/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/080811.mbx T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R E U R O P E Monday, August 11, 2008, Vol. 9, No. 158 Headlines A U S T R I A A. MANDA LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends August 25 CHRISTIAN KONRAD: Claims Registration Period Ends August 19 FOXI LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends August 19 MANGAD LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends August 25 G E R M A N Y BAUBESCHLAG BERLIN: Creditors' Meeting Slated for August 19 CASA DIVANI: Creditors' Meeting Slated for August 19 CLUSTER LABS: Creditors' Meeting Slated for August 19 DUERR GROUP: Earns EUR10.8 Million for the First Half of 2008 FAHA FAHRZEUGHANDEL: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 FREY PACKAGING: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 GESCHAFTSHAUS FARSTERSTRASSE: Claims Filing Period Ends Aug. 18 HAPPY BETT: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 HESTIA ET VESTA: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 MAJOR COMPUTER: Claims Registration Period Ends August 15 MVA BAU: Claims Registration Period Ends August 15 MYSELECT VERTRIEBS: Claims Registration Period Ends August 15 REPROGRAFPHIA GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends August 15 TECMEN ANTRIEBSTECHNIK: Claims Registration Period Ends Aug. 15 VELOX KAROSSERIE: Claim Registration Period Ends August 18 WEST MAIL: Claims Registration Period Ends August 15 WESTLUX LEASING: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 WORK & PROGRESS: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 I T A L Y DANA HOLDING: Wants to Terminate Supply Agreement with Chrysler DANA HOLDINGS: Chrysler Output May Suffer If Supply Pact Ends K A Z A K H S T A N ASIA OIL-2007: Creditors Must File Claims by September 23 AZAMAT-STROY TECH: Claims Deadline Slated for September 23 DIAMOND TECHNOLOGY: Claims Filing Period Ends September 23 MAKER TREK: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due on September 25 ORAL-SERVICE-A LLP: Claims Registration Ends September 19 SEMEY OJSC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 25 TUSMA-I LLP: Claims Deadline Slated for September 19 UNISTROY LLP: Claims Filing Period Ends September 19 UTK LLP: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due on September 19 K Y R G Y Z S T A N ASIA STAR: Creditors Must File Claims by September 16 N O R W A Y NORSKE SKOG: Reports NOK601 Mln Gross Operating Profit for 2Q08 R U S S I A HOUSE-SERVICE: Proofs of Claim Filing Deadline Set September 5 KRASNOZAVODSKOE: Names L. Kondratenko as Administrative Manager NELIDOVSKIY MEAT-COMBINE: Court Names M. Vdovin to Manage Assets SEVER-INVEST-STROY: Names N. Kazakov as Administrative Manager STROY-ALLIANCE: Court Names A. Avilov as Administrative Manager TATNEFT OAO: Moody's Assigns Ba2 Corporate Family Rating TOP-TRADE: Court Names V. Sokolov as Administrative Manager S P A I N SANTANDER FINANCIACION I: S&P Cuts D/E Notes Rating to BB+/B- S W I T Z E R L A N D ALVETRA U. WERFFT LTD: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due by Aug. 22 CALANDIS LLC: Creditors Have Until August 21 to File Claims FREY-CRANE-EQUIPEMENT: August 21 Set as Deadline to File Claims HERMANN KECK: Creditors Must File Proofs of Claim by August 21 NEWBASIS FOREXTRUST: Deadline to File Claims Set on August 21 OPEN MARKET: Proofs of Claim Filing Deadline is August 21 ZENKLUSEN REISEN: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due by August 21 U K R A I N E KONDAK LLC: Creditors Must File Proofs of Claim by August 20 KORNIN AGRICULTURAL: Creditors Must File Claims by August 20 NORTSIDE-TRANS LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by August 20 REPAIR-BUILDING DISTRICT 2: Creditors' Claim Due by August 20 ZLAGODA LTD: Creditors Must File Proofs of Claim by August 20 U N I T E D K I N G D O M BRITISH AIRWAYS: Four Executives Charged Over Price-Fixing BRITISH ENERGY: John Hutton Says EDF Offer was a Good Deal CAINS BEER: Brings in Administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers CHRYSLER LLC: Dana Wants to End Supply Agreement by December 31 CHRYSLER LLC: Production May Suffer if Dana Severs Contract CHRYSLER LLC: In Talks with Nissan on Midsize Cars Manufacturing CHRYSLER LLC: S&P Cuts Ratings to CCC+ on Funding Constraints ENDEAVORS PLC: Acresail Ltd. Acquires Business & Assets MJC HEATING: Appoints Liquidator from Mazars RED SQUIRREL: Brings in Liquidators from Tenon Recovery TRANSFIXT LTD: Frank Wessely Leads Liquidation Procedure VISIOCORP PLC: Moody's Confirms 'Ca' Corporate Family Rating * Fitch: European Automotive Industry Remains Under Pressure * Moody's Examines European Auto Makers' 2007 Financial Results * BOND PRICING: For the Week Aug. 4 to Aug. 8, 2008 ********* ============= A U S T R I A ============= A. MANDA LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends August 25 ------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC A. Manda have until Aug. 25, 2008, to file written proofs of claim to the court-appointed estate administrator: Dr. Ute Toifl Tuchlauben 12/20 1010 Vienna Austria Tel: 535 46 11 Fax: 535 46 11 11 E-mail: office@thr.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 8, 2008, for the examination of claims at: The Trade Court of Vienna Room 1705 Vienna Austria Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on July 2, 2008,(Bankr. Case No. 3 S 74/08i). CHRISTIAN KONRAD: Claims Registration Period Ends August 19 ----------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Christian Konrad have until Aug. 19, 2008, to file written proofs of claim to the court-appointed estate administrator: Dr. Bernhard Schatz Enzersdorfer Strasse 4 2340 Moedling Austria Tel: 02236/89 33 77 Fax: 02236/89337740 E-Mail: bernhard.schatz@bpv-huegel.com Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2008, for the examination of claims at: The Land Court of Wiener Neustadt Room 15 Wiener Neustadt Austria Headquartered in Brunn am Gebirge, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on July 2, 2008, (Bankr. Case No. 11 S 71/08i). FOXI LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends August 19 --------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Foxi have until Aug. 19, 2008, to file written proofs of claim to the court-appointed estate administrator: Dr. Thomas Deschka Spiegelgasse 10 1010 Vienna Austria Tel: 513 99 39 Fax: 513 99 39-30 E-mail: deschka@lawcenter.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2008, for the examination of claims at: The Trade Court of Vienna 1606 Vienna Austria Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on July 1, 2008, (Bankr. Case No. 4 S 93/08s). MANGAD LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends August 25 ----------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Mangad have until Aug. 25, 2008, to file written proofs of claim to the court-appointed estate administrator: Dr. Karl Schirl Krugerstrasse 17/3 1010 Vienna Austria Tel: 513 22 31 Fax: 513 22 31-1 E-mail: dr.karl.schirl@der-rechtsanwalt.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 8, 2008, for the examination of claims at: Trade Court of Vienna Room 1705 Vienna Austria Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on July 1, 2008, (Bankr. Case No. 3 S 72/08w). ============= G E R M A N Y ============= BAUBESCHLAG BERLIN: Creditors' Meeting Slated for August 19 ----------------------------------------------------------- The court-appointed insolvency manager for Baubeschlag Berlin GmbH, Joachim Voigt-Salus, will present his first report on the Company's insolvency proceedings at a creditors' meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Aug. 19, 2008. The meeting of creditors and other interested parties will be held at: The District Court of Charlottenburg Hall 218 Second Floor Amtsgerichtsplatz 1 14057 Berlin Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report at 9:45 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2008, at the same venue. Creditors have until Sept. 4, 2008, to register their claims with the court-appointed insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Joachim Voigt-Salus Rankestrasse 33 10789 Berlin Germany The District Court of Charlottenburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against Baubeschlag Berlin GmbH on July 2, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Baubeschlag Berlin GmbH Zillestrasse 66 10585 Berlin Germany CASA DIVANI: Creditors' Meeting Slated for August 19 ---------------------------------------------------- The court-appointed insolvency manager for Casa Divani GmbH, Torsten Martini will present his first report on the Company's insolvency proceedings at a creditors' meeting at 11:15 a.m. on Aug. 19, 2008. The meeting of creditors and other interested parties will be held at: The District Court of Charlottenburg Hall 218 Second Floor Amtsgerichtsplatz 1 14057 Berlin Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report at 11:15 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2008, at the same venue. Creditors have until Sept. 4, 2008, to register their claims with the court-appointed insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Torsten Martini Kurfuerstendamm 26a 10719 Berlin Germany The District Court of Charlottenburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against Casa Divani GmbH on June 26, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Casa Divani GmbH Landsberger Str. 4-8 12623 Berlin Germany CLUSTER LABS: Creditors' Meeting Slated for August 19 ----------------------------------------------------- The court-appointed insolvency manager for Cluster Labs GmbH, Torsten Martini will present his first report on the Company's insolvency proceedings at a creditors' meeting at 11:20 a.m. on Aug. 19, 2008. The meeting of creditors and other interested parties will be held at: The District Court of Charlottenburg Hall 218 Second Floor Amtsgerichtsplatz 1 14057 Berlin Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report at 11:20 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2008, at the same venue. Creditors have until Sept. 4, 2008, to register their claims with the court-appointed insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Torsten Martini Kurfuerstendamm 26a 10719 Berlin Germany The District Court of Charlottenburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against Cluster Labs GmbH on July 1, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Cluster Labs GmbH Lessingstr. 79 13158 Berlin Germany DUERR GROUP: Earns EUR10.8 Million for the First Half of 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------- The Duerr Group achieved strong sales and earnings growth in the first half of 2008. While sales revenues were up 15.7% to EUR752.7 million compared to the previous year's period, earnings before interest and tax more than doubled to EUR24.6 million. Earnings after tax were well into positive territory at EUR10.8 million after just breaking even in the first half of 2007. Ralf Dieter, Duerr AG's CEO, commented: "We are fully on track at the mid-year mark and momentum will pick up in the second half. Demand in the automobile industry's growth markets remains strong so we are also optimistic for order intake in the coming months. As far as earnings generation is concerned we expect the acceleration in the third and fourth quarters usual in our business." Positive Full-Year Outlook for 2008 For 2008, Duerr expects new orders more or less on a level with last year provided the economic conditions and exchange rate situation do not take a decisive turn for the worse. Sales revenues will rise by up to 10%. Duerr continues to expect a further strong improvement in earnings, to which a higher gross margin should contribute. Duerr aims to achieve a cash flow at least at the 2007 level. The company expects to be able to completely run off its net financial debt by the end of the year and post a positive net cash position for the first time since 1998. Chief Financial Officer Ralph Heuwing commented on Duerr's refinancing, "The combination of capital increase and bond redemption will probably yield significant relief in our interest expense already in 2009. It will also make for greater long-term security while providing us with financial flexibility." About Duerr Headquartered in Stuttgard, Germany, The Duerr Group -- http://www.Duerr.com/en/-- supplies products, systems, and services for automobile manufacturing. Duerr designs and builds paint shops and final assembly plants. The Duerr Group also operates in Czech Republic, France, U.K., Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and the U.S.A. * * * Duerr AG still carries B long-term corporate credit rating with positive outlook from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. Duerr AG also carries B2 Corporate Family, B2 Probability of Default and Caa1 Senior Subordinate ratings from Moody's Investor Service, which said the outlook is stable. FAHA FAHRZEUGHANDEL: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 -------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of FAHA Fahrzeughandel und -service GmbH have until Aug. 18, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Ulrich Hauter. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:15 a.m. on Sept. 18, 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 Muehlhausen Hall 91 Muehlhausen 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: Ulrich Hauter Untermarkt 12 Muehlhausen Germany The District Court of Muehlhausen opened bankruptcy proceedings against FAHA Fahrzeughandel und -service GmbH on July 1, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: FAHA Fahrzeughandel und -service GmbH Langensalzer Landstrasse 52 99974 Muehlhausen Germany FREY PACKAGING: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Frey Packaging GmbH have until Aug. 18, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Joachim Schwendinger. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Aug. 29, 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 Memmingen Meeting Hall 103 Ground Floor Buxacher Str. 6 Memmingen 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: Joachim Schwendinger Allgauer Str. 1 87435 Kempten Germany Tel: 0831/580 04 34 Fax: 0831/580 04 64 The District Court of Memmingen opened bankruptcy proceedings against Frey Packaging GmbH on June 23, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Frey Packaging GmbH Attn: Schleicher Anna, Manager Allgauer Str. 17 87719 Mindelheim Germany GESCHAFTSHAUS FARSTERSTRASSE: Claims Filing Period Ends Aug. 18 --------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Geschaftshaus Farsterstrasse GmbH have until Aug. 18, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Henning Jung. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 8:15 a.m. on Sept. 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 Hannover Hall 226 Second Upper Floor Service Bldg. Hamburger Allee 26 30161 Hannover 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 Jung Odeonstr. 2 30159 Hannover Germany Tel: 0511 353960-60 Fax: 0511 353960-69 The District Court of Hannover opened bankruptcy proceedings against Geschaftshaus Farsterstrasse GmbH on July 7, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Geschaftshaus Farsterstrasse GmbH Attn: Karl-Heinz Thiel, Manager An der Worth 1 30916 Isernhagen Germany HAPPY BETT: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 ----------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Happy Bett GmbH have until Aug. 18, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Dr. Martin Moderegger. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 2:10 p.m. on Sept. 24, 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 Hannover Hall 226 Second Upper Floor Service Bldg. Hamburger Allee 26 30161 Hannover 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. Martin Moderegger Schiffgraben 23 30159 Hannover Germany Tel: 0511 763529-0 Fax: 0511 763529-43 The District Court of Hannover opened bankruptcy proceedings against Happy Bett GmbH on June 26, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Happy Bett GmbH Listholze 72 30177 Hannover Germany Attn: Wolfram Zimmermann, Manager Freudensprungstr. 7 93437 Furth Germany HESTIA ET VESTA: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 ---------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Hestia et Vesta GmbH have until Aug. 18, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Johannes Klefisch. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Sept. 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 Aachen Meeting Hall D 1.409 First Floor Adalbertsteinweg 92 52070 Aachen 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: Johannes Klefisch Rotter Bruch 6 52068 Aachen Germany Tel: 0241/949740 Fax: 0241/870203 The District Court of Aachen opened bankruptcy proceedings against Hestia et Vesta GmbH on July 11, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Hestia et Vesta GmbH Muehlengasse 36 52391 Vettweiss Germany Attn: Frank Heinen, Manager Niederweg 54 50374 Erftstadt Germany MAJOR COMPUTER: Claims Registration Period Ends August 15 --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Major Computer International (Deutschland) GmbH have until Aug. 15, 2008, to register their claims with court- appointed insolvency manager Michael W. Scholz. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 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 Hamburg Hall B 405 Fourth Floor Annex Civil Justice Bldg. Sievkingplatz 1 20355 Hamburg 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: Michael W. Scholz Deichstrasse 1 20459 Hamburg Germany The District Court of Hamburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against Major Computer International (Deutschland) GmbH on June 17, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Major Computer International (Deutschland) GmbH Attn: Ursula Peterson, Manager Luruper Hauptstrasse 50 a 22547 Hamburg Germany MVA BAU: Claims Registration Period Ends August 15 -------------------------------------------------- Creditors of MVA Bau GmbH have until Aug. 15, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Georg Caps. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Sept. 25, 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 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: Georg Caps Heinheimer Strasse 50 64289 Darmstadt Germany Tel: 06151/1522290 Fax: 06151/1522299 The District Court of Darmstadt opened bankruptcy proceedings against MVA Bau GmbH on July 16, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: MVA Bau GmbH Am Schaubacher Berg 17 64401 Gross-Bieberau Germany Attn: Haci Mustafa Cevik Ziegelbusch 17 64354 Reinheim Germany MYSELECT VERTRIEBS: Claims Registration Period Ends August 15 ------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of MySelect Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH have until Aug. 15, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Michael W. Scholz. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:10 a.m. on Sept. 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 Hamburg Hall B 405 Fourth Floor Annex Civil Justice Bldg. Sievkingplatz 1 20355 Hamburg 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: Michael W. Scholz Deichstrasse 1 20459 Hamburg Germany The District Court of Hamburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against MySelect Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH on June 26, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: MySelect Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH Attn: Thorsten Schroeder und Arndt Baumann, Managers Van-der-Smissen-Str. 1 22767 Hamburg Germany REPROGRAFPHIA GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends August 15 ------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of REPROGRAFPHIA GmbH & Co. KG have until Aug. 15, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Cornelius Nickert. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Sept. 29, 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 Offenburg Area 0.005 Basement Hindenburgstr. 5 77654 Offenburg 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: Cornelius Nickert Zeller Str. 107 77654 Offenburg Germany The District Court of Offenburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against REPROGRAFPHIA GmbH & Co. KG on July 1, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: REPROGRAFPHIA GmbH & Co. KG Attn: Stefan Zimmermann, Manger Galgenbergweg 6 77933 Lahr Germany TECMEN ANTRIEBSTECHNIK: Claims Registration Period Ends Aug. 15 --------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of TecMen Antriebstechnik GmbH have until Aug. 15, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Thomas Heimes. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Sept. 5, 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 Saarbruecken Area Hall 13 First Floor Branch Office Sulzbach Vopeliusstrasse 2 66280 Sulzbach 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: Thomas Heimes Faktoreistrasse 4 66111 Saarbruecken Germany Tel: (0681) 41010 Fax: (0681) 4101 279 The District Court of Saarbruecken opened bankruptcy proceedings against TecMen Antriebstechnik GmbH on July 1, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: TecMen Antriebstechnik GmbH Attn: Wolfgang Stern, Manager Eseiterstrasse 5 b-c 66557 Illingen Germany VELOX KAROSSERIE: Claim Registration Period Ends August 18 ---------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Velox Karosserie-, Fahrzeugbau und Sys-temtechnik GmbH have until Aug. 18, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Jochen Sedlitz. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 18, 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 Esslingen Festival Hall Quadrium Convention Center Kirchheimer Str. 68 73249 Wernau 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: Jochen Sedlitz Raiffeisenstr. 30 70794 Filder-stadt Germany Tel: 0711/664735-0 Fax: 0711/664735-20 The District Court of Esslingen opened bankruptcy proceedings against Sys-temtechnik GmbH on July 1, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Velox Karosserie-, Fahrzeugbau und Sys-temtechnik GmbH Attn: Fotios Cizivoglou Echterdinger Str. 57 70794 Fil-derstadt Germany WEST MAIL: Claims Registration Period Ends August 15 ---------------------------------------------------- Creditors of WEST MAIL Verwaltungs- und Beteiligungs-GmbH have until Aug. 15, 2008, to register their claims with court- appointed insolvency manager Dr. Andreas Ringstmeier. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Oct. 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 Cologne Meeting Hall 1240 Luxemburger Strasse 101 50939 Cologne 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. Andreas Ringstmeier Magnusstr. 13 50672 Koeln Germany The District Court of Cologne opened bankruptcy proceedings against WEST MAIL Verwaltungs- und Beteiligungs-GmbH on July 10, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: WEST MAIL Verwaltungs- und Beteiligungs-GmbH Attn: Thorsten Ohm and Michael Kiesswetter, Managers Karl-Benz-Str. 10 40764 Langenfeld Germany WESTLUX LEASING: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 ---------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of WestLux Leasing- und Vermietungs GmbH have until Aug. 18, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Reinhard Titz. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:55 a.m. on Sept. 18, 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 Hamburg Hall B 405 Fourth Floor Annex Civil Justice Bldg. Sievkingplatz 1 20355 Hamburg 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: Reinhard Titz Gertrudenstrasse 3 20095 Hamburg Germany The District Court of Hamburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against WestLux Leasing- und Vermietungs GmbH on July 16, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: WestLux Leasing- und Vermietungs GmbH Wendenstrasse 279 20537 Hamburg Germany WORK & PROGRESS: Claims Registration Period Ends August 18 ---------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Work & Progress Unternehmens- und Personalberatung GmbH have until Aug. 18, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Dr. Hubert Ampferl. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:20 a.m. on Sept. 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 Munich Meeting Hall 102 Infanteriestr. 5 80097 Munich 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. Hubert Ampferl Nymphenburger Str. 20 80335 Munich Germany Tel: 089/3090586-0 Fax: 089/3090586-10 The District Court of Munich opened bankruptcy proceedings against Work & Progress Unternehmens- und Personalberatung GmbH on July 7, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Work & Progress Unternehmens- und Personalberatung GmbH Attn: Peter Strauss, Manager Fuerstenrieder Str. 5 80687 Munich Germany ========= I T A L Y ========= DANA HOLDING: Wants to Terminate Supply Agreement with Chrysler --------------------------------------------------------------- Dana Holding Corporation asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to provide a declaratory judgment confirming that the existing supply agreement between Dana and Chrysler LLC will conclude on Dec. 31, 2008. Dana is seeking to confirm its rights relative to the Settlement Agreement reached by the two companies in August 2007 and confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court one month later. The requested court action is an attempt to determine Dana's future course as a supplier to Chrysler. "Our goal is to establish a mutually rewarding supply agreement with Chrysler moving forward," John Devine, Dana executive chairman, said. "However, Dana is prepared to exercise its right to discontinue supplying Chrysler effective Jan. 1, 2009, if we continue to be unsuccessful in engaging them to address this goal in a meaningful way. "While we sincerely hope that this will not be the case, we have informed Chrysler of our intentions in order to provide both companies with the time to consider their options for ongoing sourcing of the programs we currently support," he added. "While this is an isolated case, it serves to illustrate our commitment to pursue only market-competitive business opportunities moving forward." Mr. Devine acknowledged that a potential decision to vacate the Chrysler business could have a substantial impact on select Dana facilities, but cautioned that any related concerns would be premature," he said. "It's far too early and inappropriate to speculate on potential outcomes at a facility level. To be clear, our focus remains on achieving a market-competitive agreement with Chrysler moving forward." Dana's history of supplying Chrysler dates back more than 70 years and includes supplying four-wheel drive and axle technologies for the very first Willys MA Jeep(R) produced in 1941. This relationship continues with Dana's supply of drivetrain technologies for several Jeep models including the Wrangler, Liberty, and select versions of the Grand Cherokee; the Dodge Nitro and Viper vehicles; and select light- and medium-duty versions of the Dodge Ram pickup truck. 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. About Dana Holding Corporation Based in Toledo, Ohio, Dana Corporation -- http://www.dana.com/ -- designs and manufactures products for every major vehicle producer in the world, and supplies drivetrain, chassis, structural, and engine technologies to those companies. Dana employs 46,000 people in 28 countries. Dana is focused on being an essential partner to automotive, commercial, and off-highway vehicle customers, which collectively produce more than 60 million vehicles annually. Dana has facilities in China in the Asia-Pacific, Argentina in the Latin-American regions and Italy in Europe. The company and its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on March 3, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 06-10354). As of Nov. 30, 2007, the Debtors listed US$7,131,000,000 in total assets and US$7,665,000,000 in total debts resulting in a shareholders' deficit of US$534,000,000. Corinne Ball, Esq., and Richard H. Engman, Esq., at Jones Day, in Manhattan and Heather Lennox, Esq., Jeffrey B. Ellman, Esq., Carl E. Black, Esq., and Ryan T. Routh, Esq., at Jones Day in Cleveland, Ohio, represented the Debtors. Henry S. Miller at Miller Buckfire & Co., LLC, served as the Debtors' financial advisor and investment banker. Ted Stenger from AlixPartners served as Dana's Chief Restructuring Officer. Thomas Moers Mayer, Esq., at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, LLP served as counsel to the Official Committee of Equity Security Holders. Stahl Cowen Crowley, LLC served as counsel to the Official Committee of Non-Union Retirees. The Debtors filed their Joint Plan of Reorganization on Aug. 31, 2007. On Oct. 23, 2007, the Court approved the adequacy of the Disclosure Statement explaining their Plan. Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York entered an order confirming the Third Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization of the Debtors on Dec. 26, 2007. The Debtors' Third Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization was deemed effective as of Jan. 31, 2008. Dana Corp., starting on the Plan Effective Date, operated as Dana Holding Corporation. (Dana Corporation Bankruptcy News, Issue No. 74; Bankruptcy Creditors' Service Inc., http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000) * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Feb. 12, 2008, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB-' corporate credit rating to Dana Holding Corp. following the company's emergence from Chapter 11 on Feb. 1, 2008. The outlook is negative. At the same time, Standard & Poor's assigned Dana's US$650 million asset-based loan revolving credit facility due 2013 a 'BB+' rating (two notches higher than the corporate credit rating) with a recovery rating of '1', indicating an expectation of very high recovery in the event of a payment default. In addition, S&P assigned a 'BB' bank loan rating to Dana's US$1.43 billion senior secured term loan with a recovery rating of '2', indicating an expectation of average recovery. The TCR reported on Feb. 18, 2008, that Moody's Investors Service affirmed the ratings of the reorganized Dana Holding Corporation as: Corporate Family Rating, B1; Probability of Default Rating, B1. In a related action, Moody's affirmed the Ba3 rating on the senior secured term loan and raised the rating on the senior secured asset based revolving credit facility to Ba2 from Ba3. The outlook is stable. The financing for the company's emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection has been funded in line with the structure originally rated by Moody's in a press release dated Jan. 7, 2008. DANA HOLDINGS: Chrysler Output May Suffer If Supply Pact Ends ------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Ramsey and Alex Ortolani at Bloomberg News says Chrysler LLC risks a possible production shutdown should supplier Dana Holdings Inc. win a lawsuit to end a money-losing contract. Dana has asked the Hon. Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to confirm that the parties' supply agreement ends Dec. 31, 2008. Under the 2007 deal, Dana became the exclusive supplier of driveshafts, axles and other parts to Chrysler until the end of 2008. Because Chrysler refused to extend the deal into 2009, Dana said, any orders beyond 2008 are "unenforceable." Dana, Bloomberg relates, said rising steel prices mean it's losing US$75 million annually on its parts agreement for six Chrysler models. Bloomberg says that, according to the complaint, Chrysler has told Dana it doesn't have the right to end the supply agreement. According to Bloomberg, Dana said it supplies parts to Chrysler's Jeep Liberty, Wrangler and some Grand Cherokee sport- utility vehicles, as well the Dodge Nitro SUV, Viper sports car and some Dodge Ram pickups. Dana in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said orders from Chrysler make up 3% of its total revenues for the first half of 2008. Ford is Dana's single largest customer, comprising 19% of revenues for the first half. Its other largest customers are General Motors, 6% of revenues; and Toyota, 5%. James Gillette, a consultant with CSM Worldwide Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told Bloomberg Chrysler would have few options to replace Dana's axles and driveshafts. "It puts an enormous amount of pressure on Chrysler," Mr. Gillette told Bloomberg in an interview. "It's not like there are 200 other suppliers they could go to. Dana does have some level of bargaining power." According to Bloomberg, Dana Chairman John Devine said on a conference call with analysts that the partsmaker is "not out here to pick a fight with Chrysler." Mr. Devine explained the Chrysler business has "a significant loss and we need to address that." Bloomberg relates that Kevin Frazier, a spokesman for Chrysler, said Chrysler's view is that "while the agreement may end on Jan. 1, 2009, the underlying purchase orders were intended to continue in accordance with their terms." Mr. Gillette told Bloomberg that Magna International Inc., American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. and Tower Automotive LLC are capable of stepping in for Dana as a Chrysler supplier. Cerberus Capital Management LP also owns a significant stake in Tower. About Chrysler 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. Daimler AG owns roughly 19% stake in Chrysler. Cerberus Capital Management LP acquired about 81% of Chrysler in August 2007 for about US$7.4 billion. About DANA Based in Toledo, Ohio, Dana Corporation -- http://www.dana.com/ -- designs and manufactures products for every major vehicle producer in the world, and supplies drivetrain, chassis, structural, and engine technologies to those companies. Dana employs 46,000 people in 28 countries. Dana is focused on being an essential partner to automotive, commercial, and off-highway vehicle customers, which collectively produce more than 60 million vehicles annually. Dana has facilities in China in the Asia-Pacific, Argentina in the Latin-American regions and Italy in Europe. The company and its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on March 3, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 06-10354). As of Nov. 30, 2007, the Debtors listed US$7,131,000,000 in total assets and US$7,665,000,000 in total debts resulting in a total shareholders' deficit of US$534,000,000. Corinne Ball, Esq., and Richard H. Engman, Esq., at Jones Day, in Manhattan and Heather Lennox, Esq., Jeffrey B. Ellman, Esq., Carl E. Black, Esq., and Ryan T. Routh, Esq., at Jones Day in Cleveland, Ohio, represent the Debtors. Henry S. Miller at Miller Buckfire & Co., LLC, served as the Debtors' financial advisor and investment banker. Ted Stenger from AlixPartners served as Dana's Chief Restructuring Officer. Thomas Moers Mayer, Esq., at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, represens the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, LLP served as counsel to the Official Committee of Equity Security Holders. Stahl Cowen Crowley, LLC served as counsel to the Official Committee of Non-Union Retirees. The Debtors filed their Joint Plan of Reorganization on Aug. 31, 2007. On Oct. 23, 2007, the Court approved the adequacy of the Disclosure Statement explaining their Plan. Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York entered an order confirming the Third Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization of the Debtors on Dec. 26, 2007. The Debtors' Third Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization was deemed effective as of Jan. 31, 2008. Dana Corp., starting on the Plan Effective Date, operated as Dana Holding Corporation. (Dana Corporation Bankruptcy News, Issue No. 79; Bankruptcy Creditors' Service Inc., http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000) * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Feb. 12, 2008, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB-' corporate credit rating to Dana Holding Corp. following the company's emergence from Chapter 11 on Feb. 1, 2008. The outlook is negative. At the same time, Standard & Poor's assigned Dana's US$650 million asset-based loan revolving credit facility due 2013 a 'BB+' rating (two notches higher than the corporate credit rating) with a recovery rating of '1', indicating an expectation of very high recovery in the event of a payment default. In addition, S&P assigned a 'BB' bank loan rating to Dana's US$1.43 billion senior secured term loan with a recovery rating of '2', indicating an expectation of average recovery. The TCR reported on Feb. 18, 2008, that Moody's Investors Service affirmed the ratings of the reorganized Dana Holding Corporation as: Corporate Family Rating, B1; Probability of Default Rating, B1. In a related action, Moody's affirmed the Ba3 rating on the senior secured term loan and raised the rating on the senior secured asset based revolving credit facility to Ba2 from Ba3. The outlook is stable. The financing for the company's emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection has been funded in line with the structure originally rated by Moody's in a press release dated Jan. 7, 2008. =================== K A Z A K H S T A N =================== ASIA OIL-2007: Creditors Must File Claims by September 23 --------------------------------------------------------- LLP Asia Oil-2007 has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Sept. 23, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: LLP Asia Oil-2007 Promzona Lisakovsk 111200 Kostanai Kazakhstan AZAMAT-STROY TECH: Claims Deadline Slated for September 23 ---------------------------------------------------------- LLP Azamat-Stroy Tech has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Sept. 23, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: LLP Azamat-Stroy Tech Office 5/3 Syganak Str. 10 Nomad Astana Kazakhstan DIAMOND TECHNOLOGY: Claims Filing Period Ends September 23 ---------------------------------------------------------- LLP Diamond Technology has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Sept. 23, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: LLP Diamond Technology May 1 Str. 11-47 Pavlodar Kazakhstan MAKER TREK: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due on September 25 ---------------------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of East Kazakhstan has declared LLP Maker Trek insolvent on June 24, 2008. Creditors have until Sept. 25, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of East Kazakhstan Voroshilov Str. 4-11 Ust-Kamenogorsk East Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (7232) 55-55-48 ORAL-SERVICE-A LLP: Claims Registration Ends September 19 --------------------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Atyrau has declared LLP Oral-Service-A insolvent. Creditors have until Sept. 19, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Atyrau 3rd. Floor Abai Str. 10a Atyrau Kazakhstan SEMEY OJSC: Creditors Must File Claims by September 25 ------------------------------------------------------ The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of East Kazakhstan has declared OJSC Finance-Industrial Group Semey insolvent on June 26, 2008. Creditors have until Sept. 25, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of East Kazakhstan Voroshilov Str. 4-11 Ust-Kamenogorsk East Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (7232) 55-55-48 TUSMA-I LLP: Claims Deadline Slated for September 19 ---------------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of South Kazakhstan has declared LLP Tusma-I insolvent on June 24, 2008. Creditors have until Sept. 19, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of South Kazakhstan Ilyaev Str. 24 Shymkent South Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (7252) 53-48-34, 54-02-36 UNISTROY LLP: Claims Filing Period Ends September 19 ---------------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of West Kazakhstan has declared LLP Construction Company Unistroy insolvent on July 14, 2008. Creditors have until Sept. 19, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of West Kazakhstan Seifullin Str. 37 Uralsk West Kazakhstan Kazakhstan UTK LLP: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due on September 19 ------------------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of South Kazakhstan has declared LLP TV Channel UTK insolvent on June 23, 2008. Creditors have until Sept. 19, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of South Kazakhstan Ilyaev Str. 24 Shymkent South Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (7252) 53-48-34, 54-02-36 =================== K Y R G Y Z S T A N =================== ASIA STAR: Creditors Must File Claims by September 16 ----------------------------------------------------- LLC Asia Star Travel has declared insolvency. Creditors have until Sept. 16, 2008, to submit written proofs of claim. Inquiries can be addressed to (+996 312) 66-23-30. =========== N O R W A Y =========== NORSKE SKOG: Reports NOK601 Mln Gross Operating Profit for 2Q08 --------------------------------------------------------------- Norske Skogindustrier ASA's gross operating profit before depreciation and special items was NOK601 million in the second quarter of 2008, up from NOK489 million in the first quarter. Sales volumes increased by about four per cent. "Even though we see signs of improvement, there is far to go before we have satisfactory financial results from operations," CEO Christian Rynning-Tonnesen said. The results have been improved for the segments Asia, Australasia and South America from the first to the second quarter. Magazine paper operations deliver a somewhat weaker result in the quarter, while the results from the newsprint activities in Europe are virtually unchanged. Sales volumes increased in all segments except newsprint in Asia. There has been a good development in Norske Skog's improvement program throughout the second quarter. Improvements achieved now amount to NOK2.5 billion annualized in relation to the base year of 2005. "Our most important task is to improve profitability in operations through higher prices on our end products, while at the same time applying full pressure on the work to reduce costs and net debt," Mr. Rynning-Tonnesen said. Norske Skog is working on reducing net debt by generating a sufficient cash flow from operations and transactions. "Following the sale of the Korean operations and properties, Norske Skog's net debt will be significantly reduced. Our goal is to further reduce debt," Mr. Rynning-Tonnesen said. The sale of the operations in Korea was announced at the end of June this year. Completion of the transaction is contingent on approval by the Korean competition authorities, consent from certain of Norske Skog's lenders and other customary closing conditions. There are still some matters to be clarified between the buyer and Norske Skog before the transaction can be closed. Approval has been