/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/080915.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, September 15, 2008, Vol. 9, No. 183 Headlines A U S T R I A FRIERSS LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 GASTHOF SCHITTL: Claims Registration Period Ends September 26 INTERMONT LAGER-UND: Claims Registration Period Ends Sept. 24 KAMENSCHAK RESCH: Claims Registration Period Ends September 26 SIMPERL LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 B E L G I U M MYLAN INC: Moody's Lifts Senior Secured Bank Ratings to Ba3 B O S N I A & H E R Z E G O V I N A PCB BOSNIA: Fitch Affirms Individual Rating at 'D/E' F R A N C E ALCATEL-LUCENT SA: Extends Tender Offer for Motive Inc. to Oct. 6 G E R M A N Y AQUIS ZWEITE: Claims Registration Period Ends September 24 CAMPA SUED GMBH: Creditors' Meeting Slated for September 23 DUERR AG: Signs EUR440 Million Refinancing Deal E & V FACHKRANKENHAUSER: Claims Registration Ends Sept. 24 NAW BAU GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 PARABELL GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 PHILOSOPHY CLOTHES: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 POSTADO DEUTSCHLAND: Creditors' Meeting Slated for September 23 T & T WOLTERS: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 TAXENRUF-WITTIG GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends Sept. 23 VCM MEGA: Creditors' Meeting Slated for September 23 Z P F I GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 ZEITGEIST EVENT: Claims Registration Period Ends Sept. 23 I R E L A N D CARNEROS III: Fitch Slashes US$20MM Unfunded Notes Rating to BB+ OMEGA CAPITAL: Fitch Chips Rating on EUR10MM Cl. D-1E Notes to BB+ I T A L Y ALITALIA SPA: Rome and Milan Airports Reviewing Debt Protection INT'L RECTIFIER: Vishay Increases Offer to US$23 Per Share TISCALI SPA: Management&Capitali Converts EUR60 Million Bonds K A Z A K H S T A N AKTUBINSKY ZAVOD: Creditors Must File Claims by October 14 AMEX CJSC: Claims Deadline Slated for October 8 ASTANA STROY: Claims Filing Period Ends October 8 BAIKAL ENERGO: Creditors' Claims Due on October 1 INVESTITSIONNYE RESURSY: Claims Registration Ends October 8 KEN OJSC: Creditors Must File Claims by October 8 MUNAI SERVICE: Claims Deadline Slated for October 14 TRANS EXPO: Claims Filing Period Ends October 3 YRYS AVTO: Creditors' Claims Due on October 3 K Y R G Y Z S T A N CENTER GLOBAL: Creditors Must File Claims by October 1 R U S S I A REGION-STORY LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by October 2 SPITS LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by October 2 TNK-BP INT'L: Viktor Vekselberg Says IPO Not Before 2010 UDOMLYA LARGE-PANEL: Creditors Must File Claims by October 2 URAL-ENERGO-STORY: Creditors Must File Claims by October 2 VYUMPEL GROUP: Creditors Must File Claim by November 2 * Public Funds Use May Hurt Russian Sovereign Rating, S&P Reports * S&P: Investment Needs & Tight Liquidity to Hit Russian Food Biz S P A I N FORD MOTOR: To Lay Off 1,300 Workers in Spain GENERAL MOTORS: To Lay Off 600 Workers in Spain S W E D E N FORD MOTOR: To Cut 500 Jobs at Ontario Crossover Plant T U R K E Y VESTEL ELEKTRONIK: Fitch Cuts Issuer Default Ratings to 'B' U K R A I N E PCB UKRAINE: Fitch Affirms Individual Rating at 'D' U N I T E D K I N G D O M DAWNAY DAY: DDQ Re-brands After Management Buyout DEARLE & HENDERSON: Brings in Liquidators from Ernst & Young ELITE COLLEGE: Appoints Duncan R. Beat as Liquidator EUROMASTR 2007-IV: S&P Puts BB-Rated Class E Notes on Neg. Watch HERONSGATE LTD: Creditors Set to Vote on CVA on Sept. 18 HIGH CLASS: Calls in Liquidators from Moore Stephens ILVA: Fails to Pay Rent; Credit Suisse Loan to Default INNOVATE: Fails to Pay Rent; Credit Suisse Loan to Default NATURA BUILDING: Taps Liquidators from Tenon Recovery RSG REALISATIONS: Calls in Liquidators from KPMG SIMPLY WATER: Appoints Liquidators from Tenon Recovery VEDANTA RESOURCES: Unveils Corporate Structure Restructuring VEDANTA: To Increase Aluminium Smelting Capacity to 2.6 mtpa VEDANTA RESOURCES: Fitch Holds 'BB+' Rating on Sr. Unsec. Bonds XL LEISURE: Goes Into Administration; Grounds Flights * BOND PRICING: For the Week Sept. 8 to Sept. 12, 2008 ********* ============= A U S T R I A ============= FRIERSS LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Frierss have until Sept. 23, 2008, to file written proofs of claim to the court-appointed estate administrator: Dr. Raoul Wagner Rathausstrasse 15/4 1010 Vienna Austria Tel: 405 33 82 Fax: 408 84 67 E-mail: office@hopmeier.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2008, for the examination of claims at: The Trade Court of Vienna Room 1606 Vienna Austria Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Aug. 8, 2008, (Bankr. Case No. 4 S 117/08w). GASTHOF SCHITTL: Claims Registration Period Ends September 26 ------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by KG Gasthof Schittl have until Sept. 26, 2008, to file written proofs of claim to the court-appointed estate administrator: Friedrich Filzmaier Herrengasse 22/2 8010 Graz Austria Tel: 0316/820202 Fax: 0316/820202-20 E-mail: filzmaier@mekf.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 3:00 p.m. on Oct. 9, 2008, for the examination of claims at: The Graz Land Court by civil cases Room 230 Second Floor Hall L Graz Austria Headquartered in Burgau, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Aug. 8, 2008, (Bankr. Case No. 25 S 65/08h). INTERMONT LAGER-UND: Claims Registration Period Ends Sept. 24 ------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Intermont Lager-und Betriebsmontage have until Sept. 24, 2008, to file written proofs of claim to the court-appointed estate administrator: Dr. Michael Zsizsik Schinitzgasse 7 8605 Kapfenberg Austria Tel: 03862-22161 Fax: 03862-22161-10 E-mail: info@zsizsik.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 10:45 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2008, for the examination of claims at: The Land Court of Leoben Hall IV First Floor Leoben Austria Headquartered in Hafendorf, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Aug. 8, 2008 (Bankr. Case No. 17 S 40/08p). KAMENSCHAK RESCH: Claims Registration Period Ends September 26 -------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Kamenschak, Resch & Partner have until Sept. 26, 2008, to file written proofs of claim to the court- appointed estate administrator: Dr. Heimo Hofstatter Marburgerkai 47 8010 Graz Austria Tel: 0316/815454 Fax: 0316/815454-22 E-mail: advokat@hofstaetter.co.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 10:10 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2008, for the examination of claims at: The Graz Land Court by civil cases Room 222 Second Floor Graz Austria Headquartered in Graz, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Aug. 5, 2008, (Bankr. Case No. 26 S 93/08h). SIMPERL LLC: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors owed money by LLC Simperl have until Sept. 23, 2008, to file written proofs of claim to the court-appointed estate administrator: Dr. Johannes Jaksch Schiesstattring 35/13 3100 St. Poelten Austria Tel: 02742/74731 Fax: 02742/74731-22 E-mail: kanzlei@jsr.at Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the creditors' meeting at 12:10 p.m. on Oct. 14, 2008, for the examination of claims at: The Land Court of St. Poelten Room 216 Second Floor Old Building St. Poelten Austria Headquartered in Spital/Michelhausen, Austria, the Debtor declared bankruptcy on Aug. 18, 2008, (Bankr. Case No. 14 S 126/08g). ============= B E L G I U M ============= MYLAN INC: Moody's Lifts Senior Secured Bank Ratings to Ba3 ----------------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service affirmed the B1 Corporate Family Rating of Mylan Inc. At the same time, Moody's upgraded Mylan's senior secured bank ratings to Ba3 from B1. Following these rating actions, the rating outlook remains stable. Moody's last previous rating action on Mylan was a downgrade in the Corporate Family Rating to B1 from Ba1 on Nov. 15, 2007, concurrent with the assignment of B1 ratings to Mylan's new senior secured credit facilities. The rating actions follow two announcements by Mylan that Moody's believes have both negative and positive implications for Mylan's credit profile. First, Mylan announced that it does not expect to sell its Dey Pharmaceuticals division, following a review of strategic alternatives for Dey announced in February 2008. Moody's views this decision negatively, since proceeds from a sale of Dey could have been used for immediate debt repayment. Moody's believes that Mylan may be challenged in improving the long term prospects for Dey, which remains reliant on substantially growing the Perforomist franchise. Second, Mylan announced that it is issuing new senior unsecured convertible debt of approximately US$400 million and that net proceeds will be used to repay senior secured bank debt. A reduction in senior secured debt will improve the cushion under Mylan's financial covenants. In addition, the combination of lower secured debt and additional loss absorption provided by the new convertibles results in lower expected loss for the remaining secured creditors. Based on Moody's Loss Given Default methodology, this change in Mylan's capital structure results in an upgrade of the senior secured credit facilities to Ba3 (LGD3, 38%) from B1 (LGD3, 41%). Mylan's B1 ratings reflects: (1) its size and scale in the global generics business; (2) its position in European generics, which continues to exhibit good growth; and (3) our view that the rationale for Mylan's acquisitions of Merck Generics and API supplier Matrix Laboratories in 2007 remains strategically sound. The rating outlook is stable, reflecting Moody's expectations that Mylan will improve its CFO/Debt and FCF/Debt ratios to levels more reflective of Moody's "B" range for pharmaceutical companies, i.e. CFO/Debt of 5% to 15%, and FCF/Debt of 0% to 10%. Upward rating pressure is currently unlikely because Mylan's cash flow since the acquisition of Merck Generics have lagged Moody's initial expectations due to higher expenses necessary to achieve synergies, pricing pressure in Mylan's U.S. generics business, and significant working capital usage. Downward rating pressure could occur if Mylan encounters any further operating challenges that hinder cash flow improvement. Ratings affirmed: -- Corporate Family Rating at B1 -- Probability of Default Rating at B1 -- Speculative Grade Liquidity Rating at SGL-2 Ratings upgraded: -- Senior secured revolving credit facility of US$750 million due 2013 to Ba3 (LGD3, 38%) from B1 (LGD3, 43%) -- Senior secured U.S. Term Loan A due 2013 to Ba3 (LGD3, 38%) from B1 (LGD3, 43%) -- Senior secured U.S. Term Loan B due 2014 to Ba3 (LGD3, 38%) from B1 (LGD3, 43%) -- Senior secured Euro Term Loan B due 2014 to Ba3 (LGD3, 38%) from B1 (LGD3, 43%) Rating assigned: -- Senior secured Euro Term Loan A due 2013 at Ba3 (LGD3, 38%) A rating is being assigned to the Euro Term Loan A, a tranche of the Mylan's credit agreement that became effective with the amendment of Mylan's credit facilities on December 20, 2007 subsequent to Moody's initially assignment of ratings to the credit facility on November 15, 2007. Moody's does not rate Mylan's convertible notes of US$600 million due 2012, Mylan's mandatory convertible preferred stock due 2010, or the new convertible notes due 2015. Headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Mylan Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company. For the six-months ended June 30, 2008 Mylan reported total revenue of approximately US$2.3 billion. ======================================= B O S N I A & H E R Z E G O V I N A ======================================= PCB BOSNIA: Fitch Affirms Individual Rating at 'D/E' ---------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings of the ProCredit Banks in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Ukraine, as: * ProCredit Bank (Bosnia & Herzegovina): Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default 'B'; Long-term local currency IDR 'B+'; Short-term foreign and local currency IDR 'B'; Individual rating 'D/E' and Support rating '4'. The Outlooks on the Long-term IDRs are Stable. * ProCredit Bank (Ukraine): Long-term foreign currency IDR 'BB-'; Long-term local currency IDR 'BB'; Short-term foreign and local currency IDR 'B'; Individual rating 'D' and Support rating '3'. The Outlooks on the Long-term IDRs are Stable. The National Long-term rating is affirmed at 'AAA(ukr)' with Stable Outlook. The IDRs and Support Ratings reflect Fitch's view of the strong potential support available from the banks' owners, in particular ProCredit Holding AG (PCH; 'BBB-'/Outlook Stable), in case of need. PCH is the largest shareholder in both banks (PCBiH: 92% and PCU: 60%). However, the potential support and, hence, the