovered evidence. Messrs. Smith and Pappas had conceded that the discovery was complete, thus the relevant materials were available, while the motions to dismiss were pending. Judge Kaplan adds that Messrs. Smith and Pappas point to no manifest injustice. About Parmalat Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Parmalat S.p.A. -- http://www.parmalat.net/-- sells nameplate milk products that can be stored at room temperature for months. It also has about 40 brand product lines, which include yogurt, cheese, butter, cakes and cookies, breads, pizza, snack foods and vegetable sauces, soups and juices. The Company's U.S. operations filed for chapter 11 protection on Feb. 24, 2004 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 04-11139). Gary Holtzer, Esq., and Marcia L. Goldstein, Esq., at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, represent the Debtors. When the U.S. Debtors filed for bankruptcy protection, they reported more than US$200 million in assets and debts. The U.S. Debtors emerged from bankruptcy on April 13, 2005. Parmalat S.p.A. and its Italian affiliates filed separate petitions for Extraordinary Administration before the Italian Ministry of Productive Activities and the Civil and Criminal District Court of the City of Parma, Italy on Dec. 24, 2003. Dr. Enrico Bondi was appointed Extraordinary Commissioner in each of the cases. The Parma Court has declared the units insolvent. On June 22, 2004, Dr. Bondi filed a Sec. 304 Petition, Case No. 04-14268, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Parmalat has three financing arms: Dairy Holdings Ltd., Parmalat Capital Finance Ltd., and Food Holdings Ltd. Dairy Holdings and Food Holdings are Cayman Island special-purpose vehicles established by Parmalat S.p.A. The Finance Companies are under separate winding up petitions before the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. Gordon I. MacRae and James Cleaver of Kroll (Cayman) Ltd. serve as Joint Provisional Liquidators in the cases. On Jan. 20, 2004, the Liquidators filed Sec. 304 petition, Case No. 04-10362, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In May 2006, the Cayman Island Court appointed Messrs. MacRae and Cleaver as Joint Official Liquidators. Gregory M. Petrick, Esq., at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, and Richard I. Janvey, Esq., at Janvey, Gordon, Herlands Randolph, represent the Finance Companies in the Sec. 304 case. The Honorable Robert D. Drain presides over the Parmalat Debtors' U.S. cases. (Parmalat Lumber Bankruptcy News, Issue No. 94; http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000). TISCALI SPA: Posts EUR3.9 Mln Loss for 9-Months Ended Sept. 30 -------------------------------------------------------------- Tiscali S.p.A. posted EUR3.88 million in net losses on EUR614.33 million in net revenues for nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007, compared with EUR67.40 million in net losses on EUR487.01 million in net revenues for the same period in 2006. The company posted EUR28.99 million in net losses on EUR221.28 million in net revenues for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2007, compared with EUR4.79 million in net profit on EUR168.92 million in net revenues for the same period in 2006. As of Sept. 30, Tiscali's cash and cash equivalents totaled EUR104.5 million, with a net debt related to continuing operations at EUR 596.7 million. As of Sept. 30, 2007, Tiscali had EUR1.56 billion in total assets, EUR1.31 billion in total liabilities, and EUR249.59 million in total shareholders' equity. The result was affected by: -- net capital gain of EUR95.8 million resulting from the disposal of the Dutch and the Germany operations; and -- EUR61.5 million financial charges to refinancing. About Tiscali Headquartered in Cagliari, Italy, Tiscali S.p.A. -- http://www.tiscali.com/-- offers Internet access in the country. The group also operates in other European countries, serving more than seven million subscribers, of which over 1.5 million are broadband users. Tiscali posted consecutive net losses for the past years: EUR5.5 million in 1999, EUR101 million in 2000, EUR1.66 billion in 2001, EUR593.1 million in 2002, EUR242.4 million in 2003, EUR131.8 million in 2004, EUR12.9 million in 2005, and EUR103.6 million in 2006. =================== K A Z A K H S T A N =================== AK-BASTAU LLP: Proof of Claim Deadline Slated for Dec. 12 --------------------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of South Kazakhstan has declared LLP Ak-Bastau insolvent on Sept. 19. Creditors have until Dec. 12 to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of South Kazakhstan Tokayev Str. 17 Shymkent South Kazakhstan Kazakhstan HALYK BANK: Fitch Affirms BB+ IDR; Stable Outlook ------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kazakhstan-based Halyk Bank's ratings at Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating 'BB+', Short-term foreign currency IDR 'B', Long-term local currency IDR 'BBB-', Short-term local currency IDR 'F3', Individual 'C/D', Support '3' and Support Rating Floor 'BB+'. The Outlooks for the Long-term foreign and local currency IDRs remain Stable. Halyk's Long-and Short-term IDRs and Support rating reflect the moderate probability of support forthcoming, in case of need, from the Kazakhstani authorities. This is based on the bank's substantial domestic franchise, and takes into account the authorities' ability to provide support, as reflected in the sovereign's Long-term foreign currency IDR of 'BBB' and Long- term local currency IDR of 'BBB+'. Halyk's Stable Outlooks for its Long-term IDRs reflect that of the sovereign's Long-term foreign currency IDR. The Individual rating of Halyk reflects its broad domestic franchise, strong bottom-line performance, adequate asset quality to date, reasonable liquidity and low appetite for market risk. However, the ratings also considers the risks inherent in the bank's rapid loan growth, significant loan concentrations and heightened credit risks in the current Kazakhstani operating environment. "Halyk is less dependent on foreign funding (30% of liabilities at end of first half of 2007) than most other large Kazakhstani banks, has more moderate exposure to the higher-risk construction/real estate sector (15% of loans) and a lower proportion of foreign currency lending (45%), which are all relative positives, in Fitch's view, for the bank's credit profile," says Dmitri Angarov, Associate Director of Fitch's Financial Institutions Group in Moscow. Mr. Angarov continued, "In addition, the bank has benefited from 39% increase of retail deposits in third quarter of 2007, and has been able to continue to expand its lending franchise (by 15% in third quarter of 2007), while other banks have experienced funding constraints. At present the refinancing risk is negligible, since Halyk does not face any large-ticket repayments to end-2008." Nonetheless, Halyk's construction/real estate and foreign currency lending exposures are still considerable, and the bank could be negatively impacted by any further deterioration of the credit environment. Continued rapid loan growth, while other banks are forced to slow down their expansions, could also represent an additional source of risk for Halyk relative to the rest of the sector. In addition, the bank's capital ratios are likely decrease from the acceptable 13.5% tier 1/15.9% total ratios at first half of 2007 towards the declared 10%/12% target levels. Halyk was the third-largest bank in Kazakhstan at end of third quarter of 2007 with a 12.1% share of assets, and the largest bank by retail deposits (25% market share) and branch network. The Almex Group, beneficially owned by the daughter and son-in- law of President Nazarbayev, own a majority (68.7%) stake, while institutional and individual investors held a 31.3% stake following the December 2006 IPO. Fitch will continue to review the ratings of Kazakhstani banks during the next few weeks. GOLDEN LINE: Creditors Must File Claims Dec. 14 ----------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of West Kazakhstan has declared LLP Golden Line insolvent on Sept. 26. Creditors have until Dec. 14 to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of West Kazakhstan Sholohov Str. 2/4 Uralsk West Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (3112) 53-84-66 NORD OIL: Claims Filing Period Ends Dec. 14 ------------------------------------------- LLP Nord Oil has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Dec. 14 to submit written proofs of claims to: LLP Nord Oil Karasai batyr Str. 69 Almaty Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (3272) 59-07-52 PALTOSTAL LLP: Creditors' Claims Due on Dec. 14 ----------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Astana has declared LLP Paltostal insolvent on Oct. 15. Creditors have until Dec. 14 to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Astana Abai Str. 36 Astana Kazakhstan TEMIR-BARS-2030 LLP: Claims Registration Ends Dec. 14 ----------------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of South Kazakhstan has declared LLP Temir-Bars-2030 insolvent. Creditors have until Dec. 14 to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of South Kazakhstan Ismailov Str. 44 Saryagysh Saryagyshsky District South Kazakhstan Kazakhstan =================== K Y R G Y Z S T A N =================== RELIABLE DOCUMENTATIONS: Creditors Must File Claims by Dec. 19 -------------------------------------------------------------- LLC Reliable Documentations has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Dec. 19 to submit written proofs of claim. Inquiries can be addressed to (0-555) 50-91-98, (0-772) 35-29- 58. =========== N O R W A Y =========== PETROLEUM GEO-SERVICES: Acquires 78% Stake in Arrow Seismic ----------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum Geo-Services ASA has acquired 18,359,070 shares in Arrow Seismic ASA at a price of NOK96 per share. Following the transaction, PGS holds 18,359,070 shares in Arrow corresponding to approximately 78% of all issued and outstanding shares in Arrow. In accordance with the Norwegian Securities Trading Act, PGS expects to proceed with a mandatory offer for the remaining outstanding shares in Arrow, at the same price (NOK96) as the acquired shares. This represents a premium of 50% related to the last closing price of NOK64 and a premium of 37 % to the issue price in the IPO in May 2007 of NOK70 per share. The mandatory Offer implies a total value of the share capital of Arrow of approximately NOK2.26 billion. An offer document, setting out the terms and conditions of the mandatory Offer, is expected as soon as practically possible and no later than four weeks from Nov. 14, as required. PGS reserves the right to acquire additional shares in Arrow in the market, both before and during the offer period for the mandatory Offer. Arrow owns and operates two 3D vessels and has three vessels under conversion to 2D/source vessels, including one vessel with possibilities for upgrade to 6-streamer operation. Further, Arrow has four purpose-built high capacity seismic new buildings on order for delivery in 2008 and 2009. Of these nine vessels, four are currently chartered to other seismic companies, while the intention is to include the remaining five vessels in PGS' operations, including the last two high capacity newbuildings with delivery in Q2 and Q4 2009 and the three 2D/source vessels. The acquisition is in line with PGS' strategy of growth in the high-end segment of the seismic acquisition market. PGS will gain access to two state of the art 10-12 streamer new build vessels at cost and delivery times which is substantially more attractive compared to alternative new build projects. PGS will also gain access to capable source/2D vessels at a reasonable cost. With the increased activity on wide azimuth, these vessels can be effectively utilized by PGS. "The acquisition of Arrow provides an attractive high-end supplement to our state-of-the-art multi streamer fleet," Svein Rennemo, president and chief executive officer of PGS said. "Due to early delivery, these vessels enable us to capture more effectively the short- and medium term strength in the high-end seismic market. The transaction supports our further market penetration in wide azimuth surveys and represents an important step in our fleet renewal plans for the coming years." Carnegie ASA is acting as financial advisor to PGS in relation to this transaction. Headquartered in Lysaker, Norway, Petroleum Geo-Services (OSE: PGS) (NYSE: PGS) -- http://www.pgs.com/-- is a focused geophysical company providing a broad range of seismic and reservoir services, including acquisition, processing, interpretation, and field evaluation. The company also possesses the world's most extensive multi-client data library. The company has operations in Singapore and Ecuador. PETROLEUM GEO-SERVICES: Arrow Acquisition Cues S&P's BB- Ratings ---------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services had affirmed its 'BB-' long- term corporate credit ratings on Norway-based oilfield services company Petroleum Geo-Services ASA following an announcement that it intends to acquire Norway-based Arrow Seismic ASA. The outlook is stable. "The affirmation reflects our view that the transaction is favorable from a business standpoint, as it will give PGS additional marine acquisition vessel capacity," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Jeffrey B Morrison. "The transaction will be entirely debt financed. As a result, we expect the company's credit measures to temporarily rise above levels acceptable for the current ratings. However, we expect PGS to use free operating cash flow to reduce debt in 2008 and bring its ratios back into line with our expectations for the ratings," Mr. Morrison said. Pro-forma debt/EBITDA is expected to rise to about 2.5-3x, but is expected to decline to below 2.0x by year end 2008, which is our targeted level for the rating in the current industry upcycle. The ratings on PGS reflect the company's participation in the very competitive and highly cyclical seismic subsector of the oilfield services industry. They also reflect management's increasing focus on rewarding shareholders