received from the competition authorities, as well as the necessary lenders. The approval from the lenders implies that no cash dividend must be disbursed or shares repurchased. Norske Skog must keep a liquidity buffer of minimum NOK2.5 billion, and annual investments must be limited to NOK1.5 billion. These conditions are effective until a loan of EUR 400 million, which falls due in February 2010, is renegotiated or repaid. The terms of the agreement between Norske Skog and the lenders will take effect upon implementation of the sale of the Korean operations. Improved Net Result The operating profit after depreciation and special items was NOK1,269 million in the second quarter, compared with minus NOK990 million in the first quarter. The profit in the second quarter includes changes in the value of power contracts and built-in derivatives with a gain of NOK1.3 billion in all, while about NOK700 million was booked to income in the first quarter from the power portfolio and a total of NOK1.45 billion was expensed in restructuring costs and write-down of facilities. Profit after tax and financial items was NOK695 million in the second quarter compared with minus NOK966 million in the first quarter. Prospects for the Remainder of 2008 The accounts for the second half of the year will be impacted by the sale of Norske Skog's operations in Korea and the shutdown of production capacity in Europe. Shutdowns and downsizing at the main office will entail reduced fixed costs. Continued good demand and price increases for newsprint in Asia and magazine paper in Europe is expected. The prices for newsprint in Europe are stable, measured in local currency, while the demand trend is somewhat uncertain. In Australia there is a price reduction of seven per cent from July 1, 2008. There is reason to believe that there will be a continued high price level on input factors, with a risk of further price increases. About Norske Skogindustrier Headquartered in Lysaker, Norway, Norske Skogindustrier ASA -- http://www.norskeskog.com/--produces and supplies paper and related products to the concerned industry. The company's products are used to make newspapers, telephone directories, inserts, flyers, magazines, catalogs, and books. Its operations are carried out through three segments: Newsprint, Magazine Paper and Other. Norske Skog, which incorporates recycled paper into some products, operates about 20 paper mills worldwide. * * * Norske Skogindustrier ASA continues to carry 'BB-' long-term corporate credit ratings from Standard & Poor's with negative outlook. =========== R U S S I A =========== HOUSE-SERVICE: Proofs of Claim Filing Deadline Set September 5 -------------------------------------------------------------- The first creditors meeting of LLC House-Service has resolved to place the company under financial rehabilitation and appointed V. Nikolaev as administrative receiver. The Arbitration Court of Novgorod has sanctioned the creditors' resolution. The case is docketed under Case No. A44-2469/2007. Creditors have until Sept. 5, 2008, to submit proofs of claim to: V. Nikolaev, Administrative Receiver K. Libknekhta Str. 16 174411 Borovichi Russia The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Novgorod Mikhaylova Str. 25 173001 Velikiy Novgorod Russia The Debtor can be reached at: LLC House-Service Kovanko 5 Borovichi 174405 Novgorod Russia KRASNOZAVODSKOE: Names L. Kondratenko as Administrative Manager --------------------------------------------------------------- The first creditors meeting of OJSC Krasnozavodskoe has resolved to place the company under financial rehabilitation and appointed L. Kondratenko as administrative receiver. The Arbitration Court of Krasnoyarsk has sanctioned the creditors' resolution. The case is docketed under Case No. A33-1211/2008. Creditors have to submit proofs of claim to: L. Kondratenko, Administrative Receiver Post User Box 4 Berezovka Berezovskiy 662521 Krasnoyarsk Russia The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Krasnoyarsk Lenina Str. 143 660021 Krasnoyarsk Russia The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Krasnozavodskoe Traktovaya Str. 64a Krasnaya rechka Bogotolskiy 662081 Krasnoyarsk Russia NELIDOVSKIY MEAT-COMBINE: Court Names M. Vdovin to Manage Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------- The first creditors meeting of OJSC Nelidovskiy Meat-Combine has resolved to place the company under financial rehabilitation and appointed M. Vdovin as administrative receiver. The Arbitration Court of Tver has sanctioned the creditors' resolution. The case is docketed under Case No. A66-5493/05. Creditors have to submit proofs of claim to: M. Vdovin, Administrative Receiver Apt. 74 Building 2 Kustanayskaya Str. 6 Moscow Russia The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Tver Room 7 Sovetskaya Str. 23b Tver Russia The Debtor can be reached at: M. Vdovin, Administrative Receiver Apt. 74 Building 2 Kustanayskaya Str. 6 Moscow Russia SEVER-INVEST-STROY: Names N. Kazakov as Administrative Manager -------------------------------------------------------------- The first creditors meeting of LLC Sever-Invest-Stroy has resolved to place the company under financial rehabilitation and appointed N. Kazakov as administrative receiver. The Arbitration Court of Vologda has sanctioned the creditors' resolution. The case is docketed under Case No. A13-13187/2006- 22. Creditors have to submit proofs of claim to: N. Kazakov, Administrative Receiver Office 218 Sovetskiy Pr. 160000 Vologda Russia The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Vologda Hall 4 Gertsena Str. 1a Vologda Russia The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Sever-Invest-Stroy Pervomayskaya Str. 12-a Vologda Russia STROY-ALLIANCE: Court Names A. Avilov as Administrative Manager --------------------------------------------------------------- The first creditors meeting of LLC Stroy-Alliance has resolved to place the company under financial rehabilitation and appointed A. Avilov as administrative receiver. The Arbitration Court of Samara has sanctioned the creditors' resolution. The case is docketed under Case No. A55-2097/2008. Creditors have to submit proofs of claim to: A. Avilov, Administrative Receiver Office 313 Suvorova Str. 111a 440000 Penza Russia The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Samara Avrory Str. 148 443045 Samara Russia The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Stroy-Alliance Russia Samara Tolyatti Yubileynaya Str. 2B TATNEFT OAO: Moody's Assigns Ba2 Corporate Family Rating -------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service assigned a Ba2 corporate family rating (CFR), to JSC Tatneft. In conjunction with the CFR rating, a Probability of Default Rating of Ba2 was also assigned. The outlook is stable. Tatneft is Russia's sixth largest oil & gas company operating predominantly in the Republic of Tatarstan (Ba1/Stable), in which the Tatarstan government holds 36% plus golden share. Under SPE-LOL classifications, Tatneft's proved oil & gas reserves at year-end 2007 amounted to 3.16 billion barrels of oil equivalent. In 2007 Tatneft produced 184 million boe, translating into an average production rate of 0.5 million boe per day. The company employs 80,000 people. Tatneft is operating in three major segments: exploration and production, refining and marketing and petrochemicals, which contributed 74%, 18% and over 7% to the company's consolidated 2007 revenue respectively. It also operates a network of 566 petrol stations in Russia and Ukraine, and its petrochemicals operations, OAO Nizhnekamsknefteshina, have a 28% share of the Russian tire market. The company's strategic objective is to transform itself from a predominantly upstream player to an integrated oil and gas company. In 2006 Tatneft embarked on the construction of a green field refinery and petrochemical facility, Taneco, which, once completed, will introduce a 7mtpa refining capacity thereby visibly transforming Tatneft's business profile, strengthening its vertical integration and profitability. The current virtual absence of proprietary refining capacities is considered by Moody's as Tatneft's major weakness, compared to its peer group. Given the state-controlled nature of the company's shareholding structure, Tatneft's ratings incorporate Joint Default Analysis, Moody's methodology for government related issuers (GRIs). In accordance with this methodology, the Ba2 rating of Tatneft reflects the combination of the following inputs: -- Baseline Credit Assessment ("BCA") -- which measures the company's fundamental credit strength excluding any government support -- of 12 (on a scale of 1 to 21 corresponding to the equivalent of a Ba2 rating). -- Ba1 local currency rating of the Tatarstan -- High dependence -- Medium support The medium government support assumption reflects Moody's estimation of the likelihood that the government of Tatarstan would be willing and able, in view of its budget capacity and the company's growing financing needs, to provide direct and/or indirect financial support to Tatneft, if necessary, and would thus attempt to prevent a default on its financial obligations. The high dependence is based on the fact that Tatarstan's budget is highly dependent on oil and oil-related industries, thereby making both, the Republic and the company reliant on similar sources of revenue and susceptible to similar risk factors. Despite its currently low vertical integration, but taking into account the company's commitment to the implementation of Taneco project, Tatneft's BCA analysis was conducted in line with Moody's Global Rating Methodology for Integrated Oil & Gas Companies. Tatneft's BCA assessment positively recognises -- the large size of the company's reserves and Tatneft's efforts to grow production despite the challenges related to the nature of its depleting conventional reserve base in Tatarstan and high-sulphur content of its oil deposits, -- strong financial metrics illustrated by very low level of debt and robust cash flows -- on-going efforts to strengthen corporate governance and operational transparency, together with corporate reorganization measures that are being put in place; and -- potential for further growth of Tatneft's reserves through development of bitumen deposits and geographic expansion outside of Tatarstan, as well as prospects of greater vertical integration via the implementation of Taneco project. However the rating is constrained by: * high concentration of Tatneft's operations and reserves which are located virtually exclusively in Tatarstan, as well as the low quality and limited growth potential of its traditional reserve base, * the company's complex oganizational structure burdened by a variety of ancillary non-core businesses (social assets, construction and other companies involved in non-core activities), which Moody's expects to somewhat simplify in part through disposals over the medium term as a result of Tatneft's corporate restructuring efforts (Moody's positively notes Tatneft's recent disposal of several non- core banking assets, including the controlling stake in bank Zenit); * the sub-investment grade profile of the company's debt portfolio, with majority of debt being secured; * high customer concentration, with three quarters of the company's annual crude sales attributable to four customers, and * the uncertainty related to the resolution of legal disputes vis a vis Tatneft's access to Ukrtatnafta refinery. The rating also reflects challenges related to the successful implementation of the complex Taneco project, which not only demands deployment of significant financial and managerial resources, but is also subject to various risks such as: availability of adequate financing sources and refinancing risk, project cost overruns, time delays and the performance of other project participants. The implementation of the Taneco project is regarded by Moody's as a potential challenge that could put to test the company's ability to efficiently manage large-scale investments which Moody's will be closely monitoring. The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that over the medium term Tatneft will primarily be focusing on the implementation of the Taneco project, maintaining production levels and improving operational efficiency. In the medium term Moody's does not expect Tatneft to pursue any sizable acquisitions. The current rating provides the company with headroom to pursue a range of strategic initiatives given the strong financial metrics Tatneft currently exhibits. In order for the rating to improve, Moody's would expect to see positive qualitative shifts relating to Tatneft's corporate structure profile, transparency and corporate governance, as well as further operating efficiency improvements and prudent liquidity management. Adherence to the budget and implementation schedule for the Taneco project, while addressing the refinancing risk associated with its funding, would be considered a prerequisite for an upgrade of the BCA. In any event, an upgrade by one notch of the BCA or the sovereign rating would result in a one notch upgrade of the overall rating. Any developments which would result in a considerably weaker operational or financial profile of the company, including declining production, significant deviations from Taneco's project implementation schedule, cost overruns, or the company's inability to secure adequate funding to finance its capex or service debt, could result in a rating downgrade. JSC Tatneft, headquartered in Almetyevsk, Tatarstan, is the sixth-largest oil company in the Russian Federation. Tatneft's shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Russian stock exchanges (RTS and MICEX). In 2007 the company generated total sales of US$13.9 billion, EBITDA of nearly US$2.8 billion and Net Profit of US$1.7 billion. TOP-TRADE: Court Names V. Sokolov as Administrative Manager ----------------------------------------------------------- The first creditors meeting of CJSC Top-Trade has resolved to place the company under financial rehabilitation and appointed V. Sokolov as administrative receiver. The Arbitration Court of Irkutsk has sanctioned the creditors' resolution. The case is docketed under Case No. A19-6728/08-3 7. Creditors have to submit proofs of claim to: V. Sokolov, Administrative Receiver Post User Box 51 Lyzina Str. 28 664009 Irkutsk 