ratings of PCU are constrained by the 'BB-' Country Ceiling of Ukraine. Any movement in the Country Ceiling for Ukraine would have implications for PCU's IDRs and Support ratings. The ratings of PCBiH reflect the country risk and the challenges of the operating environment. The Individual ratings reflect their small size in absolute terms, and challenging local operating environments. They also reflect the credit and operational risks associated with the banks' rapid growth, and their only-adequate capitalization. The one-off high impairment charges which impacted profitability at PCBiH highlight the operational risks that these banks are exposed to. In addition, profitability is only modest and in the case of PCU has been declining steadily. However, the Individual ratings also take into account the banks' growing customer funding bases, good asset quality to date and high degree of integration within the ProCredit group. Fitch also notes PCBiH's comfortable liquidity. However, PCU's liquidity is only moderate, and has been tightening. PCH was set up as an equity investment company in 1998 by Frankfurt-based Internationale Projekt Consult GmbH to invest in the global network of ProCredit banks. The group consists of 22 banks in central and eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa. At end-H108, the group's total assets were around EUR4.5 billion. PCH is responsible for group administration, strategy, risk management controls and supervision. =========== F R A N C E =========== ALCATEL-LUCENT SA: Extends Tender Offer for Motive Inc. to Oct. 6 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Alcatel-Lucent S.A.'s wholly owned subsidiary, Lucent Technologies Inc., has extended its previously announced tender offer for all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Motive, Inc. until 5:00 p.m., New York City time, Monday, October 6, 2008. The tender offer was previously set to expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of Wednesday, September 10, 2008. As of 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of Wednesday, September 10, 2008, approximately 28.6 million shares had been tendered into the tender offer and not withdrawn. About Alcatel-Lucent Headquartered in Paris, France, Alcatel-Lucent S.A. -- http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/-- provides solutions that enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end users. Alcatel-Lucent maintains operations in 130 countries, including, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Ireland, Canada, United States, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, Venezuela, Indonesia, Australia, Brunei and Cambodia. * * * As appeared in the TCR-Europe on Aug. 4, 2008, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has revised to negative from stable its outlook on France-based telecommunications equipment supplier Alcatel Lucent. At the same time, the 'BB-/B' long- and short-term corporate credit ratings on Alcatel Lucent, the 'BB-/B-1' long and short-term corporate credit ratings on subsidiary Lucent Technologies Inc., and all issue ratings on both companies were affirmed. Alcatel-Lucent continues to carry Ba3 Corporate Family and Senior Debt ratings, Not-Prime for short term debt, as well as B2 ratings for subordinated debt with negative outlook from Moody's Investors Service. The ratings were affirmed in April 2008. Alcatel-Lucent's Long-Term Corporate Credit rating and Senior Unsecured Debt still carry Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' BB rating. Its Short-Term Corporate Credit rating stands at B. ============= G E R M A N Y ============= AQUIS ZWEITE: Claims Registration Period Ends September 24 ---------------------------------------------------------- The court-appointed insolvency manager for AQUIS Zweite Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Britzer Strasse KG, Christian K�hler-Ma will present his first report on the Company's insolvency proceedings at a creditors' meeting at 11:35 a.m. on Sept. 24, 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 11:40 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2009, at the same venue. Creditors have until Oct. 31, 2008, to register their claims with the court-appointed insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Christian Koehler-Ma Kurfuerstendamm 26 a 10719 Berlin Germany The District Court of Charlottenburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against AQUIS Zweite Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Britzer Strasse KG on Aug. 5, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: AQUIS Zweite Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Britzer Strasse KG Culemeyerstrasse 2 12277 Berlin Germany CAMPA SUED GMBH: Creditors' Meeting Slated for September 23 ----------------------------------------------------------- The court-appointed insolvency manager for Campa Sued GmbH & Co. KG, Bruno Fraas will present his first report on the Company's insolvency proceedings at a creditors' meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2008. The meeting of creditors and other interested parties will be held at: The District Court of Wuerzburg Meeting Hall 2 Second Stock Virchowstr. 14 Wuerzburg Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report at 9:00 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2008, at the same venue. Creditors have until Sept. 30, 2008, to register their claims with the court-appointed insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Bruno Fraas Heinestr. 7b 97070 Wuerzburg Germany Tel: 0931/359800 The District Court of Wuerzburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against Campa Sued GmbH & Co. KG on Aug. 14, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Campa Sued GmbH & Co. KG Europaring 23 94315 Straubing Germany DUERR AG: Signs EUR440 Million Refinancing Deal ----------------------------------------------- Duerr AG concluded an agreement with a banking consortium for a new syndicated loan in the amount of EUR440 million. The lead banks are Baden-Wuerttembergische Bank, Commerzbank, HypoVereinsbank and Deutsche Bank; the syndicate comprises a total of seven banks. At the same time Duerr announces the redemption of a tranche of EUR100 million of its high-yield bond. The syndicated multi-currency credit facility concluded for a term of three years comprises a revolving credit line of EUR200 million and a guarantee facility of EUR240 million. This provides Duerr with much greater financing scope than before. The syndicated credit facility it replaces, which would have expired in mid-2009, consisted of a credit line of EUR100 million and a guarantee facility of EUR171 million. At the mid-year mark 2008 Duerr also had EUR116 million of cash and cash equivalents at its disposal; in July the company booked a further EUR44 million of cash proceeds from a capital increase. The credit line can be drawn upon flexibly over the term of the loan in order to meet financing requirements during the year. The charges for the syndicated loan are spread over the three-year term. Duerr can draw on the guarantee facility of EUR240 million to provide surety bonds for prepayments received from customers and other obligations. As a next step, Duerr will be redeeming the high-yield bond issued in 2004 as announced. The first tranche of EUR100 million will be redeemed at mid-October 2008 at a price of 105.250%. It is planned to redeem the other half in the third quarter of 2009 at a price of 102.625%. As a result of the bond redemption Duerr expects a significant reduction in interest expense already in 2009. "We are pleased that the banks are supporting Duerr's strategic orientation despite the financial market crisis," CFO Ralph Heuwing said. Together with our cash resources, the syndicated loan comfortably covers our financing requirements, especially as we also expect a good cash flow from operating activities again for 2008. The package of measures comprising the capital increase placed in June, the syndicated loan and the bond redemption strengthens our equity ratio, makes us more flexible and significantly improves our interest result." About Duerr Headquartered in Stuttgard, Germany, The Duerr Group -- http://www.durr.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. E & V FACHKRANKENHAUSER: Claims Registration Ends Sept. 24 ---------------------------------------------------------- The court-appointed insolvency manager for E & V Fachkrankenhauser GmbH, Dr. Christoph Schulte-Kaubruegger will present his first report on the Company's insolvency proceedings at a creditors' meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 24, 2008. The meeting of creditors and other interested parties will be held at: The District Court of Dortmund Meeting Hall 3.201 Second Floor Gerichtsplatz 1 44135 Dortmund Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report at 2:00 p.m. on Oct. 29, 2008 at the same venue. Creditors have until Oct. 1, 2008, to register their claims with the court-appointed insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Dr. Christoph Schulte-Kaubruegger Koenigswall 21 44137 Dortmund Germany The District Court of Dortmund opened bankruptcy proceedings against E & V Fachkrankenhauser GmbH on Aug. 1, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: E & V Fachkrankenhauser GmbH Markische Str. 100 44141 Dortmund Germany Attn: Ewald Gutberlet, Manager Knappenberg 86 44139 Dortmund Germany NAW BAU GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 ---------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of NAW Bau GmbH have until Sept. 23, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Marc Odebrecht. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Oct. 23, 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 Tostedt Meeting Hall I Linden 23 21255 Tostedt Germany The Court will also verify the claims set out in the insolvency manager's report during this meeting, while creditors may constitute a creditors' committee or opt to appoint a new insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Marc Odebrecht Sechslingpforte 2 22087 Hamburg Germany Tel: 040/22 66 77 Fax: 040/22 66 7888 The District Court of Tostedt opened bankruptcy proceedings against NAW Bau GmbH on July 30, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: NAW Bau GmbH Eibenweg 52 21614 Buxtehude Germany PARABELL GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 ----------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of ParaBell GmbH have until Sept. 23, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Susanne Mueller. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:40 a.m. on Oct. 23, 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 Neuruppin Hall 325 Karl-Marx-Strasse 18a 16816 Neuruppin 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: Susanne Mueller Vietmannsdorfer Strasse 23 17268 Templin Germany The District Court of Neuruppin opened bankruptcy proceedings against ParaBell GmbH on Aug. 6, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: ParaBell GmbH Waldstrasse 1 16798 Fuerstenberg/Havel Germany PHILOSOPHY CLOTHES: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Philosophy Clothes & Lifestyle GmbH have until Sept. 23, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Andreas Fischer. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Nov. 4, 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 Baden-Baden Hall 009a Ground Floor Gutenbergstr. 17 76532 Baden-Baden 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: Andreas Fischer Erbprinzenstr. 27 76133 Karlsruhe Germany The District Court of Baden-Baden opened bankruptcy proceedings against Philosophy Clothes & Lifestyle GmbH on Aug. 1, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Philosophy Clothes & Lifestyle GmbH Petra Sattele Martin-Luther-Str. 9 77815 Buehl Germany POSTADO DEUTSCHLAND: Creditors' Meeting Slated for September 23 --------------------------------------------------------------- The court-appointed insolvency manager for Postado Deutschland GmbH, Hartwig Albers will present his first report on the Company's insolvency proceedings at a creditors' meeting at 9:10 a.m. on Sept. 23, 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 9:35 a.m. on Dec. 9, 2008, at the same venue. Creditors have until Oct. 9, 2008, to register their claims with the court-appointed insolvency manager. The insolvency manager can be reached at: Hartwig Albers Luetzowstr. 100 10785 Berlin Germany The District Court of Charlottenburg opened bankruptcy proceedings against Postado Deutschland GmbH on Aug. 1, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Postado Deutschland GmbH Schwedenstr. 9 13359 Berlin Germany T & T WOLTERS: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 ----------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of T & T Wolters GmbH have until Sept. 23, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Veit Schwierholz. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:15 a.m. on Oct. 23, 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 Tostedt Meeting Hall 1 Room CE.02 Linden 23 21255 Tostedt 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: Veit Schwierholz Heuberg 1 20354 Hamburg Germany Tel: 040/350 169-0 Fax: 040/350 169-15 The District Court of Tostedt opened bankruptcy proceedings against T & T Wolters GmbH on Aug. 1, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: T & T Wolters GmbH Gildestr. 3 21244 Buchholz Germany Attn: Steffan Stapelfeldt, Manager Bendestorfer Str. 30 21244 Buchholz Germany TAXENRUF-WITTIG GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends Sept. 23 -------------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of "TAXENRUF-WITTIG GmbH" have until Sept. 23, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Veit Schwierholz. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Oct. 23, 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 Tostedt Meeting Hall I Room CE.02 Linden 23 21255 Tostedt 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: Veit Schwierholz Heuberg 1 20354 Hamburg Germany Tel: 040/350 169-0 Fax: 040/350 169-15 The District Court of Tostedt opened bankruptcy proceedings against "TAXENRUF-WITTIG GmbH" on Aug. 1, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: "TAXENRUF-WITTIG GmbH" Gildestr. 3 21244 Buchholz Germany VCM MEGA: Creditors' Meeting Slated for September 23 ---------------------------------------------------- The court-appointed insolvency manager for VCM Mega Discount GmbH, Joachim Voigt-Salus will present his first report on the Company's insolvency proceedings at a creditors' meeting at 9:05 a.m. on Sept. 23, 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 9:40 a.m. on Jan. 6, 2009, at the same venue. Creditors have until Nov. 11, 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 VCM Mega Discount GmbH on Aug. 11, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: VCM Mega Discount GmbH Bismarckstrasse 62 10627 Berlin Germany Z P F I GMBH: Claims Registration Period Ends September 23 ---------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of Z P F I GmbH have until Sept. 23, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Tim Stoll. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Oct. 23, 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 Aurich Hall 115 Schlossplatz 2 26603 Aurich 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: Tim Stoll Heiligengeiststrasse 29 26121 Oldenburg Germany Tel: 0441/21891-0 Fax: 0441/21891-39 The District Court of Aurich opened bankruptcy proceedings against Z P F I GmbH on July 25, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: Z P F I GmbH Erfurter Strasse 18 26427 Esens Germany Attn: Uwe Rahmann, Manager Kurze Strasse 1 26629 Grossefehn Germany ZEITGEIST EVENT: Claims Registration Period Ends Sept. 23 --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of ZEITGEIST Event Consulting GmbH have until Sept. 23, 2008, to register their claims with court-appointed insolvency manager Dr. Stefanie Kuche. Creditors and other interested parties are encouraged to attend the meeting at 2:15 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2008, at which time the insolvency manager will present her 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. Stefanie Kuche Arthur-Menge-Ufer 5 30169 Hannover Germany Tel: 0511 626287-0 Fax: 0511 626287-10 The District Court of Hannover opened bankruptcy proceedings against ZEITGEIST Event Consulting GmbH on July 31, 2008. Consequently, all pending proceedings against the company have been automatically stayed. The Debtor can be reached at: ZEITGEIST Event Consulting GmbH Attn: Marcel Schoell, Manager Lister Strasse 17 A 30163 Hannover Germany ============= I R E L A N D ============= CARNEROS III: Fitch Slashes US$20MM Unfunded Notes Rating to BB+ ---------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has downgraded Carneros III Plc Series A, B, C, E and unfunded notes and removed them from Rating Watch Negative. The rating action reflects Fitch's view on the credit risk of the rated notes following the release of its new Corporate CDO rating criteria on April 30, 2008. -- EUR146 million Series A notes: downgraded to 'BBB-' from 'AAA'; removed from RWN -- JPY300 million Series A notes: downgraded to 'BBB-' from 'AAA'; removed from RWN -- EUR5.5 million Series B notes: downgraded to 'BB+' from 'AA'; removed from RWN -- JPY2,100 million Series C notes: downgraded to 'BB+' from 'AA-'; removed from RWN -- EUR25 million Series E notes: downgraded to 'BBB-' from 'AAA'; removed from RWN -- US$20 million unfunded notes: downgraded to 'BB+' from 'AA'; removed from RWN. In the rating watch review in May 2008, Fitch had stated that the all of the above series of notes would be downgraded to the 'BBB' category. However, further credit deterioration in the portfolio has occurred since then, causing Fitch's ratings to drop further than expected. Key drivers of this transaction's credit risk include an increase in portfolio credit risk, with 10 names in the portfolio rated below investment grade, and one asset rated 'CCC+', compared with five and zero respectively, at the time of the last rating action in February 2007. There is also an increase in portfolio migration risk, with 5.4% of the portfolio on RWN and 19.9% on Negative Outlook. In addition, Fitch notes the high industry concentration of 43.47% in the banking and finance sector. Credit events on both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to be called. Given Fitch's view of concentration and the current credit quality of the portfolio, the credit enhancement levels are not sufficient to justify the previous rating of these notes. At closing, Carneros III, a special purpose vehicle incorporated under the laws of Ireland, entered into a credit default swap with Deutsche Bank AG (rated 'AA-'/'F1+'/Outlook Stable), under which it provides notional protection on a reference portfolio of corporate reference entities. The portfolio is managed by Barclays Global Investors N.A., rated CDO Asset Manager 'CAM2'. Fitch released its updated criteria on April 30, 2008 for Corporate CDOs and, at that time, noted it would be reviewing its ratings accordingly to establish consistency for existing and new transactions. As part of this review, Fitch makes standard adjustments for any names on RWN or Negative Outlook, reducing such ratings for default analysis purposes by two notches and one notch, respectively. Fitch has previously noted that its review will be focused first on ratings most exposed to risks it has highlighted in its updated criteria. As such, the transaction was placed on RWN on 22 May 2008. As previously indicated, resolution of the Rating Watch status depends on any plans managers/arrangers may choose to modify either the structure or the portfolio. Although substitutions have been made to the portfolio, the changes made were not significant enough to offset the further portfolio migration. OMEGA CAPITAL: Fitch Chips Rating on EUR10MM Cl. D-1E Notes to BB+ ------------------------------------------------------------------ Fitch Ratings has downgraded Omega Capital Investment Plc's Waypoint CDO Series 43 secured floating- and fixed-rate notes with a legal final and scheduled maturity of June 2016 and June 2015, respectively, and removed them from Rating Watch Negative. The rating actions reflect Fitch's view on the credit risk of the rated notes following the release of its new Corporate CDO rating criteria on April 30, 2008. -- EUR46 million Class A-1E secured floating-rate notes (XS0290721595): downgraded to 'BBB+' from 'AAA'; removed from RWN; -- US$10 million Class A-1U secured floating-rate notes (XS0290726123): downgraded to 'BBB+' from 'AAA'; removed from RWN; -- JPY1 billion Class A-1J secured floating-rate notes (XS0290722486): downgraded to 'BBB+' from 'AAA'; removed from RWN; -- EUR100 million Class B-1E secured floating-rate notes (XS0290723377): downgraded to 'BBB' from 'AA'; removed from RWN; -- US$30 million Class B-1U secured floating-rate notes (XS0290726636): downgraded to 'BBB' from 'AA'; removed from RWN; -- JPY3.6 billion Class B-1J secured floating-rate notes (XS0291448776): downgraded to 'BBB' from 'AA'; removed from RWN; -- JPY300 million Class B-2J secured fixed-rate notes (XS0290726552): downgraded to 'BBB' from 'AA'; removed from RWN; -- EUR31 million Class C-1E secured floating-rate notes (XS0290724185): downgraded to 'BBB-' from 'A'; removed from RWN -- US$15 million Class C-1U secured floating-rate notes (XS0290726800): downgraded to 'BBB-' from 'A'; removed from RWN -- EUR10 million Class D-1E secured floating-rate notes (XS0291233145): downgraded to 'BB+' from 'BBB'; removed from RWN -- US$10 million Class D-1U secured floating-rate notes (XS0291239266): downgraded to 'BB+' from 'BBB'; removed from RWN Since Fitch placed the notes on RWN on June 3, 2008, 13 substitutions have been made and there was no adjustment to the subordination levels of each note. The portfolio's weighted average rating has remained broadly unchanged at 'BBB+' although there has been some negative migration in the portfolio with the percentage of the portfolio rated sub-investment grade increasing to 6.5% from 3.6% at the time of placing the notes on RWN. Other key-drivers of this transaction's credit risk include portfolio migration risk with 6.5% of the portfolio on RWN and 15.2% on Negative Outlook. Fitch also notes the industry concentration of 34.8% in the banking & finance sector and geographical concentration of 45% in the United States. Credit events on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are also expected to be called. Given Fitch's view of concentration and the current credit quality of the portfolio, the credit enhancement levels of 4.82% for the Class A notes, 4.32% for the Class B notes, 3.92% for the Class C notes and 3.21% for the Class D notes are not sufficient to justify the 'AAA' rating of the Class A notes, 'AA' rating of the Class B notes, 'A' rating of the Class C notes and 'BBB' rating of the Class D notes, respectively. The transaction represents a partially funded synthetic securitization of credit default swaps. Omega entered into a series of CDS agreements, each referencing a diversified portfolio comprising 136 investment grade, one non-investment grade and three sovereign assets at closing. Omega issued the notes listed above to fund its obligations under each CDS and used the notes proceeds to acquire eligible collateral securities under a series of repurchase agreements to collateralize its obligations under the notes. The issuer entered into a series of currency swaps to hedge its payment obligations in respect of non-euro-denominated notes. The transaction is managed by Solent Capital (Guernsey) Limited. Fitch released its updated criteria on April 30, 2008 for Corporate CDOs and, at that time, noted it would be reviewing its ratings accordingly to establish consistency for existing and new transactions. As part of this review, Fitch makes standard adjustments for any names on RWN or Outlook Negative, reducing such ratings for default analysis purposes by two notches and one notch, respectively. Fitch has noted its review will be focused first on ratings most exposed to risks it has highlighted in its updated criteria. As such, the transaction was placed on RWN on June 3, 2008 and, as previously indicated, resolution of the Rating Watch Status depends on any plans managers or arrangers may choose to modify either the structure or the portfolio. In this case, Fitch used the latest portfolio confirmed by the portfolio manager, as the basis for its rating action. ========= I T A L Y ========= ALITALIA SPA: Rome and Milan Airports Reviewing Debt Protection --------------------------------------------------------------- Aeroporti di Roma and Aeroporti di Milano are reviewing a possible joint strategy to protect debts owed by Alitalia S.p.A., Reuters reports. Alitalia filed for commencement of extraordinary administration procedure at the Tribunal of Rome, pursuant to Law no. 39 dated Feb. 18, 2004, modified by Decree no. 134 dated Aug. 28 2008. Alitalia's board of directors has declared the company insolvent. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi appointed Augusto Fantozzi as extraordinary commissioner for Alitalia. Mr. Fantozzi has warned that the national carrier may only have around EUR30 million to EUR50 million in cash-on-hand at Sept. 30, 2008, from EUR195 million to EUR200 million as of Aug. 31, 2008. About Alitalia Based in Rome, Alitalia S.p.A. -- http://www.alitalia.it/-- provides air travel services for passengers and air transport of cargo on national, international and inter-continental routes, including United States, Canada, Japan and Argentina. The Italian government owns 49.9% of Alitalia. Despite a EUR1.4 billion state-backed restructuring in 1997, Alitalia posted net losses of EUR256 million and EUR907 million in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Alitalia posted EUR93 million in net profits in 2002 after a EUR1.4 billion capital injection. The carrier booked annual net losses of EUR520 million in 2003, EUR813 million in 2004, EUR168 million in 2005, EUR625.6 million in 2006, and EUR494.64 million in 2007. Alitalia S.p.A. declared insolvency on Aug. 29, 2008, and filed for commencement of extraordinary administration procedure at the Tribunal of Rome. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi appointed Augusto Fantozzi as extraordinary commissioner. INT'L RECTIFIER: Vishay Increases Offer to US$23 Per Share ---------------------------------------------------------- Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. has increased the price of its all-cash proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of International Rectifier Corporation common stock to US$23.00 per share. The increased proposal represents a premium of 22% to International Rectifier's closing stock price on Aug. 14, 2008, the last trading day prior to public disclosure of Vishay's original acquisition proposal, and a 30% premium over International Rectifier's average closing price for the 30 trading days preceding that announcement. The transaction has a value of approximately US$1.7 billion in the aggregate. Vishay intends to commence shortly a tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of International Rectifier common stock for US$23.00 per share in cash. "We firmly believe there are significant and compelling benefits to a combination of Vishay and International Rectifier. We are committed to bringing our two companies together to create a global leader in the manufacturing of power integrated circuits, discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components," said Dr. Felix Zandman, Vishay's Founder and Executive Chairman of the Board. "Our increased all-cash proposal provides International Rectifier's stockholders with an opportunity to realize significant premium value for their investment in International Rectifier. Furthermore, we believe that a combined Vishay- International Rectifier would provide customers a broader and more fully integrated product and technology portfolio that will enable us to better address their needs," Dr. Zandman continued. "From the outset, it has been our strong preference to work together with International Rectifier and its Board of Directors to negotiate a mutually beneficial transaction for our respective stockholders, employees, customers, partners and other stakeholders," said Dr. Gerald Paul, Vishay's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Despite our best efforts, International Rectifier has flatly refused to discuss a business combination with us and to explore the benefits of such a combination. Their Board has set a very tight timeframe for the Company's stockholders to have any say over the matters to be considered at a stockholders meeting which is being delayed by almost eleven months. As a result, we have been left with no alternative but to present our increased proposal directly to International Rectifier's stockholders. We are confident that the stockholders, deciding for themselves, will find our increased all-cash proposal to be compelling," Mr. Paul related. Vishay has provided notice in accordance with International Rectifier's bylaws of Vishay's intention to nominate three independent candidates for election to the International Rectifier Board of Directors at the 2007 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. International Rectifier has delayed this Annual Meeting since 2007 and it is now scheduled to be held on Oct. 10, 2008. International Rectifier stockholders of record as of Sept. 19, 2008 are entitled to vote at the 2007 Annual Meeting. Vishay intends to file in the near future with the Securities and Exchange Commission proxy solicitation materials in connection with International Rectifier's delayed 2007 Annual Meeting. Vishay has notified International Rectifier that it intends to nominate the following candidates for election as International Rectifier's three Class I directors: -- Ronald M. Ruzic: Prior to retiring in 2003, Mr. Ruzic was Executive Vice President of BorgWarner Inc. since 1992 and Group President BorgWarner Automotive Inc. since 1989. He also held positions with BorgWarner as President and General Manager of Morse TEC Inc., Vice President -- Operations of Morse Automotive, Vice President -- International of Morse Automotive, and various other positions with entities within the BorgWarner family of companies. After joining BorgWarner in 1968 as a senior manufacturing engineer for its subsidiary Morse Chain, Mr. Ruzic progressed through engineering and management positions and managed various BorgWarner operations in Italy, Mexico, Germany and the United States. -- William T. Vinson: Mr. Vinson is currently a Director and the Chairman of Siemens Government Services, Inc., a company that provides products and services to the United States government to improve national security. He is also a Director and the Chairman of SAP Government Support and Services, Inc., a company that supplies information technology products, services and maintenance products. He serves on the Government Security, Audit and Compensation committees of each of these companies. Prior to his retirement in 1998, Mr. Vinson served as Vice President and Chief Counsel of Lockheed Martin Corporation, a major defense contractor and advanced technology company. From 1992 to 1995, he served as Vice President and General Counsel of Lockheed Corporation and from 1990 to 1992, he was Lockheed's Vice President-Secretary and Assistant General Counsel. -- Yoram Wind: Prof. Wind is the Lauder Professor, Professor of Marketing and Director of SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management at The Wharton School, the business school of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the founding academic director of The Wharton Fellows Program, an executive education program, and was the founding editor of Wharton School Publishing. Prof. Wind's research and teaching areas include global marketing and business strategy, new product, market and business development and creativity and growth strategies. In addition, Prof. Wind founded Wind Associates, a consulting firm that advises on both overall global corporate and business strategy and transformation as well as marketing strategy and development of new businesses. Prof. Wind is also an advisor to the Chief Executive Officer and members of the executive committee of SEI Investments, a financial services firm. Vishay has also notified International Rectifier that it intends to seek stockholder approval at the delayed 2007 Annual Meeting of certain amendments to International Rectifier's bylaws. One such amendment would require International Rectifier to hold its 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to elect Class II directors by Dece. 21, 2008. Class II directors were previously elected by the stockholders in November 2005 and International Rectifier recently announced its intention that the election of Class II directors would not be held until "early 2009". "International Rectifier's stockholders deserve to be represented by directors who will not deprive them of an opportunity to receive a significant cash premium for their shares," continued Dr. Zandman. "All of our nominees have proven track records in their areas of expertise and have committed that, if elected, they will exercise their independent judgment as directors in accordance with their fiduciary duties. Vishay is confident they would seek to work with the existing members of the Board to determine the best course of action for International Rectifier's stockholders." Vishay has commenced litigation in the Delaware Chancery Court regarding the timing of International Rectifier's delayed 2007 and 2008 Annual Meetings and its proposed bylaw amendments. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as legal counsel to Vishay, and Banc of America Securities LLC is acting as financial advisor. Vishay is working with Banc of America Securities to expeditiously secure committed financing for the acquisition. Innisfree M&A Incorporated has been retained by Vishay as Information Agent and proxy solicitor. About International Rectifier Based in El Segundo, California, International Rectifier Corporation (NYSE:IRF) -- http://www.irf.com/-- is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of power management product devices, which use power semiconductors. The company's products are used in a variety of end applications, including computers, communications networking, consumer electronics, energy- efficient appliances, lighting, satellites, launch vehicles, aircraft and automotive diesel injection. Its products consist of Power Management Integrated Circuits (Power Management ICs), Power Components and Power Systems. It summarizes its segments in two groups: Focus Products and Non-Focus Products. The company has manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy; and has subsidiaries in Japan and Singapore. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Sept. 3, 2008, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that its 'BB' corporate credit rating on El Segundo, Calif.-based International Rectifier Corp. (IR) would remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where it was placed on April 9, 2007, because of an accounting investigation that prevented the company from filing financial statements. TISCALI SPA: Management&Capitali Converts EUR60 Million Bonds ------------------------------------------------------------- The EUR60 million convertible bonds underwritten by Management & Capitali (M&C) on Dec. 27, 2008, will be fully and automatically converted, including the interest capitalized, in ca 42.3 million ordinary shares of Tiscali S.p.A., representing ca 6.9 % of Company capital after the new issue. The terms and conditions of the bonds provided that the mandatory automatic conversion could be triggered in case the moving average (20 days) official stock exchange prices was, for five consecutive days, equal or lower to the value for the Tiscali shares calculated by dividing the nominal value of the bonds plus interest capitalized by the maximum number of shares authorized by the capital increase resolution with waiver of pre-emptive rights approved by the extraordinary shareholders' meeting of Tiscali on Dec. 27, 2007. "We are pleased that an important investment company like M&C enters the capital of Tiscali with a significant stake" said Mario Rosso, Chairman and CEO of Tiscali. "In addition, the conversion further improves the capital structure of Tiscali, reducing its financial leverage. Considering the capital increase executed in February for about EUR150 million, in fact, Tiscali has collected EUR210 million of new capital in the current year." About Tiscali Headquartered in Cagliari, Italy, Tiscali S.p.A. -- http://www.tiscali.com/-- offers Internet access in the country. The group also operates in other European countries, serving more than seven million subscribers, of which over 1.5 million are broadband users. Tiscali posted consecutive net losses for the past years: EUR5.5 million in 1999, EUR101 million in 2000, EUR1.66 billion in 2001, EUR593.1 million in 2002, EUR242.4 million in 2003, EUR131.8 million in 2004, EUR12.9 million in 2005, and EUR103.6 million in 2006. It posted EUR3.88 million in net losses on EUR614.33 million in net revenues for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter Europe on Aug. 13, 2008, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has placed its 'B+' long-term corporate credit rating on Tiscali SpA, an alternative provider of Internet, telephony, and TV services in Italy and the U.K., on CreditWatch with negative implications. =================== K A Z A K H S T A N =================== AKTUBINSKY ZAVOD: Creditors Must File Claims by October 14 ---------------------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Aktube has declared LLP Aktubinsky Zavod Silikatnyh Stenovyh Materialov (Aktube Plant of Silicate Wall Meterials) declared insolvent. Creditors have until Oct. 14, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Aktube Altynsarin Str. 31 Aktobe Aktube Kazakhstan AMEX CJSC: Claims Deadline Slated for October 8 ----------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Akmola has declared CJSC Amex insolvent. Creditors have until Oct. 8, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Akmola Room 228 Auelbekov Str. 139a Kokshetau Akmola Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (7162) 25-79-32 