and acquisitions and the company's aggressive financial risk profile. Our concerns are partly offset by PGS' strong market position, a sizable and sophisticated fleet, and a favorable near term operating environment. PGS conducts operations through two primary business segments: marine geophysical operations (about 76% of total revenues) and onshore geophysical operations (about 20%). The company's marine seismic operations, in particular, benefit from a solid market position. The stable outlook incorporates our expectations that currently favorable industry conditions, a healthy near-term project backlog, and improved organic cash flow will help management to quickly bring the company's credit ratios back into line with the expectations for the ratings. Headquartered in Lysaker, Norway, Petroleum Geo-Services (OSE: PGS) (NYSE: PGS) -- http://www.pgs.com/-- is a focused geophysical company providing a broad range of seismic and reservoir services, including acquisition, processing, interpretation, and field evaluation. The company also possesses the world's most extensive multi-client data library. The company has operations in Singapore and Ecuador. =========== R U S S I A =========== CENTROCREDIT BANK: Moody's Puts B3/NP/E+/Baa2.ru Global Ratings --------------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service assigned these global scale ratings to Bank CentroCredit (Russia): -- B3 long-term and Not-Prime short-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings and an E+ bank financial strength rating. At the same time, Moody's Interfax Rating Agency has assigned a Baa2.ru long-term national scale rating to the bank. The outlook for the global scale ratings is stable, while the NSR carries no specific outlook. Moscow-based Moody's Interfax is majority- owned by Moody's, a leading global rating agency. According to Moody's and Moody's Interfax, the B3/NP/E+ global scale ratings reflect CentroCredit's global default and loss expectation, while the Baa2.ru NSR reflects the standing of the bank's credit quality relative to its domestic peers. According to Moody's, CentroCredit's E+ BFSR reflects the good management team with a clear understanding of banking risks and the bank's successful history of operation with securities. However, the rating is constrained by: (i) the bank's limited franchise and overall visibility on the market; (ii) significant concerns with regard to the bank's ability to develop its franchise and withstand the competition in the longer term; (iii) the low diversification of the bank's client base; (iv) the bank's considerable, although well-managed, exposure to market risk, which makes its financial performance vulnerable; and (v) the limited sources available for future capitalization. Moody's notes that CentroCredit is unlikely to receive support from its owners or from the Russian authorities in case of distress. Hence, the B3 long-term local currency deposit rating assigned to the bank does not incorporate the possibility of any external support and is therefore at the same level as its Baseline Credit Assessment of B3 (which maps directly from the E+ BFSR). Moody's notes that, at their current level, the bank's ratings have limited upside potential. An upgrade of BFSR could potentially be driven by consistent growth of the bank through expansion of its market franchise and a widening of its client base while maintaining ample and stable profitability and efficiency as well as asset quality. A downward change in the bank's ratings, although not viewed as very likely at this point, could materialise in the event of CentroCredit failing to manage its credit risk adequately, thus resulting in a deterioration in asset quality. CentroCredit is headquartered in Moscow (Russia) and as of Dec. 31, 2006 reported total assets of US$736 million and net income of US$34.3 million for the year then ended. FEDERAL GRID: S&P Holds BB+ Debt Rating on Proposed Notes --------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB+' long-term debt rating to the proposed limited-recourse secured loan participation notes of up to RUR14 billion to be issued by FGC Finance Ltd., a financing vehicle for Russian electricity transmission grid operator Federal Grid Co. of the Unified Energy System (BB+/Watch Pos/--). At the same time, S&P placed the rating on the notes on CreditWatch with positive implications, reflecting the CreditWatch status of FGC. The notes are issued for the sole purpose of funding a loan by FGC Finance to FGC, which will use the loan proceeds for general corporate purposes and, in particular, to finance its investment program. The terms of the loan include: -- an interest reset option; -- put options in the event of change of control or interest reset; -- a cross-default provision; -- negative pledge; and -- restrictions on asset sales, mergers, and reorganization. There are no financial covenants. The rating on the notes is the same as the corporate credit rating on FGC. The notes will be secured by a first-ranking fixed charge on all amounts payable by FGC to FGC Finance under the loan agreement. FGC Finance will assign its rights under the loan agreement to the trustee on closing of the notes issue. The rating on FGC reflects the company's aggressive capital budget -- owing to an aged transmission grid and power demand growth -- that relies heavily on external financing, a concentrated customer base, and the short-term pressure on liquidity resulting from the reorganization of FGC and its parent company RAO UES of Russia (BB/Watch Pos/--). These weaknesses are offset by solid federal government support, FGC's monopoly position as national transmission operator, supportive tariff regulation, and the company's strong financial profile and commitment to a moderate financial policy. The rating on FGC was placed on CreditWatch with positive implications on Oct. 31, 2007, after approval by shareholders of FGC's 87.6% parent, RAO UES, for the second stage of the latter's restructuring and merger with FGC. The CreditWatch listing reflects S&P's expectation that FGC's credit quality will improve as the RAO UES reorganization progresses. Standard & Poor's expects that FGC will manage the potential short-term pressure on its liquidity coming from the reorganization, which is the group's major outstanding restructuring risk. It also expects that the merger with RAO UES will be beneficial or neutral for FGC's financial profile. S&P will resolve the CreditWatch after the potential calls on FGC's liquidity are clarified, which is expected by mid-February 2008. If there is an improvement in FGC's liquidity position, this could result in a one- or two-notch upgrade. LENINGRAD OBLAST: S&P Affirms BB- Ratings with Positive Outlook --------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Russia's Leningrad Oblast to positive from stable, based on rapid revenue growth and an improving economic structure. At the same time, the 'BB-' issuer credit and 'ruAA-' Russia national scale ratings were affirmed. "The outlook revision reflects the oblast's improving economy and prudent fiscal policies," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Pavel Kochanov. "These have resulted in an improved operating balance and a lower debt burden, supporting the ratings." The oblast's low revenue and expenditure flexibility, evolving intergovernmental relations, and the need to improve and expand public sector infrastructure constrain the ratings, however. Total tax-supported debt could potentially increase to 30% of total revenues in the medium term, but is more likely to remain less than 20%. "We expect that the Leningrad Oblast's rapidly growing economy will support stable financial performance and funding of capital expenditures, without materially weakening the debt position," said Mr. Kochanov. Future positive rating actions will depend on the oblast management's ability to reduce the budgetary performance volatility seen in the past and to maintain the operating balance at about 10%, given operating-expenditure pressure and the augmented capital-expenditure program. Total debt should stay below 30% of total revenues. The outlook could be revised back to stable if the oblast's budgetary performance weakens to operating balances of less than 5%, or if debt exceeds a manageable 30% of revenues. MILK OJSC: Creditors Must File Claims by Dec. 3 ----------------------------------------------- Creditors of OJSC Milk have until Dec. 3 to submit proofs of claim to: Yu. B. Burlak Competitive proceedings manager Dekabristov str. 644070 Omsk Russia The Arbitration Court of Omsk commenced streamlined competitive proceedings on the company on Aug. 28, 2008. The case is docketed under Case No. ?46-20767/2006. OMUTINSKAGROPROMSNAB OJSC: Court Hearing Slated for Jan. 9, 2008 ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Arbitration Court of Tyumen' will convene at 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 9, 2008, to hear the bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC OmutinskAgroPromSnab. The case is docketed under Case No. ?70-4974/3-2007. The interim manager is: A. P. Biryukov Interim manager P.O. Box 2004 650000 Kemerovo Russia The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Tyumen Khokhryakova Str. 77 627000 Tyumen Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC OmutinskAgroPromSnab Sel'khoztechniki Str. 15 Omutinskoye Village Tyumen' Russia PILOT PLANT 408: Creditors Must File Claims by Jan. 3, 2008 ----------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Russian Federal Aviation Agency Pilot Plant 408 SUE have until Jan. 3, 2008 to submit proofs of claim to: O. I. Probejgolov Competitive proceedings manager P.O. Box 281 107078 Moscow Russia The Arbitration Court of Moscow commenced one-year competitive proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent on Oct. 19. The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Moscow Novaya Basmannaya Str. 10 Moscow Russia The Debtor can be reached at: Russian Federal Aviation Agency Pilot Plant 408 SUE Airport Proezd 8 125167 Moscow Russia UST'-ILIMSKIJ OJSC: Creditors Must File Claims by Dec. 3 -------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of OJSC Hydrolysis-Yeast Plant Ust'-ilimskij have until Dec. 3 to submit proofs of claim. The Arbitration Court of Irkutsk will convene on Feb. 21, 2008, to hear the bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC Hydrolysis- Yeast Plant Ust'-ilimskij. The case is docketed under Case No. ?196406/07-29. The interim manager is: M. S. Sergeev P.O. Box 416 Dimitrov grad 433511 Ulyanovsk Russia The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Irkutsk Room 303 Gagarina Avenue 70 664025 Irkutsk Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Hydrolysis-Yeast Plant Ust'-ilimskij P.O. Box 351 Promploschadka Lesopromyshlennogo Komplexa Str. Ust'-Ilimsk-14 Ust'-Ilimskij raion 66670 Irkutsk Russia VELSKSTROY OJSC: Bankruptcy Hearing Slated for Feb. 21, 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------ The Arbitration Court of Arkhangel'sk will convene on Feb. 21, 2008, to hear the bankruptcy supervision procedure on OJSC VelskStroy. The report to the Court must be submitted at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 17. The case is docketed under Case No. ?05-4242/2007. The interim manager is: A. Yu. Boitsov K. Marks Str. 166, 53 Syktyvkar Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC VelskStroy Pushkina Str. 100 Velsk Arkhangel'sk Russia ========= S P A I N ========= BANKINTER 3 FTPYME: Moody's Junks EUR17.4 Mln Series E Notes ------------------------------------------------------------ Moody's Investors Service assigned these definitive ratings to the Spanish debt to be issued by Bankinter 3 FTPYME, Fondo de Titulizacion de Activos: -- Aaa to the EUR 180.0 million Series A1 notes; -- Aaa to the EUR 288.9 million Series A2 notes; -- Aaa to the EUR 91.2 million Series A3 (G) notes; -- A1 to the EUR 23.1 million Series B notes; -- Baa3 to the EUR 6.0 million Series C notes; -- Ba3 to the EUR 10.8 million Series D notes; -- C to the EUR 17.4 million Series E notes. Bankinter 3 FTPYME, FTA is a securitization of loans granted to Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises carried out by Banco Intercontinental Espanol, S.A. under the FTPYME program, following the Spanish Ministry of Economy's allocation of a new guarantee budget for such transactions for the current year. The 2007 budget remains constant with respect to 2006, although it is accompanied by an increase in the limit imposed by the Spanish Budget Stability Law on the outstanding amount of guaranteed tranches. It is the third SME transaction carried out by Bankinter. In Moody's view, this deal benefits from several strong features, including: (1) guarantee of Spanish Government (Aaa/P-1) for Series A3(G); (2) an 18-month artificial write-off mechanism; (3) a well diversified pool in terms of geography; and (4) the good performance of the Bankinter I FTPYME and Bankinter 2 PYME deals. The expected loss associated with Series A3(G) notes is consistent with a Aaa rating regardless of the Spanish Treasury guarantee. Weaker features of this deal include: (1) the lack of pool information to assess certain pool characteristics; (2) the limited amount of spread in the transaction; (3) pro-rata amortization of Series B, C and D which leads to reduced credit enhancement of the senior series in absolute terms; (4) the negative impact of the interest deferral trigger on the subordinated series. Moody's has incorporated these increased risks into its credit enhancement calculation. The provisional pool of underlying assets comprised, as of October 2007, a portfolio of 3,336 loans granted to 3,032 borrowers, all of which are Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises. The loans were originated between 1997 and April 2007, with a weighted average seasoning of 1.78 years and a weighted average remaining life of 12.95 years. The interest rate is floating for 100% of the pool. The weighted average interest rate is 4.86%. 