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: CJSC Top-Trade Chelyabinskaya Str. 26 664035 Irkutsk Russia ========= S P A I N ========= SANTANDER FINANCIACION I: S&P Cuts D/E Notes Rating to BB+/B- ------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has removed from CreditWatch with negative implications and lowered its credit ratings on the class D and E notes issued by Fondo de Titulizacion de Activos Santander Financiacion 1. At the same time, S&P placed the class C notes on CreditWatch negative and affirmed the ratings on the class A, B, and F notes. The class D and E notes were placed on CreditWatch negative on May 13, 2008 ("Rating On Santander Financiacion 1 Class D And E Notes Placed On CreditWatch Negative", published on RatingsDirect). The rating actions follow a full credit and cash flow analysis of the most recent transaction information that S&P received. This analysis showed that the credit enhancement available for the class D and E notes was insufficient to maintain the current ratings. S&P placed the class C notes on CreditWatch negative because of uncertainty about the extent of performance deterioration in relation to expected default rates given the levels of long-term arrears at present. S&P expects the CreditWatch placement to be resolved after the next payment date in October 2008. In January 2008, the percentage of delinquent loans in arrears over 90 days increased above the trigger level (2.5%), causing the revolving period to terminate and the transaction to start amortizing. Since then, loans in arrears over 180 days rose to 3.77% in April 2008 and slightly decreased over the second quarter to 3.02%. Total delinquencies more than 90 days in arrears are now 4.5%. In line with the sharp increase in loans in arrears for more than 180 days over previous quarters (to 3.77% in April 2008 from 2.56% in January 2008 and 1.47% in October 2007), write- offs for second quarter were EUR22.1 million versus cumulative write-offs of EUR1.98 million for the first quarter. This sharp increase in write-offs caused a draw on the reserve fund of EUR2.1 million. Current delinquency and default information was input into S&P's cash flow analysis. The initial results showed that the class D and E notes could not withstand S&P's 'BBB' and 'BB' rating stresses. S&P will continue to request detailed portfolio information from the originator to assess the status of the delinquent loans and will continue to monitor the build-up of delinquencies, the transitions to write-offs, and levels of excess spread available. This analysis will determine whether the rating on the class C notes placed on CreditWatch will be lowered. The notes, issued in 2006, are backed by a portfolio of Spanish consumer loans originated by Banco Santander S.A. (AA/Stable/A-1+). Ratings List: -- Fondo de Titulizacion de Activos Santander Financiacion 1 EUR1,914.3 Million Asset-Backed Floating-Rate Notes Class Rating ----- ------ To From -- ---- Ratings Lowered And Removed From CreditWatch Negative: D BB+ BBB/Watch Neg E B- BB/Watch Neg Rating Placed On CreditWatch Negative: C A/Watch Neg A Ratings Affirmed: A AAA B AA F CCC- ===================== S W I T Z E R L A N D ===================== ALVETRA U. WERFFT LTD: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due by Aug. 22 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by Alvetra u. Werfft Ltd. are requested to file their proofs of claim by Aug. 22, 2008, to: Baarerstrasse 96 6300 Zug Germany The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Zug. The decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting held on July 3, 2008. CALANDIS LLC: Creditors Have Until August 21 to File Claims ----------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Calandis are requested to file their proofs of claim by Aug. 21, 2008, to: Reto Camenisch Lehnstrasse 27 9050 Appenzell Switzerland The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Wittenbach SG. The decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting held on June 18, 2008. FREY-CRANE-EQUIPEMENT: August 21 Set as Deadline to File Claims --------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Frey-Crane-Equipement are requested to file their proofs of claim by Aug. 21, 2008, to: Frey-Wigger Paul Bahnhofstrasse 14 6130 Willisau Switzerland The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Willisau. The decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting held on June 27, 2008. HERMANN KECK: Creditors Must File Proofs of Claim by August 21 -------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Dr. Hermann Keck & Partner are requested to file their proofs of claim by Aug. 21, 2008, to: Susanne Wentz-Keck Liquidator Juchstrasse 5 4312 Magden Switzerland The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Therwil. The decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting held on July 2, 2008. NEWBASIS FOREXTRUST: Deadline to File Claims Set on August 21 ------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by JSC NewBasis ForexTrust are requested to file their proofs of claim by Aug. 21, 2008, to: Trust Company JSC KBT Treuhand Grabenstrasse 25 6340 Baar Germany The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Egg. The decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting held on Feb. 18, 2008. OPEN MARKET: Proofs of Claim Filing Deadline is August 21 --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by JSC Open Market Group Switzerland are requested to file their proofs of claim by Aug. 21, 2008, to: Seestrasse 9 6314 Unterageri Switzerland The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Unterageri. The decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting held on July 2, 2003. ZENKLUSEN REISEN: Creditors' Proofs of Claim Due by August 21 ------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Zenklusen Reisen are requested to file their proofs of claim by Aug. 21, 2008, to: Trust Company JSC DR. Viktor KaMPFEN Treuhand Viktoriastrasse 15 Mail Box 648 3900 Brig-Glis Switzerland The company is currently undergoing liquidation in Grachen. The decision about liquidation was accepted at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting held on June 30, 2008. ============= U K R A I N E ============= KONDAK LLC: Creditors Must File Proofs of Claim by August 20 ------------------------------------------------------------ Creditors of LLC Kondak (code EDRPOU 31855227) have until Aug. 20, 2008, to submit proofs of claim to: Roman Gurin, Liquidator Apartment 191 Gagarin Str. 95 Cherkassy Ukraine The Economic Court of Cherkassy commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent on May 15, 2008. The case is docketed as 14/2061. The Court is located at: The Economic Court of Cherkassy Shevchenko Avenue 307 18005 Cherkassy Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Kondak Shevchenko Boulevard 366/1 18000 Cherkassy Ukraine KORNIN AGRICULTURAL: Creditors Must File Claims by August 20 ------------------------------------------------------------ Creditors of OJSC Kornin Agricultural Repair Machine (code EDRPOU 00903386) have until Aug. 20, 2008, to submit proofs of claim to: The Economic Court of Zhytomir Putiatinskiy Square 3/65 10014 Zhytomir Ukraine The Economic Court of Zhytomir commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent on April 17, 2008. The case is docketed as 3/42-b. The Debtor can be reached at: OJSC Kornin Agricultural Repair Machine Kornin Popelniansky District Zhytomir Ukraine NORTSIDE-TRANS LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by August 20 ----------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Firm Nortside-Trans (code EDRPOU 24418885) have until Aug. 20, 2008, to submit proofs of claim to: State Tax Inspection in Cherkassy, Liquidator Khreschatik Str. 235 18000 Cherkassy Ukraine The Economic Court of Cherkassy has commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The Court is located at: The Economic Court of Cherkassy Shevchenko Avenue 307 18005 Cherkassy Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Firm Nortside-Trans L. Ukrainka Str. 6/2 Cherkassy Ukraine REPAIR-BUILDING DISTRICT 2: Creditors' Claim Due by August 20 ------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Repair-Building District 2 (code EDRPOU 03333305) have until Aug. 20, 2008, to submit proofs of claim to: State Tax Inspection in Cherkassy, Liquidator Khreschatik Str. 235 18000 Cherkassy Ukraine The Economic Court of Cherkassy commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The Court is located at: The Economic Court of Cherkassy Shevchenko Avenue 307 18005 Cherkassy Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Repair-Building District 2 Lutsenko Str. 7 Cherkassy Ukraine ZLAGODA LTD: Creditors Must File Proofs of Claim by August 20 ------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Zlagoda Ltd. Plus (code EDRPOU 34608802) have until Aug. 20, 2008, to submit proofs of claim to: State Tax Inspection in Cherkassy, Liquidator Khreschatik Str. 235 18000 Cherkassy Ukraine The Economic Court of Cherkassy has commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The Court is located at: The Economic Court of Cherkassy Shevchenko Avenue 307 18005 Cherkassy Ukraine The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Zlagoda Ltd. Plus Shevchenko Boulevard 205 Cherkassy Ukraine =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== BRITISH AIRWAYS: Four Executives Charged Over Price-Fixing ---------------------------------------------------------- Four men have been charged with cartel offenses under the Enterprise Act in connection with the Office of Fair Trading's criminal investigation into price-fixing of fuel surcharges for long haul passenger flights. Martin George, Andrew Crawley, Alan Burnett and Iain Burns are charged with having dishonestly agreed with others to make or implement arrangements which directly or indirectly fixed the price for the supply in the United Kingdom of passenger air transport services by British Airways plc and Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. The charges relate to the period between July 2004 and April 2006 when the defendants were employed by British Airways. They will appear at City of London Magistrates' Court on Sept. 24, 2008. Price-Fixing Collusion As reported in the TCR-Europe on Aug. 2, 2007, British Airways admitted that between August 2004 and January 2006, it colluded with Virgin Atlantic over the surcharges which were added to ticket prices in response to rising oil prices. Over that period, the surcharges rose from GBP5 to GBP60 per ticket for a typical British Airways or Virgin Atlantic long-haul return flight. The OFT imposed a GBP121.5 million penalty on British Airways. The OFT's investigation was prompted after Virgin Atlantic came forward with information about price fixing with British Airways over the surcharges. Virgin Atlantic was not expected to pay any penalty as it qualifies in principle for full immunity under the OFT's leniency policy. U.S. DOJ Probe A TCR-Europe report disclosed that on Aug. 1, 2007, British Airways has agreed to plead guilty and pay US$300 million criminal fines for its role in conspiracies to fix the prices of passenger and cargo flights. The charges against the airline were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The court approved the plea agreement between British Airways and the U.S. Department of Justice on fines of US$300 million for infringements of competition law in the company's long-haul passenger and cargo businesses. The court agreed that the substantial cooperation provided by British Airways to the U.S. government justified a significant reduction in fines which under Sentencing Guidelines ranged from US$450 million to US$900 million. Class Action Settlement According to a TCR-Europe report, Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll negotiated on Feb. 15, 2008, a ground breaking legal settlement that, for the first time ever, resolves a class action lawsuit on a collective basis under both U.S. and U.K. law. The agreement, which affects over 8 million people in the U.S. and U.K., provides US$59 million for American ticket purchasers and GBP73.5 million for U.K. purchasers who bought tickets from either British Airways or Virgin Atlantic Airways between August 11, 2004, and March 23, 2006, with no deductions for attorneys' fees or other costs. This settlement marks the first collective settlement of its kind for British consumers. About British Airways Headquartered in Harmondsworth, England, 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. * * * British Airways Plc continues to carry "Ba1" senior unsecured debt rating from Moody's with a stable outlook. BRITISH ENERGY: John Hutton Says EDF Offer was a Good Deal ---------------------------------------------------------- Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Secretary John Hutton remain convinced that Electricite de France S.A.'s takeover offer for British Energy Ltd. was a "good deal," according to various reports. Commenting on reports of discussions between British Energy and EDF, Mr. Hutton said: "I am disappointed that talks between British Energy and EDF have not yet been successful. We thought it was a good deal and we were ready to accept. EDF is the world's largest nuclear operator. It would have been a sensible way to take forward new nuclear plans in the UK "That wasn't the view of all of the shareholders and the government is a minority shareholder in a publicly listed company. It is a now matter for both Boards to see how to proceed. "Our commitment to nuclear power is clear and nuclear new build does not depend on one single deal. BE still has potential sites: and sites are available from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. "The level of interest in nuclear new build in the UK from EDF and from other operators remains high. "Recent developments in energy markets underline the need for new nuclear to combat high fossil fuel prices, climate change and security of supply." As reported in the TCR-Europe on Aug. 1, 2008, EDF pulled out from its planned takeover of BE, hours before it was to announce a done deal. EDF submitted a GBP12 billion takeover offer to BE's board on July 31, 2008. The board, following some deliberations, rejected EDF's proposal. According to the Scotsman, the UK government is likely to urge EDF to resume talks on a revised offer for BE. Meanwhile, EDF reiterated its commitment to build nuclear plants in the UK including Somerset and Anglesey, the Scotsman relates. The government, the Financial Times adds, also intends to block any attempt by Centrica plc to merge with BE. A TCR-Europe report on Aug. 6, 2008, disclosed Centrica confirmed it is in discussions with a third party with a view to the group taking a minority ownership position in BE. In the event that the third party does not proceed with an offer for BE, or its discussions with the third party do not result in an agreement, Centrica might consider a number of other alternatives with respect to BE. These alternatives may include proposing to BE: long term power off take arrangements, Centrica participating in BE's potential new nuclear partnerships or a possible merger of Centrica with BE, only if terms could be agreed and if all parties are fully supportive. About British Energy Headquartered in Livingston, Scotland, British Energy Limited -- http://www.british-energy.com/-- is the U.K.'s largest producer of electricity. With a workforce of about 6,000, it produces around one-sixth of the nation's electricity. * * * British Energy Ltd. continues to carry a Ba2 long-term corporate family rating from Moody's with a stable outlook. Standard & Poor's affirmed its BB long-term corporate credit ratings on U.K.-based nuclear generator British Energy Group PLC and its subsidiary British Energy Holdings PLC, with negative outlook. The company still carries a BB+ long-term issuer default rating from Fitch with a stable outlook. CAINS BEER: Brings in Administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers ---------------------------------------------------------------- David Chubb, Ian Green and Craig Livesey of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP were appointed joint administrators of Cains Beer Company PLC and related subsidiaries on Aug. 7, 2008. The group ran into cash flow difficulties following a downturn in trade due to the impact of the smoking ban on the pubs and the impact of significant commodity pricing increases on the brewery. These were further impacted by reductions in consumer spend in the leisure sector and the fact the company had run up a large debt to HM Revenue & Customs that it could not repay. David Chubb, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and joint administrator, said: "Cains is a well-established business with a great brand and brewing facility which has been brewing ales since the mid-19th century. Its ales have won a number of awards, most recently the World's Best Fruit Beer in the World Beer Awards 2007. Cains is also a major supplier of own label beers to the supermarket sector." "It is currently our intention to continue to trade both the brewery and pub chain businesses and we will seek to achieve going concern sales over the coming weeks and months. We have already received some early indications of interest and we would also invite any parties interested in acquiring either the brewery or pub chain businesses to contact us as soon as possible." The administrators are working with staff at the brewery and the landlords and staff in the pubs to ensure that they remain open whilst the administrators seek buyers. The administrators are also presently in communication with the key suppliers and customers in this regard. Prospective buyers should contact Jon Nuttall or Jonathan Hall at PricewaterhouseCoopers on 0161 245 2225. Based in the North West of England, Cains is a brewer of award- winning beers and lagers and operates a chain of about 100 pubs which includes 26 freehold and 76 leasehold pubs, most of which are managed houses. Cains was created by the 2007 reverse takeover of Honeycombe Leisure plc by Robert Cain & Co Limited and 1,000 people work in the group. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP -- http://www.pwcglobal.com/-- provides auditing services, accounting advice, tax compliance and consulting, financial consulting and advisory services to clients in a variety of industries. CHRYSLER LLC: Dana Wants to End Supply Agreement by December 31 --------------------------------------------------------------- Dana Holding Corporation asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to provide a declaratory judgment confirming that the existing supply agreement between Dana and Chrysler LLC will conclude on Dec. 31, 2008. Dana is seeking to confirm its rights relative to the Settlement Agreement reached by the two companies in August 2007 and confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court one month later. The requested court action is an attempt to determine Dana's future course as a supplier to Chrysler. "Our goal is to establish a mutually rewarding supply agreement with Chrysler moving forward," John Devine, Dana executive chairman, said. "However, Dana is prepared to exercise its right to discontinue supplying Chrysler effective Jan. 1, 2009, if we continue to be unsuccessful in engaging them to address this goal in a meaningful way. "While we sincerely hope that this will not be the case, we have informed Chrysler of our intentions in order to provide both companies with the time to consider their options for ongoing sourcing of the programs we currently support," he added. "While this is an isolated case, it serves to illustrate our commitment to pursue only market-competitive business opportunities moving forward." Mr. Devine acknowledged that a potential decision to vacate the Chrysler business could have a substantial impact on select Dana facilities, but cautioned that any related concerns would be premature," he said. "It's far too early and inappropriate to speculate on potential outcomes at a facility level. To be clear, our focus remains on achieving a market-competitive agreement with Chrysler moving forward." Dana's history of supplying Chrysler dates back more than 70 years and includes supplying four-wheel drive and axle technologies for the very first Willys MA Jeep(R) produced in 1941. This relationship continues with Dana's supply of drivetrain technologies for several Jeep models including the Wrangler, Liberty, and select versions of the Grand Cherokee; the Dodge Nitro and Viper vehicles; and select light- and medium-duty versions of the Dodge Ram pickup truck. About Dana Holding Corporation Based in Toledo, Ohio, Dana Corporation -- http://www.dana.com/ -- designs and manufactures products for every major vehicle producer in the world, and supplies drivetrain, chassis, structural, and engine technologies to those companies. Dana employs 46,000 people in 28 countries. Dana is focused on being an essential partner to automotive, commercial, and off-highway vehicle customers, which collectively produce more than 60 million vehicles annually. Dana has facilities in China in the Asia-Pacific, Argentina in the Latin-American regions and Italy in Europe. About Chrysler LLC headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Chrysler LLC -- http://www.chrysler.com/-- is a unit of Cerberus Capital Management LP that 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 June 24, 2008, Moody's Investors Service affirmed the B3 Corporate Family Rating and Probability of Default Rating of Chrysler LLC, but changed the outlook to negative from stable. The change in outlook reflects the increasingly challenging environment faced by Chrysler as the outlook for U.S. vehicle demand falls, and as high fuel costs drive U.S. consumers away from light trucks and SUVs, and toward more fuel efficient vehicles. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on May 9, 2008, Fitch Ratings downgraded the Issuer Default Rating of Chrysler LLC to 'B' from 'B+', with a Negative Rating Outlook. Fitch has also downgraded the senior secured bank facilities, including senior secured first-lien bank loan to 'BB/RR1' from 'BB+/RR1'; and senior secured second-lien bank loan to 'CCC+/RR6' from 'BB+/RR1'. The recovery rating on the second lien was also downgraded from 'BB+/RR1' to 'CCC+/RR6' based on lower asset value assumptions and associated recoveries in the event of a stress scenario. CHRYSLER LLC: Production May Suffer if Dana Severs Contract ------------------------------------------------------------ Mike Ramsey and Alex Ortolani at Bloomberg News says Chrysler LLC risks a possible production shutdown should supplier Dana Holdings Inc. win a lawsuit to end a money-losing contract. Dana has asked the Hon. Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to confirm that the parties' supply agreement ends Dec. 31, 2008. Under the 2007 deal, Dana became the exclusive supplier of driveshafts, axles and other parts to Chrysler until the end of 2008. Because Chrysler refused to extend the deal into 2009, Dana said, any orders beyond 2008 are "unenforceable." Dana, Bloomberg relates, said rising steel prices mean it's losing US$75 million annually on its parts agreement for six Chrysler models. Bloomberg says that, according to the complaint, Chrysler has told Dana it doesn't have the right to end the supply agreement. According to Bloomberg, Dana said it supplies parts to Chrysler's Jeep Liberty, Wrangler and some Grand Cherokee sport- utility vehicles, as well the Dodge Nitro SUV, Viper sports car and some Dodge Ram pickups. Dana in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said orders from Chrysler make up 3% of its total revenues for the first half of 2008. Ford is Dana's single largest customer, comprising 19% of revenues for the first half. Its other largest customers are General Motors, 6% of revenues; and Toyota, 5%. James Gillette, a consultant with CSM Worldwide Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told Bloomberg Chrysler would have few options to replace Dana's axles and driveshafts. "It puts an enormous amount of pressure on Chrysler," Mr. Gillette told Bloomberg in an interview. "It's not like there are 200 other suppliers they could go to. Dana does have some level of bargaining power." According to Bloomberg, Dana Chairman John Devine said on a conference call with analysts that the partsmaker is "not out here to pick a fight with Chrysler." Mr. Devine explained the Chrysler business has "a significant loss and we need to address that." Bloomberg relates that Kevin Frazier, a spokesman for Chrysler, said Chrysler's view is that "while the agreement may end on Jan. 1, 2009, the underlying purchase orders were intended to continue in accordance with their terms." Mr. Gillette told Bloomberg that Magna International Inc., American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. and Tower Automotive LLC are capable of stepping in for Dana as a Chrysler supplier. Cerberus Capital Management LP also owns a significant stake in Tower. About DANA Based in Toledo, Ohio, Dana Corporation -- http://www.dana.com/ -- designs and manufactures products for every major vehicle producer in the world, and supplies drivetrain, chassis, structural, and engine technologies to those companies. Dana employs 46,000 people in 28 countries. Dana is focused on being an essential partner to automotive, commercial, and off-highway vehicle customers, which collectively produce more than 60 million vehicles annually. Dana has facilities in China in the Asia-Pacific, Argentina in the Latin-American regions and Italy in Europe. The company and its affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on March 3, 2006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 06-10354). As of Nov. 30, 2007, the Debtors listed USUS$7,131,000,000 in total assets and USUS$7,665,000,000 in total debts resulting in a total shareholders' deficit of USUS$534,000,000. Corinne Ball, Esq., and Richard H. Engman, Esq., at Jones Day, in Manhattan and Heather Lennox, Esq., Jeffrey B. Ellman, Esq., Carl E. Black, Esq., and Ryan T. Routh, Esq., at Jones Day in Cleveland, Ohio, represent the Debtors. Henry S. Miller at Miller Buckfire & Co., LLC, served as the Debtors' financial advisor and investment banker. Ted Stenger from AlixPartners served as Dana's Chief Restructuring Officer. Thomas Moers Mayer, Esq., at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, represens the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, LLP served as counsel to the Official Committee of Equity Security Holders. Stahl Cowen Crowley, LLC served as counsel to the Official Committee of Non-Union Retirees. The Debtors filed their Joint Plan of Reorganization on Aug. 31, 2007. On Oct. 23, 2007, the Court approved the adequacy of the Disclosure Statement explaining their Plan. Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York entered an order confirming the Third Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization of the Debtors on Dec. 26, 2007. The Debtors' Third Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization was deemed effective as of Jan. 31, 2008. Dana Corp., starting on the Plan Effective Date, operated as Dana Holding Corporation. (Dana Corporation Bankruptcy News, Issue No. 79; Bankruptcy Creditors' Service Inc., http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000) * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Feb. 12, 2008, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB-' corporate credit rating to Dana Holding Corp. following the company's emergence from Chapter 11 on Feb. 1, 2008. The outlook is negative. At the same time, Standard & Poor's assigned Dana's USUS$650 million asset-based loan revolving credit facility due 2013 a 'BB+' rating (two notches higher than the corporate credit rating) with a recovery rating of '1', indicating an expectation of very high recovery in the event of a payment default. In addition, S&P assigned a 'BB' bank loan rating to Dana's USUS$1.43 billion senior secured term loan with a recovery rating of '2', indicating an expectation of average recovery. The TCR reported on Feb. 18, 2008, that Moody's Investors Service affirmed the ratings of the reorganized Dana Holding Corporation as: Corporate Family Rating, B1; Probability of Default Rating, B1. In a related action, Moody's affirmed the Ba3 rating on the senior secured term loan and raised the rating on the senior secured asset based revolving credit facility to Ba2 from Ba3. The outlook is stable. The financing for the company's emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection has been funded in line with the structure originally rated by Moody's in a press release dated Jan. 7, 2008. About Chrysler 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. Daimler AG owns roughly 19% stake in Chrysler. Cerberus Capital Management LP acquired about 81% of Chrysler in August 2007 for about US$7.4 billion. CHRYSLER LLC: In Talks with Nissan on Midsize Cars Manufacturing ---------------------------------------------------------------- Chrysler LLC is planning to outsource the engineering and development of its cars, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to WSJ, Chrysler LLC is having discussions with Japan's Nissan Motor Co. about jointly producing midsize cars, a partnership that would move the U.S. auto maker toward a radical new business model. The Journal citing people familiar with the matter, states that both companies agreed in early 2008 to team up on pickup trucks and subcompact cars. Since then, the Journal relates, they have been negotiating a deal: Nissan to manufacture midsize sedans and Chrysler would sell it in the U.S. under its own name. Under its earlier agreement with Nissan, Chrysler will start selling a subcompact car made by Nissan by about 2011, WSJ states. Chrysler, WSJ notes, also has a deal under which China's Chery Automobile Co. will make small cars for it. A deal, according to WSJ, would signal a switch in the way Chrysler operates, particularly in its passenger-car business. Chrysler intends to continue developing new trucks, sport- utility vehicles and minivans itself, from the ground up, WSJ adds. A partnership with Nissan on midsize sedans would put Chrysler on a path to becoming a marketer and seller of cars made by others, WSJ says. WSJ states that this outsourcing approach has worked for computer makers but could be risky for the auto industry. Sophisticated car buyers, WSJ says, who are aware that Nissan is manufacturing sedans for Chrysler might simply buy Nissan's version of the car. WSJ, citing Michael Ward, an automotive analyst at Soleil Securities Group, indicates that success of such deals comes down to marketing and branding. Outsourcing the manufacturing of cars could offer one big advantage for Chrysler and its majority shareholder, Cerberus Capital Management LP: "it could save Chrysler the billions of dollars it costs to develop a full line of vehicles in-house," WSJ points out. Chrysler is still deciding how to add a new midsize sedan to its lineup, WSJ states, while Nissan is working on a redesign of its Altima sedan. The talks have centered on having Nissan produce a version of that car for Chrysler, WSJ. About Chrysler LLC Based 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 Aug 1, 2008, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered the ratings on General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler LLC, all to 'B-' from 'B'. The ratings on GM and Ford were removed from CreditWatch with negative implications, where they had been placed on June 20, 2008. Chrysler will remain on CreditWatch pending the renewal of certain bank lines at DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Americas LLC, which S&P expects to be completed in the next few days. If the bank lines are renewed as expected, S&P would affirms the ratings on Chrysler and DCFS and remove them from CreditWatch. On July 31, 2008, TCR said that Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Issuer Default Rating of Chrysler LLC to 'CCC' from 'B-'. The Rating Outlook is Negative. The downgrade reflects Chrysler's restricted access to economic retail financing for its vehicles, which is expected to result in a further step-down in retail volumes. Lack of competitive financing is also expected to result in more costly subvention payments and other forms of sales incentives. Fitch is also concerned with the state of the securitization market and the ability of the automakers to access this market on an economic basis over the near term, given the steep drop in residual values, higher default rates, higher loss severity being experienced and jittery capital markets. CHRYSLER LLC: S&P Cuts Ratings to CCC+ on Funding Constraints ------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said lowered its ratings on Chrysler LLC, including the corporate credit rating, to 'CCC+' from 'B-'. At the same time, S&P lowered the counterparty credit rating on DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Americas LLC, the auto finance affiliate of Chrysler, to 'CCC+' from 'B-'. In addition, S&P removed all ratings from CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed originally on June 20, 2008. S&P lowered the ratings to 'B-' on July 31, 2008, and stated then that the ratings would remain on CreditWatch until certain bank lines at DCFS had been renewed, which has occurred. The outlook on both issuers is negative. Separately, S&P revised the recovery rating on DCFS's US$2 billion first-lien revolving credit facility and US$4 billion first-lien term loan to '3', indicating that lenders can expect meaningful (50% to 70%) recovery in the event of a payment default, from '1'. The issue level rating on this debt is now 'CCC+', the same as the issuer credit rating on DCFS. The first-lien recovery rating revision is largely as a result of the change in business prospects for DCFS, given the weaker economy, increased gas prices, and the resultant reduction in demand for large cars and trucks and the precipitous decline in residual values. "The downgrades [] reflect our view that the amount and structure of DCFS's recently renewed bank lines leave the finance company with fewer options to overcome any new funding challenges during the next year," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Robert Schulz. S&P believes Chrysler's and DCFS's sources of funding, including these bank lines, which are used to backstop a private securitization conduit, are currently sufficient to operate the business now that Chrysler has exited lease financing and assuming no incremental challenges are created by the uncertain credit markets. But the US$24 billion DCFS facility is less than S&P expected and moreover includes mandatory reductions in commitments totaling US$4 billion over the next 12 months. These changes are a reflection of the tense state of the capital markets, the dismal outlook for the U.S. auto market this year and next, and the capital markets' skeptical view of Chrysler's prospects. The greatest threats to the ratings in the near term are the depth of economic weakness in the U.S., the extent of the demand shift away from light trucks, and the ability of the finance company to continue its timely access to the asset-backed securities (ABS) markets in support of Chrysler's sales. DCFS remains heavily reliant on the public ABS markets to supplement funding provided by the private conduit. Although Chrysler does not publicly release financial statements, S&P expects the company to experience a net cash outflow from its automotive operations in 2008, its first full year since being acquired by Cerberus Capital Management L.P. from Germany's Daimler AG. Aggressive fixed-cost reduction and conservative industry sales assumptions have kept Chrysler at or above most of its financial targets through the first half of 2008. However, S&P believes the significantly weakened demand, particularly for pickup trucks and SUVs, will lead to a continued high rate of cash outflows through the end of 2008 and into 2009. Another major headwind has been plummeting used- pickup and SUV prices, which is causing losses on some leasing activities. Chrysler announced in July 2008 that it would stop offering leases to potential customers through its financial affiliate effective Aug. 1. Because of the severe industry weakness, Chrysler recently augmented its restructuring actions, which will lead to total reductions of about 26,000 hourly and salaried workers and elimination of 1.1 million units of capacity. In June 2008, Chrysler announced plans to close an additional minivan plant by the end of this year and reduce shifts at another truck plant to one shift from two. S&P expects U.S. light-vehicle sales to be 14.4 million units in 2008, the lowest in 15 years and down sharply from 16.1 million units in 2007. S&P expects sales to fall further in 2009, to about 14.1 million units, as the economy remains weak and housing prices and consumers' access to credit remain under pressure. The negative outlook reflects S&P's expectation that current liquidity and funding access could become dangerously constrained if management's cost-cutting actions fall short of plan, if industry conditions continue to worsen beyond S&P's expectations, or if DCFS's access to the ABS markets is inadequate, whether for company-specific reasons or because of broader market conditions. S&P could lower the ratings if S&P came to believe that Chrysler's cash and short-term investments would drop below the mid-single-digit billions before the middle of 2009, if Chrysler appeared unable to successfully meet its 2010 payments to the UAW health care trust, or if the finance company was unable to continue its timely access to the ABS markets in support of Chrysler's sales. This could occur if U.S. industry light-vehicle sales drop significantly below 14 million units this year or next, or if higher gas prices lead to an even more substantial decline in light-truck demand beyond levels witnessed in June. S&P also could lower the ratings if DCFS loses sufficient and economical access to funding from securitization markets for any substantial length of time. S&P does not expect to revise the outlook to stable within the next year, given the economic outlook, ongoing turnaround plan execution risk, and pressure on liquidity. ENDEAVORS PLC: Acresail Ltd. Acquires Business & Assets ------------------------------------------------------- KPMG joint administrators, Richard Fleming and Mark Firmin of KPMG Restructuring, were appointed to Endeavors plc at the request of the directors on Aug. 8, 2008 and shortly afterwards sold the company's business and assets, including its two California based trading subsidiaries, to a newly formed company, Acresail Limited. Yorkshire based Endeavors plc, a parent company for two software streaming technology businesses, failed to secure essential investment earlier in the year. The company's directors had focused on attempting to rescue the company for six months, specifically by raising funds through both a rights issue in February 2008 and, in June, an investment fund buy-in, both of which failed. "Given the severity of Endeavors plc's cashflow problem the most likely alternative to this deal was liquidation. Therefore we are pleased to have secured a deal to sell the business and assets of Endeavors plc that allows trading to continue, safeguarding 54 jobs, largely in the US, and offering the prospect of a return to secured creditors," Mr. Fleming said. Endeavors plc, or Tadpole Plc as it was until June 2008, has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1992. Its shares were suspended in July 2008 and are expected to be canceled on Aug. 11, 2008. Shareholders will not receive a dividend. 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. MJC HEATING: Appoints Liquidator from Mazars -------------------------------------------- Martin Dominic Pickard of Mazars LLP was appointed liquidator of MJC Heating & Plumbing Company Ltd. on July 29, 2008, for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. The company can be reached at: MJC Heating & Plumbing Company Ltd. c/o Mazars LLP Sovereign Court Witan Gate Milton Keynes MK9 2HP England RED SQUIRREL: Brings in Liquidators from Tenon Recovery ------------------------------------------------------- Matthew Colin Bowker and David Antony Willis of Tenon Recovery were appointed joint liquidators of Red Squirrel Trading Ltd. (t/a Mellow Moments) on July 24, 2008, for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. The company can be reached at: Red Squirrel Trading Ltd. c/o Tenon Recovery Unit 1 Calder Close Calder Park Wakefield WF4 3BA England TRANSFIXT LTD: Frank Wessely Leads Liquidation Procedure -------------------------------------------------------- Frank Wessely of Vantis Business Recovery Services were appointed liquidator of Transfixt Ltd. on July 23, 2008, for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. The company can be reached at: Transfixt Ltd. c/o Vantis Business Recovery Services 81 Station Road Marlow Buckinghamshire SL7 1NS England VISIOCORP PLC: Moody's Confirms 'Ca' Corporate Family Rating ------------------------------------------------------------ Moody's Investors Service confirmed the Ca Corporate Family Rating of Visiocorp plc. This concludes Moody's rating review initiated on December 19, 2007 following a complex financial restructuring earlier that year. The outlook is stable. The confirmation of the Ca CFR takes note of the financial restructuring process undergone in 2007 which resulted not only in a notable reduction of financial debt and cash interest payments but also increased financial transparency and visibility. In addition, Visiocorp should have the potential for material further cost savings, in particular by improving productivity in its Hungarian plant and by allocating production volumes more efficiently across its various facilities. Should these cost savings prove to more than offset current market pressures on margins and should financial flexibility be confirmed at a sustainable level, then Moody's would again consider a rating upgrade. At this stage, however, Visiocorp's capital structure must still be considered weak given a high financial leverage in 2007 of 6.1x pro forma Debt/EBITDA based on Moody's definitions, continued pressure on earnings, and its still limited financial flexibility. The rating takes also into account the currently challenging environment in the automotive supply sector, especially with view to -- declining demand for new cars, and particularly for SUV with premium mirrors in North America and Western Europe, -- the for European suppliers unfavorably weak US-Dollar, and -- increased input costs. The rating also considers that management is countering these challenges with a major restructuring program which so has far resulted in a successful reduction of SG&A and overhead costs. At the same time, however, certain targeted efficiency improvements have not yet been achieved; in particular restructuring efforts at plants in Germany and Hungary which started in 2007 have not yet yielded the initially planned efficiency improvements. As a result of these developments, management reduced its normalized EBITDA target for 2008 from EUR70 million to EUR60.5 million in May 2008 which pressures compliance with financial covenants under the company's lending arrangements. Hence, Moody's expects that Visiocorp will continue to rely on the ongoing support of its key stakeholders, in particular its lenders. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Visiocorp is a leading privately owned Tier 1 automotive supplier of interior and exterior mirrors. For fiscal 2008, the company targets revenues of approximately EUR720 million. * Fitch: European Automotive Industry Remains Under Pressure ------------------------------------------------------------ Fitch Ratings expects the credit quality of European leveraged automotive credit to deteriorate further, as reflected in the relatively high proportion of Long-term IDRs on Negative Outlook. "While the auto industry as a whole remains under pressure, the high indebtedness of leveraged auto credits marks an additional risk factor, squeezing their financial flexibility in the wake of deteriorating trading conditions," says Markus Leitner, Director in Fitch's European Industrials team. "As a result, several players are facing or have recently escaped financial distress involving comprehensive restructuring measures with an uncertain outcome," adds Matthias Volkmer, Director in Fitch's European Leveraged Finance team. In a special report published, Fitch says automotive companies in many LBO portfolios have been hit hard over the last two years by challenging industry conditions and the limited headroom under their LBO-imposed debt structures. However, unlike various North American auto suppliers that have filed for court protection, leveraged borrowers in most European jurisdictions prefer private "out-of-court" restructurings. In recent years this has resulted in several comprehensive operating and financial restructurings, including additional equity contributions or even "debt-for-equity" swaps conceded by shareholders as part of an agreement with lenders. The low-growth environment in mature developed markets, unabated price pressure from original equipment manufacturers, rising raw material costs and energy prices, a strong euro, and greater competition from low-cost countries have all contributed to the erosion in profitability of weaker-positioned players. 'B-*' or below-rated automotive credits were among the few sectors to miss original business plan targets and even underperform against Fitch's more conservative assumptions, making it the worst-performing sector in the agency's portfolio. The high-risk profiles of auto credits within the European leveraged arena as of end-June 2008 translate into the high share of 55% of credits in this sector that are shadow rated 'B- *' and below. This is compared with 48% for Fitch's total shadow-rated universe. Compared to higher rated auto peers this rating subset has substantially lower margins alongside higher capex-adjusted leverage multiples, both of which are primary areas of concern. As of end-June 2008 over 27% of Fitch's shadow-rated leveraged auto credits were on Negative Outlook or Rating Watch Negative, compared with only 19% for Fitch's entire shadow-rated universe, indicating that the sector remains under pressure. As such, companies' access to unrestricted cash and committed revolving and restructuring facilities will be key in supporting any turnaround plans and business re-organizations. For distressed borrowers within the sector, private equity sponsors are likely to implement measured equity cures more frequently. However, this will only be for entities which have exhausted their liquidity resources but which have long-term viable business profiles, thereby underpinning enterprise value and avoiding uncertain and more costly debt-restructuring alternatives. * Moody's Examines European Auto Makers' 2007 Financial Results --------------------------------------------------------------- In the fifth of six planned Special Comments outlining accounting observations on the 2007 results of companies in key sectors, Moody's Investors Service examines the accounting disclosures of Europe's rated automotive manufacturers and comments on constrained comparability between the financial statements. The eight companies featured in this report are -- Bayerische Motoren Werke AG ('BMW', rated A1/P-1/negative), -- Daimler AG (A3/P-2/positive), -- Fiat S.p.A. (Baa3/stable), -- MAN AG (A3/P-2/stable), -- Peugeot S.A. (Baa1/P-2/negative), -- Renault S.A. (Baa1/P-2/negative), -- Volkswagen AG ('VW', A3/P-2/positive), and -- AB Volvo (A3/P-2/stable). The report -- entitled "Moody's Accounting Observations on the 2007 Results of Europe's Automotive Manufacturers" -- points out how the differences in preparation and presentation can reduce comparability between the issuers, particularly as regards (i) differences in the presentation of intersegment transactions that are eliminated in arriving at the consolidated results; and (ii) differences in the allocation of transactions to the automotive and financial services operations. Moody's also provides a summary of the effects of first-time transition to IFRS (by Daimler, the last of Europe's automotive manufacturers to adopt this method of financial reporting) and the effects on the key credit metrics. "Financial analysis of automotive manufacturers is based on manufacturing-company stand-alone financial statements, excluding the separately rated captive financial services operations (which play an important strategic role in supporting manufacturers' wholesale distribution and retail sales operations)", says Philip Robinson, a Moody's Vice President- Senior Accounting Analyst, and author of the report. However, the rating agency observes that there are no requirements in IFRS for the presentation of these stand-alone financial statements; therefore the separate reporting of these operations is provided by the issuers as additional unaudited non-GAAP information, and as such, there is no guidance for its preparation -- in practice, the issuers provide limited disclosure as to the methods they use -- resulting in scope for reduced comparability between the issuers. "In addition, the information provided for the automotive operations that is presented tends to be limited -- generally only the primary statements are given (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement), with the notes to the financial statements providing detail for the consolidated numbers only," adds Mr Robinson. Although many of the differences noted in the report cannot be adjusted for on the basis of the disclosures provided, Moody's factors its understanding of these differences into its analysis. Additionally, comparability between the issuers is improved as a result of the application of Moody's Global Standard Adjustments (available via Moody's Financial MetricsTM). Special Comments in this series that have already been published have covered Europe's electricity producers, integrated oil and gas producers, telecoms operators, and paper and forest products manufacturers. The final Special Comment in the series will be European retailers. * BOND PRICING: For the Week Aug. 4 to Aug. 8, 2008 --------------------------------------------------- Issuer Coupon Maturity Currency Price ------ ------ -------- -------- ----- AUSTRIA ------- HTM Sport Freize 8.500 02/01/14 EUR 60.92 Kommunal Kredit Austria AG 0.500 03/15/19 CAD 65.56 0.250 10/14/26 CAD 40.53 Immofinanz Immobilien 2.750 01/20/14 EUR 68.11 Republic of Austria 1.000 06/22/22 EUR 70.22 BELGIUM Fortis Bank 8.750 12/07/10 EUR 55.64 FINLAND ------- M-Real Serla 7.250 04/01/13 EUR 66.89 Muni Finance PLC 0.500 04/26/13 AUD 73.96 1.000 10/30/17 AUD 61.91 1.000 02/27/18 AUD 61.03 1.000 11/21/16 NZD 62.72 0.250 06/28/40 CAD 21.33 0.500 09/24/20 CAD 62.09 FRANCE ------ Alcatel S.A. 4.750 01/01/11 EUR 14.84 Altran Technologies S.A. 3.750 01/01/09 EUR 12.62 Calyon 6.000 06/18/47 EUR 44.99 CAP Gemini S.A. 2.500 01/01/10 EUR 53.47 1.000 01/01/12 EUR 47.10 Club Mediterranee S.A. 3.000 11/01/08 EUR 67.08 4.380 11/01/10 EUR 46.01 Essilor Intl 1.500 07/02/10 EUR 66.24 Europcar Groupe 8.130 05/15/14 EUR 65.78 8.130 05/15/14 EUR 64.92 FCC Rome Alliance Funding 2.260 01/08/21 EUR 70.51 Groupe Vial 2.500 01/01/14 EUR 30.46 Havas S.A. 4.000 01/01/09 EUR 10.83 Ingenico 2.750 01/01/12 EUR 16.28 Maurel & Prom 3.500 01/01/10 EUR 21.25 Publicis Group 1.000 01/18/18 EUR 41.59 Rhodia S.A. 0.500 01/01/14 EUR 34.86 Scor S.A. 4.125 01/01/10 EUR 2.08 Soc Air France 2.750 04/01/20 EUR 22.30 St Gobain 5.630 11/15/24 GBP 78.67 Tereos Europe 6.380 04/15/14 EUR 70.88 Theolia S.A. 2.000 01/01/14 EUR 20.35 Valeo 2.380 01/01/11 EUR 42.27 Wavecom S.A. 1.750 01/01/14 EUR 17.97 Wendel Invest S.A. 2.000 06/19/09 EUR 44.10 4.380 08/09/17 EUR 63.88 4.880 09/21/15 EUR 71.27 4.880 11/04/14 EUR 74.40 4.880 05/26/16 EUR 87.08 Zlomrex Int Fin 8.500 02/01/14 EUR 69.73 8.500 02/01/14 EUR 69.88 GERMANY ------- Callahan NRH 16.000 07/15/10 US$ 0.01 Deutsche Schifbk 4.200 01/23/09 EUR 99.59 IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG 4.500 07/09/13 EUR 72.94 KfW Bankengruppe 0.500 10/30/13 AUD 71.93 2.800 08/10/30 EUR 71.81 0.500 12/19/17 EUR 68.95 1.250 05/23/20 EUR 74.19 1.250 07/29/20 EUR 72.82 1.250 07/21/25 EUR 67.98 1.250 07/07/20 EUR 75.79 Landeskreditbank Baden- Wuerttemberg Foerderbk 0.500 05/10/27 CDN 44.47 Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank AG 1.000 03/29/17 NZD 61.35 GREECE ------ Fage Dairy Industries 7.500 01/15/15 EUR 60.08 ICELAND ------- Glitnir Banki HF 6.000 03/05/12 GBP 75.27 4.380 02/05/10 EUR 76.27 Kaupthing Bank 6.500 02/03/45 EUR 41.75 7.130 05/19/16 US$ 63.27 7.130 05/19/16 US$ 64.59 6.130 10/04/16 US$ 62.16 5.750 10/04/11 US$ 76.16 5.750 10/04/11 US$ 75.22 IRELAND ------- Banesto Finance Plc 6.120 11/07/37 EUR 6.12 Depfa ACS Bank 0.500 03/03/25 CDN 48.89 0.250 07/08/33 CDN 29.08 Irish Nationwide Building Society 5.500 01/10/18 GBP 67.54 Irish Perm Plc 2.500 02/15/35 EUR 50.03 Ono Finance II 8.000 05/16/14 EUR 66.15 ITALY ----- Alitalia SPA 7.500 07/22/10 EUR 64.71 IGD 2.500 06/28/12 EUR 74.52 Risanamento S.p.A. 1.000 05/10/14 EUR 37.73 Telecom Italia 5.250 03/17/55 EUR 71.85 LUXEMBOURG ---------- Beverage Pack 9.500 06/15/17 EUR 71.63 Global Yatirim Holding 9.250 07/31/12 US$ 74.41 Globus Capital Finance SA 8.500 03/05/12 US$ 74.14 IT Holding Fin 9.880 11/15/12 EUR 62.75 Kloeckner Fin. Intl 1.500 07/27/12 EUR 71.86 Kudelski Financial Services SCA 1.630 10/05/12 CHF 74.31 Lighthouse International 8.000 04/30/14 EUR 72.11 Nell AF S.A. 8.380 08/15/15 EUR 63.41 8.380 08/15/15 US$ 62.67 NETHERLANDS ----------- ABN Amo Bank B.V. 6.000 03/16/35 EUR 64.31 Air Berlin Finance B.V. 1.500 04/11/27 EUR 22.96 ALB Finance BV 9.250 09/25/13 US$ 73.11 7.880 02/01/12 EUR 71.77 BK Ned Gemeenten 0.500 06/27/18 CDN 67.05 0.500 02/24/25 CDN 48.93 BLT Finance BV 7.500 05/15/14 US$ 70.95 Elec De Car Fin 8.500 04/10/18 US$ 74.58 EM.TV Finance B.V. 5.250 05/08/13 EUR 3.68 GMAC Intl Finance BV 5.100 07/15/10 EUR 67.59 5.000 06/15/10 EUR 68.32 5.000 06/15/10 EUR 68.32 5.750 05/21/10 EUR 75.55 5.000 06/15/10 EUR 68.32 5.100 07/15/10 EUR 67.59 5.000 06/15/10 EUR 68.32 5.100 07/15/10 EUR 67.59 5.200 07/15/10 EUR 67.73 Hypo Real ES Finance 5.500 08/20/08 EUR 41.03 Indah Kiat Intl 11.880 06/15/02 US$ 53.00 IVG Finance B.V. 1.750 03/29/17 EUR 55.74 Kazkommerts Fin 8.500 06/13/17 US$ 72.99 8.630 07/27/16 US$ 75.24 Kazkommerts Intl 8.000 11/03/15 US$ 75.01 6.880 02/13/17 EUR 71.48 7.500 11/29/16 US$ 72.16 7.500 11/29/16 US$ 72.09 KBC Ifima NV 5.880 02/07/25 US$ 72.14 Lehman Bros TSY B.V. 2.000 03/18/15 EUR 67.83 4.170 02/16/17 EUR 66.94 6.000 02/15/35 EUR 52.00 2.000 03/16/35 EUR 40.89 7.000 05/17/35 EUR 42.75 7.250 10/05/35 EUR 38.10 6.000 11/02/35 EUR 40.51 Montell Finance B.V. 8.100 03/15/27 US$ 58.22 Natl Invester Bank 25.982 05/07/29 EUR 31.07 Ned Waterschapbk 6.000 06/01/35 EUR 61.43 6.500 08/15/35 EUR 54.50 6.000 06/30/45 EUR 57.09 NXP BV/NXP FUNDI 8.630 10/15/15 EUR 59.25 9.500 10/15/15 US$ 63.75 8.630 10/15/15 EUR 59.44 Portugal Tel Fin 4.500 06/16/25 EUR 75.90 Rabobank Groep N.V. 2.500 02/22/35 EUR 59.03 5.000 02/28/35 EUR 70.15 6.000 05/09/35 EUR 60.03 0.440 04/08/20 EUR 72.27 2.000 03/23/35 EUR 55.63 Tjiwi Kimia Finance BV 13.250 08/01/01 US$ 0.13 Turanalem Fin BV 8.250 01/22/37 US$ 74.17 NORWAY ------ Eksportfinans 13.000 02/25/09 US$ 69.25 Kommunalbanken A.S. 0.500 02/07/13 AUD 74.81 Norske Skogindustrier ASA 7.000 06/26/17 EUR 60.96 SWEDEN ------ AB Svensk Export 0.500 03/27/13 AUD 75.02 Stena AB 5.880 02/01/19 EUR 72.75 SWITZERLAND ----------- Cytos Biotechnology 2.880 02/20/12 CHF 69.45 Swiss RE 6.000 12/15/08 CHF 73.23 UBS AG Jersey 3.220 07/31/12 EUR 68.05 UNITED KINGDOM -------------- Anglian Water Finance Plc 2.400 04/20/35 GBP 52.39 Aspire Defence 4.670 03/31/40 GBP 65.84 4.670 03/31/40 GBP 64.69 Bank of Scotland 6.000 02/07/35 EUR 47.87 Bradford&Bin BLD 5.750 12/12/22 GBP 67.88 6.630 06/16/23 GBP 65.32 Brit Insurance 6.630 12/09/30 GBP 78.62 Britannia Building Society 5.880 03/28/33 GBP 72.04 5.750 12/02/24 GBP 74.41 Cattles Plc 7.130 07/05/17 GBP 75.90 F&C Asset Management plc 6.750 12/20/26 GBP 71.81 Grainer Plc 3.630 05/17/14 GBP 57.79 Greene King Finance PLC 5.110 03/15/34 GBP 73.76 Hammerson Plc 6.000 02/23/26 GBP 75.08 HBOS Plc 4.500 03/18/30 EUR 72.94 Ineos Group Holdings Plc 7.880 02/15/16 EUR 63.35 8.500 02/15/16 US$ 67.44 Jaztel Plc 5.000 04/29/10 EUR 74.44 Longstone Finance PLC 4.900 04/19/31 GBP 74.92 Louis No1 Plc 10.000 12/01/16 EUR 66.58 8.500 12/01/14 EUR 69.90 8.500 12/01/14 EUR 69.92 Marston's Issuer PLC 5.640 07/15/35 GBP 72.62 National Grid Gas Plc 1.750 10/17/36 GBP 43.17 1.770 03/30/37 GBP 43.17 Rexam Plc 6.750 06/29/67 EUR 75.10 Royal BK Scotland 9.500 04/04/25 US$ 63.92 0.250 03/27/14 US$ 74.81 Slough Estates plc 5.750 06/20/35 GBP 72.69 Taylor Woodrow 6.380 05/24/19 GBP 53.44 6.630 02/07/12 GBP 51.85 TXU Eastern Funding 6.450 05/15/05 US$ 0.01 Wessex Water Fin 1.370 07/31/57 GBP 19.61 ********* 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. Zora Jayda Zerrudo Sala, Pius Xerxes Tovilla, Joy Agravante, Julybien Atadero, Marie Therese Profetana and Peter A. Chapman, Editors. Copyright 2008. 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 * * *