ASTANA STROY: Claims Filing Period Ends October 8 ------------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Astana has declared LLP Construction Company Astana Stroy Project insolvent. Creditors have until Oct. 8, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Astana Room 106 Manas Str. 2 Astana Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (7172) 37-40-09 BAIKAL ENERGO: Creditors' Claims Due on October 1 ------------------------------------------------- LLP Baikal Energo Market has declared liquidation. Creditors have until Oct. 1, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: LLP Baikal Energo Market Office 124 Molodejnaya Str. 2a Almaty Kazakhstan INVESTITSIONNYE RESURSY: Claims Registration Ends October 8 ----------------------------------------------------------- JSC Management Company Investitsionnye Resursy (Investment Resources) has declared liquidation. Creditors have until Oct. 8, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: JSC Management Company Investitsionnye Resursy Molodejnaya Str. 2a Almaty Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (7272) 50-32-12 8 (7272) 95-21-07 8 (7272) 95-21-08 KEN OJSC: Creditors Must File Claims by October 8 ------------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Akmola has declared OJSC Ken insolvent. Creditors have until Oct. 8, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of Akmola Room 228 Auelbekov Str. 139a Kokshetau Akmola Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (7162) 25-79-32 MUNAI SERVICE: Claims Deadline Slated for October 14 ---------------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of East Kazakhstan has declared LLP Munai Service insolvent. Creditors have until Oct. 14, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of East Kazakhstan Office 105 Myzy Str. 2/1 Ust-Kamenogorsk East Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Tel: 8 (7232) 57-83-69 TRANS EXPO: Claims Filing Period Ends October 3 ----------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of West Kazakhstan has declared LLP Trans Expo Service insolvent. Creditors have until Oct. 3, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of West Kazakhstan Chapaev Str. 2 Podstepnoye Terektinsky West Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Tel: 8 711 323 64-72 YRYS AVTO: Creditors' Claims Due on October 3 --------------------------------------------- The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of West Kazakhstan has declared LLP Yrys Avto Rem Zavod (Yrys Auto Repairing Plant) insolvent. Creditors have until Oct. 3, 2008, to submit written proofs of claims to: The Specialized Inter-Regional Economic Court of West Kazakhstan Chapaev Str. 2 Podstepnoye Terektinsky West Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Tel: 8 711 323 64-72 =================== K Y R G Y Z S T A N =================== CENTER GLOBAL: Creditors Must File Claims by October 1 ------------------------------------------------------ LLC Center Global Asia Co. Ltd. has gone into liquidation. Creditors have until Oct. 1, 2008, to submit written proofs of claim to: LLC Center Global Asia Co. Ltd. Molodaya Gvardiya Ave. 2/1 Bishkek Kyrgyzstan Inquiries can be addressed to(+996 312) 65-11-65, (0-555) 75-91- 65. =========== R U S S I A =========== REGION-STORY LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by October 2 --------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Region-Story have until Oct. 2, 2008 to submit proofs of claim to: N. Titov Temporary Insolvency Manager/Insolvency Manager Apt.153 Zvezdnaya Str. 13/2 398035 Lipetsk Russia Tel: 8-960-148-50-79 Fax: 8-4742-33-7-60 The Arbitration Court of Tambovskaya commenced bankruptcy proceedings against the company after finding it insolvent. The case is docketed under Case No. A64-6979/07-10. The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Tambovskaya Penzenskaya Str. 67/12 392020 Tambov Russia SPITS LLC: Creditors Must File Claims by October 2 -------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Spits have until Oct. 2, 2008 to submit proofs of claim to: V. Kozhukhar Temporary Insolvency Manager Apt. 18 Radichsheva Str. 87/7 305004 Kursk Russia Tel/fax: (4712)58-63-23 The Arbitration court of Moscow will convene at 11:30 a.m.m on Dec. 12, 2008, to hear the company's bankruptcy supervision procedure. The case is docketed under Case No. A40-36471/ 08-44-101B. The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Moscow Novaya Basmannaya Str. 10 Moscow Russia The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Spits Apt.1 Volokolamskiy proezd 4 123424 Moscow Russia TNK-BP INT'L: Viktor Vekselberg Says IPO Not Before 2010 -------------------------------------------------------- TNK-BP will hold an initial public offering of its shares but not before 2010, Reuters reports, citing Viktor Vekselberg, one of the major shareholders of the company. "Our subsidiary TNK-BP Holding will do the placement... Not before 2010. We need to make preparations, and we do not even have a CEO," Mr. Vekselberg was quoted by Reuters as saying. Reuters notes that according to a member of the Alfa-Access-Renova consortium, which owns 50% of TNK-BP, the IPO is only one of the options. Meanwhile, Mr. Vekselberg insists TNK-BP is still worth US$60 billion despite plunging Russian asset prices, Reuters discloses. As reported in the TCR-Europe on Sept. 9, 2008, an overhaul of the governance structure of TNK-BP has been agreed in principle by the two main owners, BP and Alfa Access-Renova. The aim is to better align their respective interests and improve the transparency of TNK-BP's equity. A memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, and due to be finalized in detail over the coming months, envisages the re-structuring of the TNK-BP board through the appointment of three new directors independent of either side. The MOU also includes an option to sell up to 20 per cent of a subsidiary of TNK-BP through an initial public offering on the international financial markets at an appropriate future point, subject to the consent of the Russian authorities. About TNK-BP Headquartered in Moscow, Russia, TNK-BP -- http://www.tnk-bp.ru/ -- is a vertically integrated oil company with a diversified upstream and downstream portfolio in Russia and Ukraine. It owns and operates five refineries (four in Russia and one in Ukraine) and has a retail network of approximately 1,600 sites spread across Central Russia and Ukraine, with a particularly strong position in the Moscow market. TNK-BP employs approximately 65,000 people, mostly located in eight major areas of Russia and Ukraine. The company was formed in 2003 as a result of the merger of BP's Russian oil and gas assets and the oil and gas assets of Alfa, Access/Renova group (AAR). BP and AAR each own 50% of TNK-BP. * * * As reported in the TCR-Europe on Sept. 9, 2008, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Russia-based oil and gas company TNK-BP International Ltd. to stable from negative, after its shareholders agreed in principle on new governance structures. The 'BB' long-term and 'B' short- term corporate credit ratings on the company were affirmed. UDOMLYA LARGE-PANEL: Creditors Must File Claims by October 2 ------------------------------------------------------------ Creditors of LLC Udomlya Large-Panel Construction (TIN 6916011604) have until Oct.2, 2008 to submit proofs of claims to: S. Kiselev Temporary Insolvency Manager Post User Box 333 Postal Telegraph Office 100 170100 Tver Russia The Arbitration Court of Tverskaya will convene at 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 25, 2008, to hear the company's bankruptcy supervision procedure. The case is docketed under Case No. A66-3907/2008. The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Tverskaya Office 34 Sovetskaya 23b Tver Russia The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Udomlya Large-Panel Construction Avtodorozhnyuy 2 Udomlya 171842 Tverskaya Russia URAL-ENERGO-STORY: Creditors Must File Claims by October 2 ---------------------------------------------------------- Creditors of LLC Ural-Energo-Story Trust Trade House (TIN 6670038699) have until Oct. 2, 2008 to submit proofs of claim to: G. Muzafalov Insolvency Manager Apt.84 Shafiyeva Str. 10 450083 Ufa Bashkortostan Tel/Fax: (347) 248-81-17 The Arbitration Court of Chelyabinskaya commenced bankruptcy proceeding against the company after finding it insolvent as an absent debtor for a term of three months. The case is docketed under Case No. A76-8561/2008-52-106. The Court is located at: The Arbitration Court of Chelyabinskaya Vorovskogo Str. 2 454091 Chelyabinskaya Russia The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Ural-Energo-Story Trust Trade House Gagarina Str. 35-4 455026 Magnitogorsk Chelyabinskaya Russia VYUMPEL GROUP: Creditors Must File Claim by November 2 ------------------------------------------------------ Creditors of LLC Vyumpel Group of Companies have until Nov. 2, 2008 to submit proofs of claims to: A. Tsekh Insolvency Manager Kalinina Str. 116/3A Blagovechshensk Russia The Arbitration Court of Amurskaya commenced bankruptcy proceedings on the company. The case is docketed under Case No. A04-1188/08-11/140B. The Debtor can be reached at: LLC Vyumpel Group of Companies 50 let Oktyabrya Str. 24 Blagovechshensk Russia * Public Funds Use May Hurt Russian Sovereign Rating, S&P Reports ----------------------------------------------------------------- Comments attributed to the Finance Minister of The Russian Federation (foreign currency BBB+/Positive/A-2; local currency A-/Positive/A-2) contradict the sovereign's longstanding commitment to save and not spend its terms-of-trade gains. If, as Standard & Poor's Ratings Services suspects, these comments amount to verbal intervention in an attempt to stabilize market levels, then they have no implication for the 'BBB+' foreign currency sovereign rating on Russia. However, any use of public funds -- including the National Wealth Fund, which was originally established to shore up Russia's inadequately capitalized pension system -- to prop up asset values in financial markets would carry negative implications for Russia's sovereign rating. Russia's very substantial fiscal and monetary reserve buffers are a key ratings strength, and are more important then ever given the potential need to re-capitalize the weaker parts of the financial system. Recent moves by authorities to selectively launch investigations against private sector corporations, coupled with the conflict in the Caucasus, helped to trigger the loss of market confidence, leading to capital outflows of 1% of GDP in August 2008. Subsequent events highlight the possibility that Russian enforcement of shareholder and property rights is becoming increasingly unpredictable, lowering Russia's attractiveness as a destination for direct investment. Further evidence of a marked deterioration in the investment environment could destabilize financial inflows and fan capital outflows on a larger scale, a development which would lead S&P to revise the outlook on the sovereign ratings to stable. * S&P: Investment Needs & Tight Liquidity to Hit Russian Food Biz ----------------------------------------------------------------- Russia's food retail sector is booming, but the need for significant investment in infrastructure, high debt burdens, and tight liquidity threaten to dampen this stellar performance, according to a new Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' report titled "Significant Investment Needs And Tight Liquidity May Dim Russian Food Retailers' Bright Future." The retail food market grew more than 15% net of inflation in 2007, while retail spending per capita in Russia is still between one-half and one-third that of developed markets, indicating the potential for future growth. However, underdeveloped logistics, such as a lack of transportation and warehouse facilities as well as the limited availability of commercial real estate will require heavy investment from retailers operating in Russia. "This deficiency translates into a long-standing need for external capital from sources varying from equity to debt, from bilateral bank loans and private equity placements to public bond issues and IPOs on local and international stock exchanges," said S&P's credit analyst Anton Geyze. The retail sector has amassed a high debt burden as aggressive sector growth continues and companies require equity injections on a regular basis to keep financial policies manageable. Consequently, companies with strong parental support in the form of either large multinational food retailers or local investment holdings enjoy better financial flexibility. However, S&P does not always factor parental support to a full extent into the ratings, because in some cases this is difficult to quantify and far from certain. Despite generally bright industry prospects, a