86% of the outstanding of the portfolio is secured by a first-lien mortgage guarantee over different types of properties, with a weighted average loan to value equal to 55%. Geographically, the pool is concentrated in Madrid (27%), Valencia (13%) and Andalusia (13%), and is around 33% concentrated in the "buildings and real estate" sector according to Moody's industry classification. At closing, none of the loans will have amounts more than 30 days past due. In comparison with its predecessor (Bankinter 2 PYME), the most outstanding differences are: (1) lower weighted average seasoning, accompanied by a higher weighted remaining term; and (2) lower borrower concentration. Moody's based the ratings primarily on: (i) an evaluation of the underlying portfolio of loans; (ii) the historical performance and other statistical information; (iii) the swap agreement hedging the interest rate risk; (iv) the credit enhancement provided through the Guaranteed Investment Contract account, the excess spread, the reserve fund and the subordination of the notes; and (v) the legal and structural integrity of the transaction. The ratings address the expected loss posed to investors by the legal final maturity (February 2046). In Moody's opinion, the structure allows for timely payment of interest and ultimate payment of principal at par with respect to the Series A1, A2, A3(G), B, C and D notes, and for ultimate payment of interest and principal at par with respect to the Series E notes, on or before the 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 a significant effect on yield to investors. CAIXA SABADELL 1: Fitch Junks EUR4.5 Million Class D Notes ---------------------------------------------------------- Fitch has affirmed GC FTGENCAT Caixa Sabadell 1, Fondo de Titulizacion de Activos's notes following a satisfactory performance review: -- EUR163 million Class AG notes (ISIN: ES0341098012): affirmed at 'AAA' -- EUR113.5 million Class AS notes (ISIN: ES0341098004): affirmed at 'AAA' -- EUR11.7 million Class B notes (ISIN: ES0341098020): affirmed at 'A+' -- EUR11.8 million Class C notes (ISIN: ES0341098038): affirmed at 'BBB-' -- EUR4.5 million Class D notes (ISIN: ES0341098046): affirmed at 'CCC' The rating actions reflect the collateral's stable performance and low delinquency levels. As of the September 2007 report, the total amount of outstanding delinquencies represents 3.54% of the outstanding portfolio. There are no loans over 90 days delinquent. The transaction represents a cash-flow securitization of a static portfolio of loans to small- and medium-sized Spanish enterprises granted by Caixa d'Estalvis de Sabadell ('A-'/'F2'). The Class AG notes benefit from a guarantee by the Autonomous Community of Catalonia (rated 'A+'/'F1'). Static pool transactions are standard in the Spanish SME CDO market; however, this transaction has a 30-month (until April 2009) replenishing period after which the notes will amortize sequentially. Breach of certain default and delinquency triggers will lead to early amortisation of the notes. During the 30-month replenishment period, Caixa Sabadell has the right to sell additional collateral to the issuer on a semi-annual basis. The additional collateral has to meet the eligibility criteria outlined at closing. The portfolio is currently composed of 1,263 loans, 79.17% of which are secured by commercial or residential mortgages. All obligors are concentrated in Catalonia as a requirement by the guarantee. The credit enhancement for the senior notes is provided by the Class B and Class C notes, as well as the reserve fund, with available excess spread serving as the first layer of protection. The Class D notes were issued to finance the reserve fund at closing. The notes will be paid down by using funds from the reserve fund. Because the reserve fund is subject to a floor of 0.75% of the original Class A-C note balance, these funds will only be released to the Class D note holders at the legal final maturity, unless the 10% clean-up call is not exercised and available funds are available. GC FTGENCAT Caixa Sabadell 1 is a special purpose vehicle incorporated under the laws of Spain with limited liability. Its sole purpose is to acquire the portfolio of loans as collateral for the issuance of fixed-income securities. The assets of GC FTGENCAT Caixa Sabadell 1 were acquired on its behalf by GestiCaixa S.G.F.T., S.A., a special purpose management company with limited liability and incorporated under the laws of Spain. ===================== S W I T Z E R L A N D ===================== BBJ-DRUCK JSC: Creditors' Liquidation Claims Due by November 30 --------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of JSC bbj-Druck have until Nov. 30 to submit their claims to: Sonnentalstrasse 5 8600 Dubendorf Uster ZH Switzerland The Debtor can be reached at: JSC bbj-Druck Dubendorf Uster ZH Switzerland C. COCIVERA COLLOMBEY: Lucerne Court Starts Bankruptcy Process -------------------------------------------------------------- The Bankruptcy Court of Lucerne commenced bankruptcy proceedings against LLC C. Cocivera Collombey on Sept. 5. The Bankruptcy Service of Aargau can be reached at: Bankruptcy Service of Lucerne 6000 Lucerne 5 Switzerland The Debtor can be reached at: LLC C. Cocivera Collombey Obergrundstrasse 17 6002 Lucerne Switzerland CRECON JSC: Zug Court Closes Bankruptcy Proceedings --------------------------------------------------- The Bankruptcy Service of Zug entered Oct. 2 an order closing the bankruptcy proceedings of JSC Crecon. The Bankruptcy Service of Zug can be reached at: Bankruptcy Service of Zug 6301 Zug Switzerland The Debtor can be reached at: JSC Crecon Altgasse 46b 6340 Baar Switzerland GARAGE LEUENBERGER: Creditors' Liquidation Claims Due by Dec. 8 --------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of JSC Garage Leuenberger have until Dec. 8 to submit their claims to: JSC Garage Leuenberger Bachtalen 9 6340 Baar ZG Switzerland The Debtor can be reached at: JSC Garage Leuenberger Baar ZG Switzerland GROW HOUSE: Creditors' Liquidation Claims Due by November 30 ------------------------------------------------------------ Creditors of JSC Grow House have until Nov. 30 to submit their claims to: Jurg Finsterwald Liquidator Schulstrasse 36 8952 Schlieren Dietikon ZH Switzerland The Debtor can be reached at: JSC Grow House Schlieren Dietikon ZH Switzerland INTREX MESSE: Creditors' Liquidation Claims Due by November 30 -------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of JSC INTREX Messe und Ausstellung have until Nov. 30 to submit their claims to: Dr. Raoul Bussmann Liquidator Baarerstrasse 12 6300 Zug Switzerland The Debtor can be reached at: JSC INTREX Messe und Ausstellung Zug Switzerland JOHNSON PUMPEN: Creditors Must File Claims by March 4, 2008 ----------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of JSC Johnson Pumpen have until Mar. 4, 2008, to submit their claims to: Dr. Alexander Gutmans Wenger Plattner Aeschenvorstadt 55 4010 Basel Switzerland The Debtor can be reached at: JSC Johnson Pumpen Wadenswil Horgen ZH Switzerland KIESEL RETO: Thurgau Court Closes Bankruptcy Proceedings -------------------------------------------------------- The Bankruptcy Service of Thurgau entered Oct. 3 an order closing the bankruptcy proceedings of LLC Kiesel Reto Informatik. The Bankruptcy Service of Thurgau can be reached at: Bankruptcy Service of Canton Thurgau 8510 Frauenfeld TG Switzerland The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Kiesel Reto Informatik Juchstrasse 38 8267 Berlingen Steckborn TG Switzerland PROTOR JSC: Aargau Court Starts Bankruptcy Proceedings ------------------------------------------------------ The Bankruptcy Court of Aargau commenced bankruptcy proceedings against JSC Protor on Sept. 24. The Bankruptcy Service of Aargau can be reached at: Bankruptcy Service of Aargau Official Instace of Oberentfelden 5036 Oberentfelden Aarau AG Switzerland The Debtor can be reached at: JSC Protor Konradstrasse 15 5001 Aarau AG Switzerland REEDEREI MS: Creditors' Liquidation Claims Due by December 12 ------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Reederei MS Deutschland have until Dec. 12 to submit their claims to: LLC Reederei MS Deutschland Nauenstrasse 63A 4052 Basel BS Switzerland The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Reederei MS Deutschland Basel BS Switzerland ============= U K R A I N E ============= AMFITRITA LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 -------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Amfitrita (code EDRPOU 30822337) have until Nov. 21 to submit their proofs of claim to: The Economic Court of Lvov Lichakivska Str. 81 79010 Lvov Ukraine The Economic Court of Lvov commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. 8/196. The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Amfitrita Lichakovskaya Str. 29 Lvov Ukraine INTEKO-INVEST-GROUP: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 -------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Inteko-Invest-Group (code EDRPOU 33858188) have until Nov. 21 to submit their proofs of claim to: The Economic Court of Dnipropetrovsk Kujbishev Str. 1a 49600 Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine The Economic Court of Dnipropetrovsk commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. B 15/190-07. The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Inteko-Invest-Group Vysotsky Str. 4 49000 Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine KHARKOV OIL: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 ------------------------------------------------------ Creditors of LLC Kharkov Oil (code EDRPOU 30990571) have until Nov. 21 to submit their proofs of claim to: The Economic Court of Donetsk Artema Str. 157 83048 Donetsk Ukraine The Economic Court of Donetsk commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. 27/206B. The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Kharkov Oil Gorky Str. 154 83055 Donetsk Ukraine LUGANSK COAL: Claims Filing Bar Date Set November 18 ---------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Lugansk Coal Processing (code EDRPOU 31326380) have until Nov. 18 to submit their proofs of claim to: The Economic Court of Lugansk Geroiv VVV Square 3a 91000 Lugansk Ukraine The Economic Court of Lugansk commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on the company on Sept. 4. The case is docketed under Case No. 20/104B. The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Lugansk Coal Processing Soviet Str. 18 91000 Lugansk Ukraine MAKEYEVKA GLASS: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 ---------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of OJSC Makeyevka Glass Plant have until Nov. 21 to submit their proofs of claim to: The Economic Court of Donetsk Artema Str. 157 83048 Donetsk Ukraine The Economic Court of Donetsk commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. 27/242B. The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Makeyevka Glass Plant Transportnaya Str. 1 Makeyevka 86106 Donetsk Ukraine ONIS LLC: Claims Filing Bar Date Set November 18 ------------------------------------------------ Creditors of LLC Leasing Company Onis (code EDRPOU 32476172) have until Nov. 18 to submit their proofs of claim to: The Economic Court of Donetsk Artema Str. 157 83048 Donetsk Ukraine The Economic Court of Donetsk commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on the company. The case is docketed under Case No. 45/124b. The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Leasing Company Onis Illich Avenue 44 83003 Donetsk Ukraine PROMAGRO: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 --------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Promagro (code EDRPOU 30755235) have until Nov. 21 to submit their proofs of claims to: The Economic Court of Kharkov Derzhprom 8th Entrance Svoboda Square 5 61022 Kharkov Ukraine The Economic Court of Kharkov commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. B-19/221-07. The Debtor can be reached at: Promagro Dmitriyevskaya Str. 31/35 61052 Kharkov Ukraine S.T.M. LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by November 21 ----------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC S.T.M. (code EDRPOU 32602996) have until Nov. 21 to submit their proofs of claim to: The Economic Court of Sumy Shevchenko Avenue 18/1 40030 Sumy Ukraine The Economic Court of Sumy commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. 