downturn in the retailers' operating performances or financial market disruption may undermine support from investors and prevent companies from rolling over significant short-term debt. The report points to a series of recent defaults by Russian midsize food retailers, which serve as a vivid reminder of the risks that exist in the sector, and concludes that liquidity management practices are becoming a key factor for companies' credit quality. Overall, the credit quality of Russia's largest food retailers if viewed on a stand-alone basis falls mostly in the 'B' rating category, a level at which S&P expects companies to remain in the short to medium term unless their liquidity positions deteriorate. The article is part of a special report titled "Ten Years After Default, New Risks Emerge For A Resurgent Russia," in the Sept. 17 issue of CreditWeek, S&P's weekly magazine on credit risk. ========= S P A I N ========= FORD MOTOR: To Lay Off 1,300 Workers in Spain --------------------------------------------- Ford Motor Co. has planned to cut jobs at its plants in Spain due to slowing demand for cars, EFE news agency reports citing workers' representatives. According to the report, Ford will cut 1,300 workers out of 7,000 at its Almussafes plants in the Valencia region. In August, Spanish new car sales dropped by 41% compared to the same month last year as the slowdown bit, the report relates. A Ford spokesman was not available for comment. About Ford Motor Co. Headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) -- http://www.ford.com/-- manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 260,000 employees and about 100 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Aston Martin, and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. The company has operations in Japan in the Asia Pacific region. In Europe, the company maintains a presence in Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The company also distributes its brands in various Latin-American regions, including Argentina and Brazil. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Aug. 5, 2008, Fitch Ratings has downgraded the issuer default rating of Ford Motor Company and Ford Motor Credit Company LLC to 'B-' from 'B'. The Rating Outlook remains Negative. The downgrade reflects: the further deterioration in Ford's U.S. sales as a result of economic conditions, an adverse product mix and the most recent jump in gas prices; portfolio deterioration at Ford Credit and heightened concern regarding economic access to capital to support financing requirements; and escalating commodity costs that will remain a significant offset to cost reduction efforts. GENERAL MOTORS: To Lay Off 600 Workers in Spain ----------------------------------------------- General Motors Corp. has planned to cut jobs at its plants in Spain due to slowing demand for cars, EFE news agency reports citing workers' representatives. According to the report, General Motors will cut 600 workers at its Figueruelas plant in Zaragoza. In August, Spanish new car sales dropped by 41% compared to the same month last year as the slowdown bit, the report relates. General Motors spokesman was not available for comment. About General Motors Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) -- http://www.gm.com/-- was founded in 1908. GM employs about 266,000 people around the world and manufactures cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. At March 31, 2008, GM's balance sheet showed total assets of US$145,741,000,000 and total debts of US$186,784,000,000, resulting in a stockholders' deficit of US$41,043,000,000. Deficit, at Dec. 31, 2007, and March 31, 2007, was US$37,094,000,000 and US$4,558,000,000, respectively. =========== S W E D E N =========== FORD MOTOR: To Cut 500 Jobs at Ontario Crossover Plant ------------------------------------------------------ Dan Strumpf of the Associated Press reports that Ford Motor Co. will lay off 500 employees at its crossover assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario, as sales of vehicles continue to decline. According to AP, the company will phase out the third shift in the plant's body and paint work areas over the next several weeks. "It's due to...an overall softening of vehicles sales in the United States," AP quoted Ford of Canada spokeswoman Lauren More, as stating. The company, AP relates, is offering to eligible workers at the plant, an retirement incentive package, which includes a US$7,500 retirement allowance and a US$3,500 voucher to purchase a Ford vehicle. The Oakville plant has at least 650 employees eligible for the package, the report notes. U.S. crossover sales fell 12% in August 2007, AP says. About Ford Motor Co. Headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) -- http://www.ford.com/-- manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 260,000 employees and about 100 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Aston Martin, and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. The company has operations in Japan in the Asia Pacific region. In Europe, the company maintains a presence in Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The company also distributes its brands in various Latin-American regions, including Argentina and Brazil. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Aug. 5, 2008, Fitch Ratings has downgraded the issuer default rating of Ford Motor Company and Ford Motor Credit Company LLC to 'B-' from 'B'. The Rating Outlook remains Negative. The downgrade reflects: the further deterioration in Ford's U.S. sales as a result of economic conditions, an adverse product mix and the most recent jump in gas prices; portfolio deterioration at Ford Credit and heightened concern regarding economic access to capital to support financing requirements; and escalating commodity costs that will remain a significant offset to cost reduction efforts. =========== T U R K E Y =========== VESTEL ELEKTRONIK: Fitch Cuts Issuer Default Ratings to 'B' ----------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has downgraded Turkey-based Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.'s Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings to 'B' from 'BB-'. The Outlook on both IDRs is Stable. Fitch has also downgraded the senior unsecured rating of Vestel Electronics Finance Ltd.'s guaranteed issue of US$225 million 8.75% 2012 maturity notes to 'B'/'RR4' from 'BB-'. The downgrades reflect Fitch's concerns about the depressed profitability in Vestel's television business, which is putting pressure on consolidated operating margins and cash flow generation capacity. The on-going technological transition from conventional televisions to flat panel displays had an impact on Vestel's margins in the TV business in FY07. While the TV operations continue to command a sizable presence in domestic and European TV markets with around 11% and 40% market share in unit volumes in Europe and Turkey respectively, they face pricing and margin pressure in both the conventional and flat panel display segments due to falling product prices. Vestel also has continued capital expenditures and working capital requirements to fund where Vestel spends around TRY120 million on recurring capex annually. Vestel reported a 1.4% EBITDA margin for FY07, down from 7.2% in FY06. While it reported a 9.4% EBITDA margin in its H108 interim results, the company suffered a TRY73 million bottom line loss due to TRY177 million of consolidated non-operating financial expenses, driven by exchange rate volatility. At end H108, the company had TRY696 million gross debt and TRY113 million net debt compared to TRY662 million gross and TRY196 million net debt at end FY07. Fitch notes that while net debt reduced in 2007, Vestels's very weak profitability caused net debt/EBITDA leverage to deteriorate to 2.4x in FY07 from 0.9x in FY06. Vestel is a net exporter (exports constitute 72% of FY07 sales), providing foreign currency cash flows to service its largely foreign currency denominated debt. The company is also a large scale component importer. Vestel's operating results reflect high exchange rate volatility. Vestel's non-operating results are also sensitive to exchange rate movements due to its US$550 million short foreign exchange position end H108. Vestel White makes use of some hedging instruments to manage its fx exposure. Vestel is also active in the relatively higher margin white goods segment both in Turkey and Russia, through its 72.6% stake in Vestel White (Vestel Beyaz Esya Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., not rated). Vestel White reported 5.6% EBITDA and 6.3% net profit margin in FY07 followed by 13% EBITDA and 5.4% net profit margin for the H108 reporting period. Vestel is currently negotiating with Whirlpool Corp. (Whirlpool, rated BBB/Stable) for a potential sale of half of its 72.6% stake in Vestel White. Vestel's long term financing is mainly provided by a US$225 million bond maturing in 2012. Its financial covenants stipulate that Vestel must remain under 4x consolidated gross debt/EBITDA and over 2.25x fixed charge coverage. Vestel was in compliance with these covenants as of end-1H08, although Fitch notes the limited headroom under both covenants. The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch's assessment that Vestel should be able to maintain its leverage and coverage metrics at their respective FY07 levels based on Fitch's forecast operating profitability and leverage levels in the intermediate term. Vestel is a manufacturer of television sets with US$3.6 billion consolidated sales and US$50 million EBITDA, including US$906 million sales and US$49 million EBITDA in the white goods manufacturing business in FY07. ============= U K R A I N E ============= PCB UKRAINE: Fitch Affirms Individual Rating at 'D' --------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings of the ProCredit Banks in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Ukraine, as: * ProCredit Bank (Bosnia & Herzegovina): Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default 'B'; Long-term local currency IDR 'B+'; Short-term foreign and local currency IDR 'B'; Individual rating 'D/E' and Support rating '4'. The Outlooks on the Long-term IDRs are Stable. * ProCredit Bank (Ukraine): Long-term foreign currency IDR 'BB-'; Long-term local currency IDR 'BB'; Short-term foreign and local currency IDR 'B'; Individual rating 'D' and Support rating '3'. The Outlooks on the Long-term IDRs are Stable. The National Long-term rating is affirmed at 'AAA(ukr)' with Stable Outlook. The IDRs and Support Ratings reflect Fitch's view of the strong potential support available from the banks' owners, in particular ProCredit Holding AG (PCH; 'BBB-'/Outlook Stable), in case of need. PCH is the largest shareholder in both banks (PCBiH: 92% and PCU: 60%). However, the potential support and, hence, the ratings of PCU are constrained by the 'BB-' Country Ceiling of Ukraine. Any movement in the Country Ceiling for Ukraine would have implications for PCU's IDRs and Support ratings. The ratings of PCBiH reflect the country risk and the challenges of the operating environment. The Individual ratings reflect their small size in absolute terms, and challenging local operating environments. They also reflect the credit and operational risks associated with the banks' rapid growth, and their only-adequate capitalization. The one-off high impairment charges which impacted profitability at PCBiH highlight the operational risks that these banks are exposed to. In addition, profitability is only modest and in the case of PCU has been declining steadily. However, the Individual ratings also take into account the banks' growing customer funding bases, good asset quality to date and high degree of integration within the ProCredit group. Fitch also notes PCBiH's comfortable liquidity. However, PCU's liquidity is only moderate, and has been tightening. PCH was set up as an equity investment company in 1998 by Frankfurt-based Internationale Projekt Consult GmbH to invest in the global network of ProCredit banks. The group consists of 22 banks in central and eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa. At end-H108, the group's total assets were around EUR4.5 billion. PCH is responsible for group administration, strategy, risk management controls and supervision. =========================== U N I T E D K I N G D O M =========================== DAWNAY DAY: DDQ Re-brands After Management Buyout ------------------------------------------------- Structured Products reports that Dawnay Day Quantum has re-branded itself Quantum Asset Management following a management buyout of the company's entire stake from Dawnay Day International. As reported in the TCR-Europe on Sept. 24, 2008, the management buyout was conducted through DDI's administrators from BDO Stoy Hayward. The board and employees of DDQ became the firm's new owner. "We have been operating as a stand alone business, independently regulated by the FSA, for some years now and we will continue to focus on investment returns, risk management and our clients," DDQ CEO Mark Mathias said. DDI was put under BDO Stoy Hayward's control in August 2008. Dawnay Day Quantum specializes in structured investments and is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. It was part of the Dawnay Day Group, a property investment and financial services group. Headquartered in London, Dawnay Day is a diversified international financial and property group. Since 2004 Dawnay Day has four property funds, Puma (U.K. commercial property), Dawnay Shore Hotels (U.K. hotels), Dawnay Day Carpathian (Eastern Europe) and Dawnay Day Treveria (German) . According to the Times, the group has interests in more than 250 companies, through hundreds of subsidiaries and holding companies, and owns and manages more than US$10 billion (GBP5 billion) worth of assets. DEARLE & HENDERSON: Brings in Liquidators from Ernst & Young ------------------------------------------------------------ Elizabeth Anne Bingham and Patrick Joseph Brazzill of Ernst & Young LLP were appointed joint liquidators of Dearle & Henderson Ltd. (formerly Gamabuild Ltd.) on Aug. 30, 2008, for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. The company can be reached at: Dearle & Henderson Ltd. c/o Ernst & Young LLP 1 More London Place London SE1 2AF England ELITE COLLEGE: Appoints Duncan R. Beat as Liquidator ---------------------------------------------------- Duncan R. Beat of Tenon Recovery was appointed liquidator of Elite College Ltd. on Aug. 29, 2008, for the creditors' voluntary winding-up procedure. The company can be reached at: Elite College Ltd. c/o Tenon Recovery 75 Springfield Road Chelmsford Essex CM2 6JB England EUROMASTR 2007-IV: S&P Puts BB-Rated Class E Notes on Neg. Watch ---------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has placed on CreditWatch with negative implications its credit ratings on the class C, D, and E notes series 2007-1V issued by EuroMASTR PLC. All the other notes in this transaction are unaffected by these CreditWatch placements. The CreditWatch placements follow an initial review of the most recent transaction information that S&P has received. This analysis showed that the likelihood of negative rating actions has increased for the class C, D, and E notes. This is partly due to the current and continuing decline in U.K. house prices, leading to an expectation of higher losses on average for those loans that ultimately default. As U.K. house prices are likely to continue falling, S&P expects the more recently originated U.K. residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transactions to be particularly susceptible to this pressure. As of the June 2008 investor report, there have been no losses so far in this deal and the reserve fund is at its required amount. However, total delinquencies (including repossessions) were 31.24%, of which 9.72 percentage points were more than 120 days in arrears. S&P will continue to monitor the performance of this transaction using the most recent loan-level data for its full credit and cash flow analyses. S&P will communicate the results of these analyses, together with any effects on the ratings on any of the notes, in due course. The notes, issued in June 2007, are backed by a portfolio of first-ranking nonconforming residential mortgages secured over owner-occupied and buy-to-let properties in England and Wales. EuroMASTR PLC: -- GBP200.75 Million Mortgage-Backed Floating-Rate Notes Series 2007-1V Ratings Placed On CreditWatch Negative: Class Rating To Rating From ----- ------------- ----------- C A/Watch Neg A D BBB/Watch Neg BBB E BB/Watch Neg BB HERONSGATE LTD: Creditors Set to Vote on CVA on Sept. 18 -------------------------------------------------------- Basildon-based printing firm Heronsgate Ltd. has presented a company voluntary arrangement proposal to creditors in an effort to save the business from closure, Adam Hooker of printweek.com reports. Creditors will vote on the CVA on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008, the report discloses. Under the CVA, creditors, including trade printers, trade finishers and mailing houses, will receive 38.54 pence in the pound over the next five years, the report says. According to the report, Heronsgate, which had been working on the CVA since April, is facing total debts of GBP783,661. Heronsgate, the report relates, ran into financial difficulties after incurring GBP3 million losses in a year between 2001 and 2002. The company also blamed its financial woes on the onset of print management and a bad debt incurred at the beginning of the year. In 2007, the company recorded a turnover of GBP7.2 million, down from GBP8.3 million the previous year, the report adds. The company, the report notes, reduced its staff numbers from 68 to 51 as part of its cost-cutting measures. Heronsgate Ltd. -- http://www.heronsgateprint.com/-- was founded in 1992. HIGH CLASS: Calls in Liquidators from Moore Stephens ---------------------------------------------------- Nigel Price and Colin Prescott of Moore Stephens LLP were appointed joint liquidators of High Class Decorating Ltd. on Aug. 27, 2008, for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. The company can be reached at: High Class Decorating Ltd. c/o Moore Stephens LLP Beaufort House 94-96 Newhall Street Birmingham B3 1PB England ILVA: Fails to Pay Rent; Credit Suisse Loan to Default ------------------------------------------------------ PropertyWeek.com reports that a GBP53 million Credit Suisse property loan is set to go into default after Ilva Furniture Ltd. and Innovate Logistics Ltd. went into administration in July, leaving investors at risk of losing their money. Both companies are tenants at two of the properties that back the loan, which was part of a larger GBP739 million CMBS issue called Titan Europe 2007-3, the report discloses. Credit Suisse, the report notes, might have to write down the value of the loan. According to the report, Ilva, which was the tenant of a retail warehouse in Gateshead, and Innovate Logistics, which was the tenant of an industrial site in Chesterfield, failed to meet rental payments, forcing servicers to step in to ensure interest has been paid. Capmark is the servicer in Gateshead, while Hatfield Phillips is the servicer in Chesterfield, the report relates. As reported in the TCR-Europe, Peter Saville, Simon Appell and Anne O'Keefe, partners at Kroll's Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Group, were appointed joint administrators of Ilva on June 25, 2008. Ilva, which is owned by Iceland-based Lagerinn, called in administrators after suffering from poor trading conditions. Accounts filed at Companies House showed a GBP62 million loss on GBP26 million of sales in the year to April 2007. Ilva Furniture Ltd. -- http://www.ilva.co.uk/-- is headquartered in Reading, England. INNOVATE: Fails to Pay Rent; Credit Suisse Loan to Default ---------------------------------------------------------- PropertyWeek.com reports that a GBP53 million Credit Suisse property loan is set to go into default after Innovate Logistics Ltd. and Ilva Furniture Ltd. went into administration in July, leaving investors at risk of losing their money. Both companies are tenants at two of the properties that back the loan, which was part of a larger GBP739 million CMBS issue called Titan Europe 2007-3, the report discloses. Credit Suisse, the report notes, might have to write down the value of the loan. According to the report, Ilva, which was the tenant of a retail warehouse in Gateshead, and Innovate Logistics, which was the tenant of an industrial site in Chesterfield, failed to meet rental payments, forcing servicers to step in to ensure interest has been paid. Capmark is the servicer in Gateshead, while Hatfield Phillips is the servicer in Chesterfield, the report relates. As reported in the TCR-Europe on July 4, 2008, Stobart Group Ltd. has acquired the chilled and ambient goods operations of Innovate Logistics from its administrators BDO Stoy Hayward. Headquartered in Nottingham, England, Innovate Logistics Ltd. http://www.innovatelogistics.com/-- is a UK reefer logistics company, operating 25 warehouses in 11 locations in the UK market. NATURA BUILDING: Taps Liquidators from Tenon Recovery ----------------------------------------------------- Stanley Burkett-Coltman and Sandy Kinninmonth of Tenon Recovery were appointed joint liquidators of The Natura Building Co. Ltd. on Aug. 28, 2008, for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. The company can be reached at: The Natura Building Co. Ltd. c/o Tenon Recovery Highfield Court Tollgate Chandlers Ford Eastleigh Hampshire SO53 3TZ England RSG REALISATIONS: Calls in Liquidators from KPMG ------------------------------------------------ Mark Jeremy Orton and Richard James Philpott of KPMG LLP were appointed joint liquidators of RSG Realisations Plc (formerly Ray Smith Group Plc) on Aug. 27, 2008, for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. The company can be reached at: RSG Realisations Plc St. Philips Point Temple Row B2 5AF England SIMPLY WATER: Appoints Liquidators from Tenon Recovery ----------------------------------------------------- S. J. Parker and T. J. Binyon of Tenon Recovery were appointed joint liquidators of Simply Water Coolers Ltd. on Aug. 27, 2008, for the creditors' voluntary winding-up proceeding. The company can be reached at: Simply Water Coolers Ltd. c/o Tenon Recovery Sherlock House 73 Baker Street London W1U 6RD England VEDANTA RESOURCES: Unveils Corporate Structure Restructuring ------------------------------------------------------------ Vedanta Resources Plc announced a restructuring to simplify its corporate structure into three commodity focused groups: Copper and Zinc-Lead; Aluminium and Energy; and Iron Ore. Consolidation of minorities and simplification of the Group structure has been a strategic priority since IPO and the proposed restructuring is an important step in this strategy. The Board believes that the corporate restructuring will: -- Simplify the corporate structure; -- eliminate conflicts of interest, and -- increase efficiency. The respective Boards of Directors of Vedanta, Sterlite Industries (India) Limited, and The Madras Aluminium Company Limited have unanimously approved a Scheme of Restructuring of the entities and businesses of the Group. Under the Scheme which will be effective from April 1, 2009, Sterlite will demerge its aluminium and energy businesses to MALCO (to be simultaneously renamed Sterlite Aluminium Limited) and Vedanta will transfer its 79.4% equity interest in Konkola Copper Mines plc to Sterlite. The Scheme will also eliminate cross holdings between businesses arising out of MALCO's holding in Sterlite. The corporate restructuring is expected to be completed by March 2009. "We are delighted to announce a significant milestone for the group in the streamlining of our corporate structure following a number of years of industry leading growth." said Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta. "We believe that the resulting structure will bring material improvements to our organization and will improve focus and transparency across our businesses." Strategic Rationale Vedanta has delivered superior returns through both organic growth and acquisitions. The acquisitions of MALCO, BALCO, HZL, CMT and KCM have resulted in a group structure with cross holdings between group companies and overlapping businesses. The Board believes that the corporate restructuring will secure the following benefits for shareholders: -- It will simplify the corporate structure into three focused commodity businesses with fewer cross- shareholdings and overlapping businesses. It aligns legal and management structures and increases transparency, further enhancing corporate governance; -- It will increase efficiency, streamlining decision making and business processes through focused management teams; and, -- It will eliminate conflicts of interest by providing strategic clarity. Opportunities � either organic growth projects or M&A � will be allocated to the relevant commodity business. Furthermore, it provides each business with the strategic flexibility and scale to pursue their respective growth opportunities Consolidation of minorities remains a strategic priority. The buyout of minorities in both BALCO and HZL will remain unaffected by the restructuring. Post completion of the restructuring, Vedanta will continue to seek opportunities to further simplify, streamline and collapse the corporate structures within the new business groups. Share Exchange Ratios -- MALCO will issue equity shares to the shareholders of Sterlite in the ratio of Seven (7) Equity Shares of Rupees Two each