6/28-07. The Debtor can be reached at: LLC S.T.M. Kirov Str. 110 40000 Sumy Ukraine TRADE EXPRESS: Claims Filing bar Date Set November 21 ----------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Trade Express Ltd. (code EDRPOU 34598797) have until Nov. 21 to submit their proofs of claim to: The Economic Court of Odessa Shevchenko Avenue 4 65032 Odessa Ukraine The Economic Court of Odessa commenced bankruptcy supervision procedure on the company. The case is docketed under Case No. 7/300-07-7844. The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Trade Express Ltd. Tchapayev Lane 5A 65122 Odessa Ukraine =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== BAKER STREET: Moody's May Cut Ba1 Rating After Review ----------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investor Service placed EUR1.33 billion of European CDOs on review for downgrade. The rating actions are a response to credit deterioration of the underlying portfolios, which include exposure to CDOs of US ABS and to downgraded US subprime RMBS securities of the 2006 vintage. They also incorporate Moody's view on the impact of exposure to other US RMBS and ABS CDO vintages, particularly 2005 and 2007. A total of 40 tranches from 6 CDOs are affected, with the proportion of downgraded subprime assets present in individual portfolios ranging from 6.7% to 11.7%. Moody's placed on review for possible downgrade six classes of notes issued by Baker Street Finance Limited: -- The EUR68,750,000 Class C Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aa2; -- The EUR55,000,000 Class D Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aa3; -- The EUR39,600,000 Class E Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated A2; -- The EUR24,200,000 Class F Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated A3; -- The EUR22,000,000 Class G Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Baa2; -- The EUR19,250,000 Class H Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Ba1. The most negatively impacted are those containing US ABS CDOs and 2006 US subprime RMBS assets that were originally rated Baa or below, due to the greater severity of downgrades already experienced by these securities. Moody's will continue to monitor all deals with exposure to US subprime RMBS and CDOs of ABS, and will take further actions in respect of all CDOs placed under review for downgrade once the extent of actual downgrades to 2005 and 2007 US RMBS and ABS CDO vintages becomes known. BAKER STREET US$: Moody's May Cut Ba1 Rating After Review --------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investor Service placed EUR1.33 billion of European CDOs on review for downgrade. The rating actions are a response to credit deterioration of the underlying portfolios, which include exposure to CDOs of US ABS and to downgraded US subprime RMBS securities of the 2006 vintage. They also incorporate Moody's view on the impact of exposure to other US RMBS and ABS CDO vintages, particularly 2005 and 2007. A total of 40 tranches from 6 CDOs are affected, with the proportion of downgraded subprime assets present in individual portfolios ranging from 6.7% to 11.7%. Moody's placed on review for possible downgrade six classes of notes issued by Baker Street US$ Finance Limited: -- The US$6,250,000 Class C-USD Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aa2; -- The US$5,000,000 Class D-USD Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aa3; -- The US$3,600,000 Class E-USD Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated A2; -- The US$2,200,000 Class F-USD Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated A3; -- The US$2,000,000 Class G-USD Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Baa2; -- The US$1,750,000 Class H-USD Floating rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Ba1. The most negatively impacted are those containing US ABS CDOs and 2006 US subprime RMBS assets that were originally rated Baa or below, due to the greater severity of downgrades already experienced by these securities. Moody's will continue to monitor all deals with exposure to US subprime RMBS and CDOs of ABS, and will take further actions in respect of all CDOs placed under review for downgrade once the extent of actual downgrades to 2005 and 2007 US RMBS and ABS CDO vintages becomes known. BLUE FIN: S&P Puts BB+ Ratings to Two Series 1 Note Classes ----------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB+' long-term senior secured debt ratings to each of the notes issued by Blue Fin Ltd. under Allianz SE's (AA/Stable/A-1+) newly established shelf program: -- EUR155 million Series 1 Class A Principal At-Risk Floating-Rate Notes due April 10, 2012; -- US$65 million Series 1 Class B Principal At-Risk Floating- Rate Notes due April 10, 2012. These are the first issuance under the newly established EUR1 billion principal at-risk floating-rate note program. The transaction closed on Nov. 7, 2007, at which time ratings were assigned to the floating-rate notes. Blue Fin is a special-purpose Cayman Islands-exempted company whose ordinary shares are held in charitable trust. It issued the notes and invested the proceeds in high-quality assets within a collateral account. Blue Fin swaps the total return of the asset portfolio with Morgan Stanley Capital Services Inc., in exchange for quarterly EURIBOR and LIBOR-based payments. Simultaneous to the issuance of the notes, Blue Fin entered into an International Swaps and Derivatives Association - based counterparty contract comparable with a reinsurance contract with Allianz Argos 14 GmbH, guaranteed by Allianz. This contract will provide for payments to Allianz if a windstorm of a certain magnitude occurs within predefined European countries. The payment received from Allianz under the ISDA-based counterparty contract and the proceeds from the total return swap with Morgan Stanley will be used to make the scheduled payments to the holders of the notes. Allianz will pay the up- front and ongoing expenses of Blue Fin in connection with this security issuance. The ratings on the notes are based on the creditworthiness of Allianz as guarantor under the ISDA-based counterparty contract and of Morgan Stanley as guarantor of the total return swap counterparty. A significant part of the rating analysis took account of an assessment of the occurrence probabilities of European windstorms as modeled by Risk Management Solutions, Inc., California, USA. The proceeds of the notes will serve to provide Allianz with a source of parametric cover for windstorms in Europe over a five- year period. BRAKE BROS: Fitch Withdraws Ratings on Sale to Bain Capital ----------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has withdrawn UK-based Brake Bros Finance plc's and Brake Bros Acquisition plc's Long-term Issuer Default Ratings of 'B+', which were both on Rating Watch Negative. Fitch has also withdrawn Brake Bros Acquisition plc's Short-term IDR of 'B'. This action follows the closing of the sale of Brake to funds managed by Bain Capital. Although the new business and financing plan has not yet been unveiled, the capital structure put in place by the new controlling shareholder is expected to increase financial leverage above the level seen under the previous ownership. Fiscal year 2006 lease-adjusted gross leverage was 3.7x through the senior notes and 5.9x including the PIK notes. Fitch will no longer provide ratings or analytical coverage of Brake. BRITISH AIRWAYS: Fuel Surcharge Increase to Take Effect Today ------------------------------------------------------------- British Airways plc will increase its fuel surcharge on all tickets booked from today, Nov. 15, 2007. The decision reflects new record oil prices and takes into account rising fuel costs. The airline expects the cost of fuel to increase by GBP136 million in the second half of the current financial year, with the total fuel bill for the year anticipated to exceed GBP2 billion for the first time. The changes will mean: * The surcharge for longhaul flights of less than nine hours will increase by GBP10 per flight from GBP38 to GBP48 (GBP96 return) * The surcharge for longhaul flights of more than nine hours will increase by GBP15 from GBP43 to GBP58 per flight (GBP116 return) * The surcharge for shorthaul flights will increase by GBP2 from GBP8 to GBP10 per flight (GBP20 return) "The cost of oil has reached record levels, rising by more than US$20 per barrel since we last increased our fuel surcharge in June 2007," Robert Boyle, commercial director of British Airways, said. British Airways will make similar adjustments to its fuel surcharge in markets outside the U.K. About British Airways Headquartered in West Drayton, United Kingdom, British Airways Plc -- http://www.ba.com/-- operates of international and domestic scheduled and charter air services for the carriage of passengers, freight and mail, and provides of ancillary services. The British Airways group consists of British Airways Plc and a number of subsidiary companies including in particular British Airways Holidays Ltd. and British Airways Travel Shops Ltd. BA has offices in India and Guatemala. * * * As reported in the TCR-Europe on Aug. 16, 2007, Moody's Investors Service upgraded the senior unsecured rating of British Airways plc to Ba1, one notch lower than the Corporate Family Rating (upgraded to Baa3, stable outlook), reflecting the subordination of unsecured debt to a substantial portion of secured debt. The debt instruments affected by the rating action are: -- GBP100 million 10.875% senior unsecured notes due 2008 to Ba1 from Ba2; -- GBP250 million 7.25% senior unsecured notes due 2016 to Ba1 from Ba2; -- US$115 million 5.25% and US$85 million 7.625% senior unsecured industrial revenue notes due 2032 to Ba1 from Ba2; -- EUR300 million 6.75% perpetual guaranteed preferred securities to Ba2 from Ba3 issued by British Airways Finance (Jersey) L.P. CABLE & WIRELESS: Restores Services in Cayman Islands ----------------------------------------------------- Cable & Wireless has restored landline and ADSL Services to clients in the Cayman Islands, Cayman Net News reports. Cayman Net relates that a contractor carrying out road work on Nov. 6, 2007, accidentally cut Cable & Wireless' fiber cable system, resulting to the loss of landline and ADSL services to customers east of the Lions Center and in some areas of George Town. Cayman Brac subscribers lost landline service, with mobile, data and international services unaffected. According to Cayman Net, Cable & Wireless immediately responded and many subscribers were reconnected within an hour. "A temporary fix" was made to guarantee that "clients were reconnected and all services were fully restored within three hours of the outage." Traffic had to be diverted through Old Prospect Road to accommodate the work along Shamrock Road. Repair and restoration work was completed by Wednesday last week. Cable & Wireless (Cayman Islands) Network Services Vice President Albert Anderson told Cayman Net, "All contractors are encouraged to contact Cable & Wireless before they dig so we can point out and mark where our cables are located. This will ensure that we do not have a reoccurrence of this type of incident." Headquartered in London, Cable & Wireless Plc -- http://www.cw.com/new/-- provides voice, data and IP (Internet Protocol) services to business and residential customers, as well as services to other telecoms carriers, mobile operators and providers of content, applications and Internet services. The company has operations are in the United Kingdom, India, China, Japan, the Cayman Islands and the Middle East. * * * In April 2007, in connection with the implementation of its new Probability-of-Default and Loss-Given-Default rating methodology for the corporate families in the Telecommunications, Media and technology sector, Moody's Investors Service confirmed its Ba3 Corporate Family Rating for Cable & Wireless Plc. Moody's also assigned a Ba3 Probability-of-Default rating to the company. * Issuer: Cable & Wireless Plc Projected Debt LGD Loss-Given Debt Issue Rating Rating Default ---------- ------- ------- -------- 4% Senior Unsecured Conv./Exch. Bond/Debenture Due 2010 B1 LGD4 60% GBP200 million 8.75% Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture Due 2012 B1 LGD4 60% CHRYSLER LLC: Plans to Offer Rebates in December ------------------------------------------------ Chrysler LLC may offer a new round of rebates in December 2007, as it expect a difficult year in sales for 2008, Reuters reports citing the Wall Street Journal as its source. According to the report, a campaign kick off is set on Nov. 20, 2007, through its Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler television ads. The company will also emphasize the lifetime warranty it began offering on engines and transmissions early this year. Discounts will be heavy on Chrysler Pacifica, PT Cruiser convertible and Crossfire, and the Dodge Magnum, the four slow- selling models that are being discontinued, Reuters relates. Cost-Reduction Efforts As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Nov. 5, 2007, Chrysler disclosed that it would make volume-related reductions at several of its North American assembly and powertrain plants, and eliminate four products from its line-up. Shifts will be eliminated at five North American assembly plants which, combined with other volume-related manufacturing actions, will lead to a reduction of 8,500-10,000 additional hourly jobs through 2008. Additional actions include reductions of salaried employment by 1,000 and supplemental (contract) employment by 37%. The Company also plans to eliminate hourly and salaried overtime and reduce purchased services due to reduction in volume. The volume-related actions are in addition to 13,000 jobs eliminated by the three-year Recovery and Transformation Plan announced in February. The objectives of the RTP remain the same. "We have to move now to adjust the way our company looks and acts to reflect a smaller market," Tom LaSorda, vice chairman and president of the Chrysler Group, said. "That means a cost base that is right-sized and an appropriate level of plant utilization." About Chrysler LLC Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Chrysler LLC -- http://www.chrysler.com/-- a unit of Cerberus Capital Management LP, produces Chrysler, Jeep(R), Dodge and Mopar(R) brand vehicles and products. The company has dealers worldwide, including Canada, Mexico, U.S., Germany, France, U.K., Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, China, Japan and Australia. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Nov. 12, 2007, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'B' corporate credit rating on Chrysler LLC and DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Americas LLC and removed it from CreditWatch with positive implications, where it was placed Sept. 26, 2007. The outlook is negative. CLIFTON STREET: Moody's May Cut Ba1 Rating After Review ------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investor Service placed EUR1.33 billion of European CDOs on review for downgrade. The rating actions are a response to credit deterioration of the underlying portfolios, which include exposure to CDOs of US ABS and to downgraded US subprime RMBS securities of the 2006 vintage. They also incorporate Moody's view on the impact of exposure to other US RMBS and ABS CDO vintages, particularly 2005 and 2007. A total of 40 tranches from 6 CDOs are affected, with the proportion of downgraded subprime assets present in individual portfolios ranging from 6.7% to 11.7%. Moody's placed on review for possible downgrade eight classes of notes issued by Clifton Street Finance Limited: -- The EUR48,750,000 Class A-2 Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aaa; -- The EUR37,500,000 Class B Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aa1; -- The EUR32,000,000 Class C Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aa2; -- The EUR30,000,000 Class D Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aa3; -- The EUR17,500,000 Class E Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated A2; -- The EUR15,000,000 Class F Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated A3; -- The EUR15,000,000 Class G Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Baa2; -- The EUR12,000,000 Class H Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Ba1. The most negatively impacted are those containing US ABS CDOs and 2006 US subprime RMBS assets that were originally rated Baa or below, due to the greater severity of downgrades already experienced by these securities. Moody's will continue to monitor all deals with exposure to US subprime RMBS and CDOs of ABS, and will take further actions in respect of all CDOs placed under review for downgrade once the extent of actual downgrades to 2005 and 2007 US RMBS and ABS CDO vintages becomes known. CONSTELLATION BRANDS: Buying Fortune's Wine Biz for US$885 Mln -------------------------------------------------------------- Constellation Brands Inc. and Fortune Brands Inc. have entered into an agreement under which Constellation will acquire Fortune's U.S. wine business for US$885 million, subject to post-closing adjustments. The transaction is expected to close by Dec. 31, 2007. The business to be acquired includes some of California's wineries. The portfolio represents approximately 2.6 million cases. Brands to be acquired include Clos du Bois and Geyser Peak and Wild Horse. More than 1,500 acres of vineyards in Napa, Sonoma and Carneros, California, are included in the purchase, in addition to five California wineries. "This portfolio is an excellent fit and furthers our strategy of exceeding consumer expectations and expanding our presence in the growing high-end segments of the wine market," Rob Sands, Constellation Brands president and chief executive officer, said. "We are delighted about the prospect of adding these wineries and brands to our existing portfolio, which will enhance our growing position in the U.S. premium wine business," Mr. Sands added. "As an example, Clos du Bois, a two million case brand, has a history of strong consumer brand equity, growth and profitability. We also look forward to working with the people who have been responsible for the tremendous success of these wines." The company estimates that on a comparable basis this acquisition will be slightly accretive to diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2009 and modestly dilutive for fiscal 2008, assuming the transaction closes by Dec. 31, 2007. A plan for the integration of this acquisition into Constellation will be finalized after the close of the transaction, and the company will determine the best way to effectively assimilate the brands and facilities. The transaction will be financed with debt and is subject to customary and routine regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. About Fortune Brands Inc. Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, Fortune Brands Inc. (NYSE: FO)-- http://www.fortunebrands.com/-- is a holding company with subsidiaries engaged in the manufacture, production and sale of home and hardware products, spirits and wine, and golf products. The company operates through three segments: Home and Hardware, Spirits and Wine, and Golf. Home and Hardware includes kitchen and bathroom faucets and accessories; kitchen and bath cabinetry; residential entry door and patio door systems; vinyl- framed windows; locks, and tool storage and organization products. Spirits and Wine includes products made, marketed or distributed by Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. (BGSW) subsidiaries or affiliates. Golf includes golf balls, golf clubs, golf shoes and gloves manufactured, marketed or distributed by Acushnet Company (Acushnet). About Constellation Brands Headquartered in Fairport, New York, Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ, ASX: CBR) -- http://www.cbrands.com/-- is an international producer and marketer of beverage alcohol in the wine, spirits and imported beer categories, with significant market presence in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia and New Zealand. The company has more than 250 brands in its portfolio, sales in approximately 150 countries and operates approximately 60 wineries, distilleries and distribution facilities. * * * Moody's Investor Services placed Constellation Brands Inc.'s long term corporate family, bank loan, senior unsecured debt and probability of default ratings at 'Ba3' in March 2007. The ratings still hold to date with a stable outlook. CONSTELLATION BRANDS: Fortune Deal Cues Fitch to Hold Ratings ------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings of Constellation Brands Inc. following the company's announcement that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Fortune Brands, Inc.'s U.S. wine business for US$885 million. Fitch has affirmed these ratings: -- Issuer Default Rating 'BB-'; -- Bank credit facility 'BB-'; -- Senior unsecured notes to 'BB-'; -- Senior subordinated notes 'B+'. The Rating Outlook is Negative. Fitch's ratings apply to STZ's US$3.9 billion credit facilities, US$1.9 billion of senior unsecured debt, and US$250 million of senior subordinated notes. The affirmation reflects the addition of market leading premium and super premium wines to STZ's already solid position in the U. S. market and around the world. STZ maintains leading market shares in most of the major wine markets around the globe and a diversified alcoholic beverage portfolio and has an excellent track record of integrating acquisitions. The company has restructured acquired operations to enhance productivity and has sold non-essential assets, which has provided some proceeds to reduce debt. Of concern is STZ willingness to operate at higher leverage levels and its appetite for acquisitions. Over the intermediate term, it is likely that the company will continue to make acquisitions that may result in financial and operational stress. The company's debt levels are expected to be meaningfully higher at the end of fiscal 2008 (ending Feb. 29, 2008). Leverage has grown as a result of successive debt financed acquisitions and stock repurchases, including an accelerated share repurchase transaction in May 2007. As a result, interest expense has increased and coverage measures have weakened considerably over the past couple of years. As of Aug. 31, 2007, pro forma for the acquisition of FO's wine business, debt/EBITDA (unadjusted for acquisition-related integration costs and restructuring and related charges) would be approaching 6.0 times, while EBITDA/interest would be slightly above 2.5x. Nonetheless, the strong fit of FO's wine brands, the high growth rates for the super-premium category and some reduction in debt in the near term are expected to improve these numbers in the short-term. Ongoing difficulties in U.K. and Australian operations and a reduction in U.S. distributor inventory levels, which have affected cash flow, are also expected to abate in calendar 2008. CREATIVE OUTSOURCING: Appoints Administrators from KPMG ------------------------------------------------------- Allan Graham, Joff Pope and Myles Halley of KPMG were appointed joint administrators of Creative Outsourcing Solutions International Ltd. on Nov. 9, 2007. Following their appointment, the administrators have achieved a sale of the Maestag plant to Budelpack, a leading European provider of contract manufacturing, contract packaging and supply chain services to the consumer goods market. The sale has preserved around 560 jobs. The site at Littlehampton will continue to trade in administration as its operations are wound down. Administrators were not able to secure a buyer for this plant which presently employs around 180 people. "We are pleased to have achieved a sale of the Maestag-based part of the business, particularly as this area of South Wales has suffered due to the announcement of job losses at other businesses recently," joint administrators Allan Graham and Joff Pope stated. "The acquisition of COSi is strategically interesting to Budelpack as it will enhance our product and service portfolio, strengthen our position in the personal care market, and add new strategic relations. The acquisition provides us with U.K.- based personal care activities and places the group in the forefront of the consolidated trend of FMCG operations in Europe," Chris Moerkerken, CEO Budelpack International said. "Budelpack believes this acquisition can provide COSi a new solid basis for renewed profitable growth and the development of their market position," Mr. Moerkerken added. KPMG LLP -- http://www.kpmg.co.uk/-- offers accounting, audit, and tax-related services to customers in such target industries as banking, media and entertainment, consumer products, health care providers, insurance, and pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Littlehampton, England, Creative Outsourcing Solutions International Ltd. (COSi) -- http://www.cosiworld.com/ -- manufactures color cosmetics and personal care products. COSi employs over 1,300 skilled professionals in its R&D center at Maesteg and Littlehampton U.K. With additional sales and sourcing offices in the U.S., Italy, France and China. It has a turnover of GBP70 million. DURA AUTOMOTIVE: Asks Firm to Detail Purchase of Clients' Bonds --------------------------------------------------------------- DURA Automotive Systems, Inc., and its debtor-affiliates asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to bar Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, and 14 parties that it represents from further participating in the Chapter 11 cases, unless the law firm details under what circumstances its clients bought senior subordinated notes of Dura Operating Corporation due May 2009. DURA's Joint Plan of Reorganization, which will be presented to Court for confirmation on Dec. 6, 2007, provides that holders of subordinated notes aggregating US$560,700,000, which include Ballard Spahr's clients, will not receive any recovery on their claims. Holders of US$418,700,000 in senior notes, however, will receive 55% recovery on their claims and will have the option to purchase shares of reorganized DURA in a rights offering, backstopped by Pacificor, LLC. Ballard Spahr, on behalf of the 9% Subordinated Noteholders, has filed a number of pleadings in DURA's bankruptcy cases. Among other objections, Ballard Spahr opposed the Debtors' backstop agreement with Pacificor, and subsequently filed a notice that it intends to appeal the order approving the Backstop Deal. Ballard Spahr also commenced an adversary proceeding on behalf of Thomas and Pattian Kurak, two of the 14 Subordinated Noteholders, seeking a declaration that subordinated noteholders are entitled to participate in the US$140,000,000 to US$160,000,000 rights offering, and receive distributions under the Plan, pursuant to the terms of subordinated notes indentures. The Debtors noted that the firm, in its summary judgment briefing, purports to champion the cause not only of the named plaintiffs, but also of "similarly situated noteholders." On Aug. 30, 2007, Ballard Spahr filed a verified statement, disclosing that it represented Certain 9% Subordinated Noteholders, specifically 14 entities holding senior notes with the aggregate face amount of US$95,887,000 -- Tom Kurak, Pattiam Kurak, James W. Korth & Company, Jason Alan Pieper, Charles T. Kurak, Jeffrey R. Werner, Jeff Comfort, Donald L. Welker, Jeffrey Scott Einstein, Daniel Scott Hennum, Curtis H. Werner, Richard John Thielen, Carl E. Kruger, and Tamara A. Kurak. DURA insisted that Ballard Spahr amend its verified statement under Rule 2019 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, to, among other things, explain the nature of the group of the Certain 9% Subordinated Noteholders. "Without the type of disclosure mandated by Rule 2019, neither the Court, the Debtors nor any other party-in-interest can understand whether Ballard Spahr purports to represent merely a single disgruntled creditor who seemingly acquired its 9% Subordinated Notes for speculative purposes in the weeks and months following the Petition Date or a group of disgruntled creditors engaging in such speculation," said Daniel J. DeFranceschi, Esq., at Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., in Wilmington, Delaware. As a result, neither the Court, the Debtors, nor any other party-in-interest can properly evaluate the credibility of arguments propounded by Ballard Spahr, Mr. DeFranceschi said. DURA asked the Court to (i) prohibit Ballard Spahr from intervening or otherwise being heard further in the Chapter 11 cases, and (ii) invalidate any pleading filed by firm in the Kurak Adversary Proceeding, the Appeals, or the Plan confirmation process, until the firm amended its Rule 2019 statement to include these information: (i) the acquisition date and face amount of each individual claim purchased; (ii) the date and amount of any sale of Subordinated Notes; (iii) the amount of each Certain 9% Subordinated Noteholder paid for such claim; and (iv) the fee arrangement between the Certain 9% Subordinated Noteholders and the firm. In light of the Court's approval of DURA's request to compel Ballard Spahr to provide the requested information, the law firm on November 7, filed a verified statement, disclosing, among other things, that it represents 13 noteholders and the amounts paid by each party for the notes: Transaction Face Value Total Party Date/s of Bonds Amount Paid ----- ------ -------- ----------- Tom & Pattiam Kurak 12/11/06 to US$81,550,000 US$4,409,150 15001 Sunfish Lake 6/29/07 Boulievard NW Ramsey, Minn. James W. Korth & 10/10/06 to 1,253,000 64,763 Company 8/09/07 2701 South Bayshore Dvie, Suite 305 Miami, Florida Jason Alan Pieper 1/09/07 to 1,477,000 114,053 11860 Irish Avenue 6/19/07 N. Gran, Minn. Charles T. Kurak 12/15/06 to 1,000,000 59,963 13 - 77th Ave., NE 4/11/07 Minneapolis, Minn. Jeffrey R. Werner 4/10/07 to 980,000 54,281 15385 Armstrong 5/16/07 Boulevard Ramsey, Minn. Jeff Comfort 3/26/07 to 798,000 55,829 415 Hidden Oaks Ct. 6/13/07 Mahtomedi, Minn. Donald L. Welker 5/24/07 420,000 50,740 9587 168th Ave. Becker, Minn. Jeffrey Scott Einstein 1/19/07 150,000 10,995 12062 93rd Pl.N. Maple Grove, Minn. Daniel Scot Hennum 6/22/07 130,000 19,500 10209 Jackson St., NE Blaine, Minn. Curtis H. Werner 5/02/07 102,000 8,033 Elk River, Minn. Richard John Thielen 1/10/07 100,000 6,125 260 Rice Creek Terrace Fridley, Minn. Carl E. Kruger 5/08/07 35,000 2,888 14963 Sunfish Lake Boulevard Ramsey, Minn. Tamara A. Kurak 2/13/07 30,000 2,100 1070 Grandview Ct. #17 Columbia Heights, Minn. ----------- ---------- Aggregate Face Amount of Bonds and Total Amount Paid US$88,025,000 US$4,858,418 ============= ============ Tamara Kurak sold notes in the face amount of US$10,000 in June 2007, leaving her with notes in the face amount of US$20,000, and the aggregate amount of notes held by the 9% Noteholders to US$88,015,000. About DURA Automotive Based in Rochester Hills, Michigan, DURA Automotive Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: DRRA) -- http://www.DURAauto.com/-- is an independent designer and manufacturer of driver control systems, seating control systems, glass systems, engineered assemblies, structural door modules and exterior trim systems for the global automotive industry. The company is also a supplier of similar products to the recreation vehicle and specialty vehicle industries. DURA sells its automotive products to North American, Japanese and European original equipment manufacturers and other automotive suppliers. The company has three locations in Asia -- China, Japan and Korea. It has locations in Europe and Latin America, particularly in Mexico, Germany and the United Kingdom. The Debtors filed for chapter 11 petition on Oct. 30, 2006 (Bankr. D. Del. Case No. 06-11202). Richard M. Cieri, Esq., Marc Kieselstein, Esq., Roger James Higgins, Esq., and Ryan Blaine Bennett, Esq., of Kirkland & Ellis LLP are lead counsel for the Debtors' bankruptcy proceedings. Mark D. Collins, Esq., Daniel J. DeFranseschi, Esq., and Jason M. Madron, Esq., of Richards Layton & Finger, P.A. Attorneys are the Debtors' co- counsel. Baker & McKenzie acts as the Debtors' special counsel. Togut, Segal & Segal LLP is the Debtors' conflicts counsel. Miller Buckfire & Co., LLC is the Debtors' investment banker. Glass & Associates Inc., gives financial advice to the Debtor. Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC handles the notice, claims and balloting for the Debtors and Brunswick Group LLC acts as their Corporate Communications Consultants for the Debtors. As of July 2, 2006, the Debtor had US$1,993,178,000 in total assets and US$1,730,758,000 in total liabilities. The Debtors' exclusive plan-filing period expired on Sept. 30, 2007. On Aug. 22, 2007, the Debtors' filed their Plan of Reorganization and the Disclosure Statement explaining that Plan was approved on Oct. 3, 2007. The hearing to consider confirmation of the plan is set for Nov. 26, 2007. (Dura Automotive Bankruptcy News, Issue No. 37; Bankruptcy Creditors' Service Inc., http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000 GIRAFFE TOWN: Names Matthew Colin Bowker Liquidator --------------------------------------------------- Matthew Colin Bowker of Tenon Recovery was appointed liquidator of Giraffe Town Ltd. (t/a The Swan with 2 Necks) on Nov. 2 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. The liquidator can be reached at: Tenon Recovery Clive House Clive Street Bolton BL1 1ET England HANOVER STREET: Moody's May Cut Ba1 Rating After Review ------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investor Service placed EUR1.33 billion of European CDOs on review for downgrade. The rating actions are a response to credit deterioration of the underlying portfolios, which include exposure to CDOs of US ABS and to downgraded US subprime RMBS securities of the 2006 vintage. They also incorporate Moody's view on the impact of exposure to other US RMBS and ABS CDO vintages, particularly 2005 and 2007. A total of 40 tranches from 6 CDOs are affected, with the proportion of downgraded subprime assets present in individual portfolios ranging from 6.7% to 11.7%. Moody's placed on review for possible downgrade nine classes of notes issued by Hanover Street Finance Limited: -- The EUR80,500,000 Class A2 Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aaa, -- The EUR80,500,000 Class B Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aa1, -- The EUR70,000,000 Class C Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aa2, -- The EUR50,400,000 Class D Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Aa3, -- The EUR30,450,000 Class E Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated A1, -- The EUR29,400,000 Class F Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated A2, -- The EUR28,000,000 Class G Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated A3, -- The EUR24,500,000 Class H Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Baa2, -- The EUR18,200,000 Class I Floating Rate Credit-Linked Notes, currently rated Ba1. The most negatively impacted are those containing US ABS CDOs and 2006 US subprime RMBS assets that were originally rated Baa or below, due to the greater severity of downgrades already experienced by these securities. Moody's will continue to monitor all deals with exposure to US subprime RMBS and CDOs of ABS, and will take further actions in respect of all CDOs placed under review for downgrade once the extent of actual downgrades to 2005 and 2007 US RMBS and ABS CDO vintages becomes known. ICONIX BRAND: Enters Into Five Global License Agreements -------------------------------------------------------- Iconix Brand Group, Inc. has entered into four separate license agreements for its London Fog(R), Rampage(R), Op(R), Joe Boxer(R) and Danskin(R) brands and is expanding its license agreement for Mossimo(R) in Australia. The company has entered into an agreement with New Foundations, a Beijing, China-based real estate development and retail company granting them a master license for London Fog for all of Mainland China. New Foundations will hold an exclusive multi- year license agreement to manufacture and distribute London Fog apparel, accessories and lifestyle products in China and plans to open a network of over 100 London Fog stores and shop-in- shops across China including a handful of larger flagship stores in Beijing and Shanghai over the next five years. Iconix will work with New Foundations to develop the marketing strategy for the China market. The second agreement is with Mint Apparel for a long-term master license agreement for Op apparel, accessories and lifestyle products in Europe. Mint Apparel will distribute the brand through specialty stores, surf shops and department stores in Europe. The company has also entered into an exclusive long-term license with The Style Company to open stand alone retail stores for Rampage, Op and Joe Boxer in the Middle East. The Style Company plans on rolling out a total of 35 retail stores over the next five years across the region including fourteen Op, fourteen Joe Boxer and seven Rampage shops. Additionally, the company has entered into a license agreement with Grupo Zipora to manufacture and distribute Danskin in Mexico. Danskin will be distributed in Mexico through a dual brand strategy similar to the brand structure in the U.S., with Danskin product distributed to specialty stores and department stores and Danskin Now distributed exclusively through WalMart Mexico. Lastly, the company has also expanded the Mossimo Australia license with Port Melbourne-based Pacific Brands Limited. Pacific Brands plans to open ten free-standing Mossimo stores throughout Australia in the next few years. Neil Cole, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Iconix, stated, "Iconix is committed to exporting our portfolio of brands around the world and these new agreements represent an exciting step forward in this initiative. Each of our new licensees will be dedicating significant resources to expanding the Iconix's stable of brands worldwide and we look forward to working with each one of them. China is the fastest growing market in the world and we are excited to announce our first license agreement in that market with such a powerful partner as New Foundations. New Foundations' position in the Chinese Real Estate market will enable them to quickly develop a retail network for our brand across China." About Iconix Based in New York City, Iconix Brand Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ICON) - http://www.iconixbrand.com/-- owns fashion brands to retail distribution from the luxury market. The company licenses its brands to retailers and manufacturers worldwide. The group has international licensees in Mexico, Japan and the United Kingdom. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on June 20, 2007, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its ratings outlook on Iconix Brand Group Inc. to negative. At the same time, Standard & Poor's assigned its 'B-' debt rating to Iconix's then proposed US$250 million convertible senior subordinated notes due 2012. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on June 18, 2007, Moody's Investors Service affirmed Iconix Brand Group Inc.'s corporate family rating at B1 and assigned a B3 rating to the company's then proposed US$250 million convertible senior subordinated note offering. MDG DRYWALL: Calls In Liquidator from Baker Tilly Restructuring --------------------------------------------------------------- Geoffrey Lambert Carton-Kelly and Michael David Rollings of Baker Tilly Restructuring and Recovery LLP were appointed joint liquidators of MDG Drywall & Plastering Ltd. on Oct. 31 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure proceeding. The joint liquidators can be reached at: Baker Tilly Restructuring and Recovery LLP 5 Old Bailey London EC4M 7AF England MEGA BRANDS: S&P Places Low-B Ratings on CreditWatch Negative ------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has placed its 'B+' long-term corporate credit and bank loan ratings on Montreal-based MEGA Brands Inc. on CreditWatch with negative implications. The '3' recovery rating on the bank loan is unchanged. The CreditWatch placement reflects S&P's concerns that revenues, earnings, and credit protection measures at MEGA Brands did not meet S&P's expectations for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2007, and could remain weaker than expected in the medium term due to challenges the company faces," said S&P's credit analyst Lori Harris. Revenues in third-quarter 2007 declined 9% compared with the same quarter the previous year because of lower Magnetix product sales and production delays in Asia. Reported gross profit (excluding the CAD20 million noncash inventory revaluation charge) dropped 38% for the quarter compared with the same period the previous year due to the reasons cited above as well as manufacturing inefficiencies and the sale of excess inventory at a lower gross margin. For the past two years, the company has been involved in litigation related to its Magnetix product, which resulted in product recalls, product replacement, and product liability settlement expenses. The charges related to the litigation have negatively affected the company's debt levels and credit ratios in a material way. MEGA Brands has chosen to be self-insured for Magnetix products manufactured before May 1, 2006, and for incidents occurring after Dec. 1, 2006, because it viewed the cost of insurance as prohibitive. Management's decision to be self-insured raises uncertainty surrounding the company's potential exposure to liability claims and MEGA Brands' ability to financially support these claims without excessively jeopardizing the business' financial strength. In addition, the company is involved in litigation with the former shareholders of Rose Art Industries Inc., concerning contingent payments related to MEGA Brands' acquisition of the business in 2005. An additional US$51 million in accrued consideration has yet to be paid because MEGA Brands is disputing the claim. Key credit measures have weakened considerably in the past couple of years, including debt to EBITDA of more than 5.0 for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2007. MEGA Brands was in compliance with its financial covenants and liquidity remained adequate for the ratings at Sept. 30, 2007. S&P will resolve the CreditWatch listing in the very near term after reviewing Mega Brands' operating, strategic, and financial plans. MEGA Brands Inc. -- http://www.megabrands.com/-- (TSE:MB) is a distributor of construction toys, games & puzzles, arts & crafts and stationery. The company is headquartered in Montreal, Canada and has offices in Belgium, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Mexico, and Australia. METRONET RAIL: Administration Costing Taxpayers GBP13 Mln a Week ---------------------------------------------------------------- The administration of The Metronet Rail Group is costing taxpayers GBP13 million a week, the Daily Telegraph reports. "The net figure after infrastructure service charges [the ongoing four-weekly payment by London Underground] is GBP13 million a week," Alan Bloom, PPP Administrator of Metronet, was quoted by the Daily Telegraph as saying. Mr. Bloom told the Transport Select Committee taxpayers will have to bear the extra administration costs until mid-January 2008. According to Tim O'Toole, managing director of London Underground, Metronet's collapse stemmed from problems on agreements with Trans4m, claiming the station's subcontractor left the company with very little control. Graham Pimlott, former chairman of Metronet, on the other hand, admitted "Trans4m gave Metronet very little leverage over a contract. Metronet had to pay Trans4m's bills but couldn't levy penalties for failure," the Daily Telegraph relates. Meanwhile, Committee member Graham Stringer, the Labour MP for Manchester Blackley, alleged there has been real corruption going on. U.K. Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly, however, ruled out corruption, although she pointed out there was a problem with Metronet's corporate governance structure. As previously reported in the TCR-Europe on Nov. 8, 2007, Mr. O'Toole and Mr. Bloom confirmed that Transport for London is the only formal bid to have been received for Metronet Rail BCV Ltd. and Metronet Rail SSL Ltd. They also confirmed that, as a result of the TfL bid, the PPP Administrator will not take any active steps to market the Metronet companies. Under TfL's plans, the people and the assets of the two Metronet companies, BCV and SSL, will be transferred into two TfL nominee companies, which will be managed on a stand alone basis while the long-term structure is agreed with the Mayor and Government. The final administration bill is expected to reach GBP338 million by the time the Metronet companies are transferred to TfL's control in early 2008, Alistair Osborne writes for the Daily Telegraph. About Metronet The Metronet Rail Group -- http://www.metronetrail.com/-- is responsible for upgrading, replacing and maintaining two-thirds of London Underground's infrastructure -- its trains, stations, signaling, track, tunnels and bridges -- under a 30-year Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract which came into operation in April 2003. The Metronet Rail Group owns and operates Metronet Rail BCV Ltd. and Metronet Rail SSL Lte. -- which maintain the Bakerloo, Central, Victoria, and Waterloo & City lines (BCV) and Circle, District, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City and East London lines (SSL). On July 18, 2007, Metronet Rail BCV Ltd. and Metronet Rail SSL Ltd., entered Administration; Alan Bloom, Maggie Mills, Roy Bailey and Stephen Harris, partners and directors of Ernst & Young LLP, were appointed PPP Administrators. This followed the PPP Arbiter's Interim Determination award of just GBP121 million for Metronet Rail BCV, when the company had been seeking a GBP551 million Interim Determination and GBP992 million in total. * * * As reported in the TCR-Europe on July 20, 2007, Moody's Investors Service downgraded to B1 from Ba2 the senior secured unguaranteed debt ratings of both Metronet Rail BCV Finance plc and of Metronet Rail SSL Finance Plc. PEMBRIDGE SQUARE: Moody's May Cut Ba1 Rating After Review --------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investor Service placed EUR1.33 billion of European CDOs on review for downgrade. The rating actions are a response to credit deterioration of the underlying portfolios, which include exposure to CDOs of US ABS and to downgraded US subprime RMBS securities of the 2006 vintage. They also incorporate Moody's view on the impact of exposure to other US RMBS and ABS CDO vintages, particularly 2005 and 2007. A total of 40 tranches from 6 CDOs are affected, with the proportion of downgraded subprime assets present in individual portfolios ranging from 6.7% to 11.7%. Moody's placed on review for possible downgrade six classes of notes issued by Pembridge Square Finance Limited: -- The EUR60,000,000 Class C Floating Rate Credit Linked Notes, currently rated Aa2; -- The EUR50,000,000 Class D Floating Rate Credit Linked Notes, currently rated Aa3; -- The EUR40,000,000 Class E Floating Rate Credit Linked Notes, currently rated A2; -- The EUR25,000,000 Class F Floating Rate Credit Linked Notes, currently rated A3; -- The EUR22,000,000 Class G Floating Rate Credit Linked Notes, currently rated Baa2; -- The EUR16,000,000 Class H Floating Rate Credit Linked Notes, currently rated Ba1. The most negatively impacted are those containing US ABS CDOs and 2006 US subprime RMBS assets that were originally rated Baa or below, due to the greater severity of downgrades already experienced by these securities. Moody's will continue to monitor all deals with exposure to US subprime RMBS and CDOs of ABS, and will take further actions in respect of all CDOs placed under review for downgrade once the extent of actual downgrades to 2005 and 2007 US RMBS and ABS CDO vintages becomes known. PLUS WALL: Appoints Stephen Robert Cork as Liquidator ----------------------------------------------------- Stephen Robert Cork of Smith & Williamson Ltd. was appointed liquidator of Plus Wall Ltd. on Oct. 31 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. The liquidator can be reached at: Smith & Williamson Ltd. Prospect House 2 Athenaeum Road London N20 9YU England RED DRAGON: P. D. Masters Leads Liquidation Procedure ----------------------------------------------------- P. D. Masters of DTE Leonard Curtis was appointed liquidator of Red Dragon Group Travel Ltd. on Nov. 6 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. The liquidator can be reached at: DTE Leonard Curtis Bamfords Trust House 85-89 Colmore Row Birmingham B3 2BB England SANDERSON FOOTWEAR: Taps Ian J. Gould to Liquidate Assets --------------------------------------------------------- Ian J. Gould of PKF (U.K.) LLP was appointed liquidator of Sanderson Footwear Ltd. (formerly Norscan Ltd.) on Nov. 5 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure proceeding. The liquidator can be reached at: PKF (U.K.) LLP New Guild House 45 Great Charles Street Queensway Birmingham B3 2LX England SPACE MODELS: Hires Liquidator from Mazars ------------------------------------------ Timothy Colin Hamilton-Ball of Mazars was appointed liquidator of Space Models Ltd. on Nov. 1 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. The liquidator can be reached at: Mazars Regency House 3 Grosvenor Square Southampton S015 2BE England TOP BRAND: Claims Filing Period Ends December 10 ------------------------------------------------ Creditors of Top Brand Foods Ltd. have until Dec. 10 to send their names and addresses and particulars of their claims to: Matthew Colin Bowker and David Antony Willis Joint Liquidators Tenon Recovery 33 George Street Wakefield WF1 1LX England Matthew Colin Bowker and David Antony Willis of Tenon Recovery were appointed joint liquidators of the company on Nov. 5 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. TRUMAX LTD: Claims Filing Period Ends December 24 ------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Trumax Ltd. (formerly Trumax (Screenprinting Machinery) Ltd.) have until Dec. 24 to prove their debts by sending written statements of the amounts they claim to be due to them from the Company to: Paul John Clark Joint Liquidator Menzies Corporate Restructuring 43-45 Portman Square London W1H 6LY England Paul John Clark and Jason James Godefroy of Menzies Corporate Restructuring were appointed joint liquidators of the company on Oct. 27 for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. TYSON FOODS: Outlines International Expansion Plans --------------------------------------------------- As part of ongoing efforts to meet growing world demand for protein, Tyson Foods, Inc. plans to expand the company's presence in South America, China and Mexico. Tyson's efforts to turn fat into fuel also continue to move forward, with the selection of a site in Louisiana for an alternative fuel production facility. The international expansion and renewable fuel plans were reported today as part of presentations by six Tyson executives to analysts and investors at a meeting in New York City. International Sales Improvement Program Rick Greubel, group vice president and president of Tyson International, disclosed the company has set a goal of increasing international sales from US$3 billion in fiscal 2007 to US$5 billion by 2010. Expanding and establishing operations in other countries will be a key to achieving this objective. Greubel reported the company has signed a letter of intent to buy a mid-size, vertically integrated poultry business in Brazil. While details, including the name of the company, have not been released, company officials hope to complete the acquisition before the end of calendar 2007. Tyson has also reached preliminary agreements for two joint venture poultry operations in China. While specific details were not shared, Greubel indicated both ventures are currently expected to be completed in fiscal year 2008 and will help make Tyson one of the first companies in China to offer a full line of poultry products. Expansion of Tyson de Mexico, the Mexican poultry subsidiary of Tyson Foods, is another ongoing objective. The company is exploring ways to significantly increase production at its chicken processing operations in Mexico and also expand sales to customers in the region, including those in Central America. * Beard Group's Featured Conference for November 2007 ----------------------------------------------------- Beard Audio Conferences presents a bankruptcy-related audio conferences for Nov. * The Battle of Green & Red: Effect of Bankruptcy on Obligations to Clean Up Contaminated Property To register, visit http://www.beardaudioconferences.com * Upcoming Meetings, Conferences and Seminars --------------------------------------------- Nov. 16, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Meeting with Chapter President, Bruce Sim Westin Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/ Nov. 22, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Networking Mixer TBA, Vancouver, British Columbia Contact: 206-223-5495; http://www.turnaround.org/ Nov. 27, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Luncheon - Real Estate Panel Citrus Club, Orlando, Florida Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/ Nov. 26-27, 2006 BEARD GROUP AND RENAISSANCE AMERICAN MANAGEMENT Fourteenth Annual Conference on Distressed Investing Maximizing Profits in the Distressed Debt Market The Jumeirah Essex House, New York, NY Contact: 800-726-2524; 903-595-3800; http://beardconferences.com Nov. 28, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Holiday Mixer SouthwestUSA Bank, Las Vegas, Nevada Contact: 702-952-2480 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Nov. 29, 2007 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S INSOLVENCY & RESTRUCTURING CONFEDERATION Holiday Gala Yale Club, New York, New York Contact: http://www.iwirc.org/ Nov. 29, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Special Speaker TBD, New Jersey Contact: 908-575-7333; http://www.turnaround.org/ Nov. 29, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Special Speaker Hilton, Sydney, Australia Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/ Nov. 29, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION TMA Arizona Chapter Meeting Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 3, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Fraud and Its Many Colors Omni Hotel, New Haven, Connecticut Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 3, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION TMA Australia Celebrates Christmas Blake Dawson Waldron, Sydney, Australia Contact: 02-9517-4041 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 5, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION TMA/ACG Holiday Party Marriott Downtown, Orlando, Florida Contact: 561-882-1331 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 5, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Joint Holiday Networking Event with TMA/CFA TBA, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Contact: 215-657-5551 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 6, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Seattle Holiday Party Athletic Club, Seattle, Washington Contact: 206-223-5495; http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 6-8, 2007 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Winter Leadership Conference Westin Mission Hills Resort, Rancho Mirage, California Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/ Dec. 10, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Holiday Party Guy Anthony's Restaurant, Merrick, New York Contact: 631-251-6296 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 10, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Holiday Party Guy Anthony's Restaurant, Merrick, New York Contact: 631-251-6296 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 10, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION TMA/CFA Joint Holiday Party Maryland Club, Baltimore, Maryland Contact: 215-657-5551 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 12, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Joint Holiday Networking Event with TMA/CFA Loews Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Contact: 215-657-5551 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 13, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Colorado Chapter Annual Brew Pub & Pool Social Wynkoop Brewing Company, Denver, Colorado Contact: 303-847-5026 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 13, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Holiday Extravaganza - TMA & CFA Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia Contact: 678-795-8103 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 13, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Holiday Extravaganza - TMA & CFA Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia Contact: 678-795-8103 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 19, 2007 LEXISNEXIS CONFERENCES Mealey's Asbestos Bankruptcy Conference Four Seasons Hotel, Miami, Florida Contact: http://www.lexisnexis.com/ Dec. 19, 2007 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION South Florida Dinner TBA, South Florida Contact: 561-882-1331; http://www.turnaround.org/ Jan. 10, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Distressed Debt Panel University Club, Jacksonville, Florida Jan. 10, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION NJTMA Holiday Party Iberia Tavern & Restaurant, Newwark, New Jersey Contact: 908-575-7333 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Jan. 11, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Annual Lenders Panel Westin Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/ Jan. 16, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Current Outlook: Workouts, Lending and Turnarounds Marriott North, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/ Jan. 17-18, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Caribbean Insolvency Symposium Westin Diplomat, Hollywood, Florida Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ Jan. 28, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Finding Money: Int'l Asset Search and Recovery Methods for Collecting Judgments Centre Club, Tampa, Florida Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/ Feb. 7, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION PowerPlay Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia Contact: 678-795-8103 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Feb. 7, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Breakfast Event Carnelian Room, San Francisco, California Contact: 510-346-6000 ext 226 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Feb. 7, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION PowerPlay Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia Contact: 678-795-8103 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Feb. 14-16, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE 13th Annual Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference Westin Tabor Center, Denver, Colorado Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/ Feb. 22, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Bankruptcy Battleground West Fairmont Miramar, Santa Monica, California Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ Feb. 23-26, 2008 NORTON INSTITUTES ON BANKRUPTCY LAW Bankruptcy Litigation Seminar I Park City, Utah Contact: http://www.nortoninstitutes.org/ Feb. 26, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Retail Panel Citrus Club, Orlando, Florida Contact: www.turnaround.org/ Feb. 27-28, 2008 EUROMONEY INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR 6th Annual Distressed Investing Forum Union League Club, New York, New York Contact: http://www.euromoneyplc.com/ Mar. 6-8, 2008 ALI-ABA Fundamentals of Bankruptcy Law Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada Contact: http://www.ali-aba.org/ Mar. 8-10, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Conrad Duberstein Moot Court Competition St. John's University School of Law, New York Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ Mar. 19, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION South Florida Dinner Bankers Club of Miami, Florida Contact: 561-882-1331 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Mar. 25, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Luncheon - Maggie Good Centre Club, Tampa, Florida Contact: 561-882-1331 or http://www.turnaround.org/ Mar. 25-29, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION TMA Spring Conference Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/ Mar. 27-30, 2008 NORTON INSTITUTES ON BANKRUPTCY LAW Bankruptcy Litigation Seminar II Las Vegas, Nevada Contact: http://www.nortoninstitutes.org/ Apr. 3, 2008 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S INSOLVENCY & RESTRUCTURING CONFEDERATION Annual Spring Luncheon Renaissance Hotel, Washington, District of Columbia Contact: 703-449-1316 or www.iwirc.org Apr. 3, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Nuts and Bolts for Young Practitioners - East The Renaissance, Washington, District of Columbia Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ Apr. 3-6, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE 26th Annual Spring Meeting The Renaissance, Washington, District of Columbia Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ Apr. 25-27, 2008 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BANKRUPTCY JUDGES NABT Spring Seminar Eldorado Hotel & Spa, Santa Fe, New Mexico Contact: http://www.nabt.com/ May 1-2, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Debt Symposium Hilton Garden Inn, Champagne/Urbana, Illinois Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/ May 9, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Nuts and Bolts for Young Practitioners - NYC Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, New York Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/ May 12, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE New York City Bankruptcy Conference Millennium Broadway Hotel & Conference Center, New York Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/ May 13-16, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Litigation Skills Symposium Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/ May 18-20, 2008 INTERNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION 14th Annual Global Insolvency & Restructuring Conference Stockholm, Sweden Contact: http://www.ibanet.org/ June 4-7, 2008 ASSOCIATION OF INSOLVENCY & RESTRUCTURING ADVISORS 24th Annual Bankruptcy & Restructuring Conference J.W. Marriott Spa and Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada Contact: http://www.airacira.org/ June 12-14, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE 15th Annual Central States Bankruptcy Workshop Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Traverse City, Michigan Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ June 19-21, 2008 ALI-ABA Partnerships, LLCs, and LLPs: Uniform Acts, Taxation, Drafting, Securities, and Bankruptcy Omni Hotel, San Francisco, California Contact: http://www.ali-aba.org/ June 26-29, 2008 NORTON INSTITUTES ON BANKRUPTCY LAW Western Mountains Bankruptcy Law Seminar Jackson Hole, Wyoming Contact: http://www.nortoninstitutes.org/ July 10-13, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE 16th Annual Northeast Bankruptcy Conference Ocean Edge Resort Brewster, Massachussets Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/events July 31 - Aug. 2, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE 4th Annual Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Cambridge, Maryland Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ Aug. 16-19, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE 13th Annual Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Florida Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ Aug. 20-24, 2008 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BANKRUPTCY JUDGES NABT Convention Captain Cook, Anchorage, Alaska Contact: http://www.nabt.com/ Sept. 4-5, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Complex Financial Restructuring Program Four Seasons, Las Vegas, Nevada Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ Sept. 4-6, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Southwest Bankruptcy Conference Four Seasons, Las Vegas, Nevada Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ Sept. 24-26, 2008 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S INSOLVENCY & RESTRUCTURING CONFEDERATION IWIRC 15th Annual Fall Conference Scottsdale, Arizona Contact: http://www.ncbj.org/ Sept. 24-27, 2008 NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF BANKRUPTCY JUDGES National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Desert Ridge Marriott, Scottsdale, Arizona Contact: http://www.iwirc.org/ Oct. 9, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION TMA Luncheon - Chapter 11 University Club, Jacksonville, Florida Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/ Oct. 28-31, 2008 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION TMA Annual Convention Marriott New Orleans, Louisiana Contact: 312-578-6900; http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 3-5, 2008 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE 20th Annual Winter Leadership Conference Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa Tucson, Arizona Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ May 7-10, 2009 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE 27th Annual Spring Meeting Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center National Harbor, Maryland Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ June 11-13, 2009 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Central States Bankruptcy Workshop Grand Traverse Resort and Spa Traverse City, Michigan Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ June 21-24, 2009 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RESTRUCTURING, INSOLVENCY & BANKRUPTCY PROFESSIONALS 8th International World Congress TBA Contact: http://www.insol.org/ July 16-19, 2009 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE Northeast Bankruptcy Conference Mt. Washington Inn Bretton Woods, New Hampshire Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ Sept. 10-12, 2009 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE 17th Annual Southwest Bankruptcy Conference Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, Incline Village, Nevada Contact: http://www.abiworld.org/ Oct. 5-9, 2009 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION TMA Annual Convention Marriott Desert Ridge, Phoenix, Arizona Contact: 312-578-6900; http://www.turnaround.org/ Dec. 3-5, 2009 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE 21st Annual Winter Leadership Conference La Quinta Resort & Spa, La Quinta, California Contact: 1-703-739-0800; http://www.abiworld.org/ Oct. 4-8, 2010 TURNAROUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION TMA Annual Convention JW Marriott Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida Contact: http://www.turnaround.org/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES 2006 BACPA Library Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/; http://researcharchives.com/t/s?20fa BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES BAPCPA One Year On: Lessons Learned and Outlook Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Calpine's Chapter 11 Filing Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Carve-Out Agreements for Unsecured Creditors Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Changes to Cross-Border Insolvencies Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Changing Roles & Responsibilities of Creditors' Committees Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES China\u2019s New Enterprise Bankruptcy Law Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Clash of the Titans -- Bankruptcy vs. IP Rights Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Coming Changes in Small Business Bankruptcy Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Dana's Chapter 11 Filing Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Deepening Insolvency \u2013 Widening Controversy: Current Risks, Latest Decisions Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Diagnosing Problems in Troubled Companies Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Distressed Claims Trading Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Distressed Market Opportunities Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Distressed Real Estate under BAPCPA Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation under the New Code Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Equitable Subordination and Recharacterization Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Fundamentals of Corporate Bankruptcy and Restructuring Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Handling Complex Chapter 11 Restructuring Issues Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Healthcare Bankruptcy Reforms Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES High-Yield Opportunities in Distressed Investing Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Homestead Exemptions under BAPCPA Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Hospitals in Crisis: The Insolvency Crisis Plaguing Hospitals Across the U.S. Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES IP Rights In Bankruptcy Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES KERPs and Bonuses under BAPCPA Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Non-Traditional Lenders and the Impact of Loan-to-Own Strategies on the Restructuring Process Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Partnerships in Bankruptcy: Unwinding The Deal Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Privacy Rights, Protections & Pitfalls in Bankruptcy Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Real Estate Bankruptcy Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Reverse Mergers\u2014the New IPO? Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Second Lien Financings and Intercreditor Agreements Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Surviving the Digital Deluge: Best Practices in E-Discovery and Records Management for Bankruptcy Practitioners and Litigators Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Technology as a Competitive Advantage For Today\u2019s Legal Processes Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES The Battle of Green & Red: Effect of Bankruptcy on Obligations to Clean Up Contaminated Property Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES The Subprime Sector Meltdown: Legal Developments and Latest Opportunities Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Twenty-Day Claims Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Using Virtual Data Rooms to Expedite M&A and Insolvency Proceedings Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES Validating Distressed Security Portfolios: Year-End Price Validation and Risk Assessment Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ BEARD AUDIO CONFERENCES When Tenants File -- A Landlord's BAPCPA Survival Guide Audio Conference Recording Contact: 240-629-3300; http://www.beardaudioconferences.com/ The Meetings, Conferences and Seminars column appears in the Troubled Company Reporter each Wednesday. Submissions via e-mail to conferences@bankrupt.com are encouraged. ********* Monday's edition of the TCR delivers a list of indicative prices for bond issues that reportedly trade well below par. Prices are obtained by TCR editors from a variety of outside sources during the prior week we think are reliable. Those sources may not, however, be complete or accurate. The Monday Bond Pricing table is compiled on the Friday prior to publication. Prices reported are not intended to reflect actual trades. Prices for actual trades are probably different. Our objective is to share information, not make markets in publicly traded securities. Nothing in the TCR constitutes an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security of any kind. It is likely that some entity affiliated with a TCR editor holds some position in the issuers' public debt and equity securities about which we report. 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/booksto 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 P. Laureno, Julybien Atadero, Carmel Zamesa Paderog, Joy Agravante, Zora Jayda Zerrudo Sala, Kristina A. Godinez, and Pius Xerxes Tovilla, Editors. Copyright 2007. 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$625 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are US$25 each. For subscription information, contact Christopher Beard at 240/629-3300. * * * End of Transmission * * *