of MALCO for every Four (4) Equity Shares of Rupees Two each held in Sterlite; -- Sterlite will issue One (1) fully paid up equity share of Rupees Two each in exchange for One (1) Equity Share of US$0.01 each of THL KCM Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vedanta; and -- Sterlite will issue equity shares to the shareholders of MALCO in the ratio of One (1) Equity Share of Rupees Two each of Sterlite for every Fifty One (51) Equity Shares of Rupees Two each held in MALCO. To ensure the equitable treatment for all shareholders, the independent valuation has been conducted by Grant Thornton India. JM Financial Consultants Private Limited provided a fairness opinion on the share swap ratio. This independent exercise ensures fair treatment for all shareholders in a transparent manner. The Scheme is expected to be completed in March 2009 and is subject to the requisite approvals of the shareholders, creditors, lenders, Indian Stock Exchanges, Indian and Mauritius Courts and such other regulatory authorities. Three Large Scale, High Growth and Focused Businesses The restructuring will consolidate and simplify Vedanta's corporate structure into three commodity focused groups: Aluminium and Energy; Copper and Zinc-Lead; and Iron Ore. Each of these businesses has the scale and potential to continue to deliver industry leading organic growth: A) Copper and Zinc-Lead � World's largest integrated zinc-lead producer � Large scale integrated copper producer; 1.1mtpa post Asarco � Lowest decile cost zinc producer � Lowest cost custom copper smelter in the world � World class resource base: Konkola Deep and Rampura Agucha mines B) Aluminium and Energy � Top 5 global aluminium producer by 2012 with c2.6mtpa � Ideally positioned to develop India's abundant bauxite and coal reserves � Lowest decile production costs � Benchmark costs and timelines of project development C)Iron Ore � Indian's largest private sector iron ore producer-exporter: 2008 production � 12.4mt � Significant growth in capacity to 25 mtpa by CY2010 � Long life resources � Low costs of production The gross assets and profits that were the subject of this transaction for the year ended March 31, 2008, are: In US$ million Gross Assets Profits -------------- ------------ ------- Vedanta 16,036 2,763 Sterlite 9,400 2,070 BALCO 1,182 211 HZL 3,282 1,497 SEL 418 - MALCO 171 19 KCM 1,461 211 VAL 2,154 (1) Sesa Goa 791 560 JPMorgan Cazenove and Morgan Stanley acted as corporate brokers to Vedanta. PricewaterhouseCoopers India acted as tax and regulatory advisors. About Vedanta Resources plc Vedanta Resources plc � http://www.vedantaresources.com/-- is a London listed FTSE 100 diversified metals and mining major. The group produces aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, iron ore and commercial energy. Vedanta has operations in India, Zambia and Australia and a strong organic growth pipeline of projects. With an empowered talent pool of 29,000 employees globally, Vedanta places strong emphasis on partnering with all its stakeholders based on the core values of entrepreneurship, excellence, trust, inclusiveness and growth. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific on Sept. 12, 2008, Moody's Investors Service has placed the Baa3 corporate family rating and the Ba1 long-term senior unsecured rating of Vedanta Resources plc (Vedanta) on review for possible downgrade. VEDANTA: To Increase Aluminium Smelting Capacity to 2.6 mtpa ------------------------------------------------------------ Vedanta Resources plc announced a US$9.8 billion investment program to increase its fully integrated aluminium smelting capacity to nearly 2.6 mtpa by 2012. Upon completion, Vedanta is expected to be Asia's largest and among the top 5 integrated producers of aluminium worldwide. India is positioned to become one of the world's largest producers of aluminium, with the 6th largest reserves of bauxite globally of c2.3 billion tonnes and the 4th largest reserves of coal worldwide of over 250 billion tonnes. Of these reserves, over 1.4 billion tonnes of bauxite and 62 billion tonnes of coal reserves are co- located in the State of Orissa alone. Vedanta's existing presence in the region, together with its excellent track record of executing projects ahead of time and at low capital costs, make it ideally placed to lead the development of these abundant bauxite and coal reserves. India also has the benefit of a fast growing domestic market with close proximity to the high growth markets of Asia and the Middle East. Demand for aluminium globally is projected to grow strongly at a compound rate of 5.7% between 2007 and 2020, with India and China projected to grow at 8.2% and 9.7%, respectively in the same period. The next phase of brownfield growth projects comprises a 1,250 kt aluminium smelter project together with an associated 1,980 MW captive thermal power plant in Jharsuguda, Orissa (the "Jharsuguda II Project"), as well as a 325 kt aluminium smelter project together with an associated 1,200 MW captive thermal power plant in Korba, Chattisgarh (the "Korba III Project"). Correspondingly, Vedanta will also increase its alumina production capacity at Lanjigarh from 1.4 mtpa to 5 mtpa. The Jharsuguda II Project will comprise four pot lines, each containing 336 cells. The first three pot lines with a total capacity of 937.5kt are scheduled to produce first metal by March 2010 and will be fully commissioned by September 2011. The fourth pot line with a capacity of 312.5kt will be fully commissioned by September 2012. The associated captive thermal power plant will comprise three units of 660 MW each. The commissioning of the power plant units is being scheduled to meet the power requirement of the new Jharsuguda smelter. The Korba III Project will comprise one single pot line containing 336 cells and is expected to produce first metal by October 2010. It will be fully commissioned by September 2011. The associated captive thermal power plant will comprise four units of 300 MW each. The commissioning of the power plant units is being scheduled to meet the power requirement of the new Korba smelter. The increase in alumina production capacity will be achieved by debottlenecking the capacity of the existing 1.4mtpa alumina refinery by an additional 0.6 mtpa by March 2010 and building three new production streams of 1 mtpa each. The first stream of 1 mtpa is scheduled for commissioning by mid 2010 and all three streams are expected to be completed by mid 2011. The experienced in-house project management teams that implemented our earlier 245 kt brownfield aluminium smelter project at Korba, the 1.4 mtpa Lanjigarh alumina refinery, and the 500 kt greenfield aluminium smelter project at Jharsuguda (one year ahead of schedule), will manage these projects. The estimated investment in the aluminium smelter projects is US$5.65 billion for the Jharsuguda II Project and US$2.0 billion for the Korba III Project, to be phased over four years. The total additional investment in Lanjigarh is estimated at US$2.15 billion and is expected to be phased over three years. This investment includes the cost of building the aluminium smelters and the alumina refinery, the associated power facilities and all necessary infrastructure including railway networks and water pipelines. The investment will be funded through a combination of existing cash, internal cash accruals and external financing. "Vedanta is on course to becoming one of the world's leading aluminium companies. We are applying our proven skills at developing projects at industry leading low capital costs and timelines to deliver a step change in the scale of our business. This further enhances our ability to produce aluminium at costs that are in the lowest decile of the industry cost curve." said Anil Agarwal, Executive Chairman, Vedanta Resources plc. "These projects harness India's high quality wealth of mineral resources to meet the burgeoning demand for aluminium." About Vedanta Resources plc Vedanta Resources plc � http://www.vedantaresources.com/-- is a London listed FTSE 100 diversified metals and mining major. The group produces aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, iron ore and commercial energy. Vedanta has operations in India, Zambia and Australia and a strong organic growth pipeline of projects. With an empowered talent pool of 29,000 employees globally, Vedanta places strong emphasis on partnering with all its stakeholders based on the core values of entrepreneurship, excellence, trust, inclusiveness and growth. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific on Sept. 12, 2008, Moody's Investors Service has placed the Baa3 corporate family rating and the Ba1 long-term senior unsecured rating of Vedanta Resources plc (Vedanta) on review for possible downgrade. VEDANTA RESOURCES: Fitch Holds 'BB+' Rating on Sr. Unsec. Bonds --------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has changed UK-based Vedanta Resources PLC's Outlook to Negative from Stable. Its Long-term foreign currency IDR is affirmed at 'BBB-'. The rating action follows the company's announcement of an US$9.8 billion capex program over and above its ongoing investments. Fitch has also affirmed the ratings on Vedenta's debt instruments as: -- US$1,250 million senior unsecured unsubordinated bonds issued in two tranches (US$500 million due January 2014 and US$750 million due July 2018): 'BB+'; -- US$600 million senior unsecured bonds due 2010: 'BB+' The Negative Outlook reflects Fitch's concerns with regard to the company's leverage over the medium term in light of the substantial increase in capex plans by nearly US$12 billion, over and above its already substantial expansion plan. The company has also recently announced plans to establish a coal-fired independent power project of 2,000MW at an estimated cost of around US$2 billion. When assigning the initial rating, Fitch had factored in Vedanta's proposed US$4 billion expansion plan over FY09-FY11, the proposed US$2.6 billion acquisition of the facilities of the US-based Asarco and the additional investments in consolidating shareholdings in key subsidiaries. The fresh capex could result in deterioration in credit metrics due to the large capex in the short- to medium-term with no commensurate earnings envisaged until the facilities become operational. In addition, uncertainties remain with regard to the implementation, funding pattern, and cost benefits from the capex. Fitch notes that a material increase in debt-led capex and/or investment or deterioration in net debt/EBITDA to beyond 2.5x on a sustained basis could trigger a negative rating action. On the other hand, Fitch also acknowledges that Vedanta retains the flexibility to change its capex plans given their modular nature, and to raise additional external equity in either the parent or operating subsidiaries. Any reduction in the scale, higher phasing-out of the expansion and/or the raising of material external equity to finance a part of the capex could result in a revision of the Outlook back to Stable. Over the longer term, the agency believes that the expanded output, making Vedanta one of the world's top five aluminium producers, and giving it substantial cost advantages, will enable the company to better weather cyclical downturns. Vedanta has also announced a restructuring program for its operating subsidiaries, although in Fitch's opinion, this is unlikely to impact the company's economic control over cash flows at key subsidiaries. While the restructuring benefits the company in terms of a better focus on each of its business segments, there appears to be no major changes in the effective economic interest in key operating subsidiaries. As a result, Fitch continues to maintain the single-notch differential between the ratings of the bond and the company's IDR. In September 2008, Vedanta received in-principle approval from the Supreme Court of India, allowing it to proceed with the development of a large bauxite mine in Lanjigarh with estimated reserves of 77 million MT. With its existing coal mine allocations, the company has the necessary raw material linkages to produce aluminium at a competitive rate. The development of these linkages will deliver tangible cost benefits to Vedanta's existing and proposed smelting and refining facilities. While execution risks remain, they are mitigated by the company's proven track record and the modular nature of expansion. Vedanta is a leading metals and mining company based in London, and has operations spanning zinc, copper, iron ore and aluminium in India, Zambia, Australia, and, if the Asarco acquisition is completed as envisaged, the US as well. In FY ended March 2008, the company reported revenues of US$8.2 billion, with EBITDA margins of 36.3% and a net income of US$879 million. The company's financial leverage has seen consistent improvement, with net debt/EBITDA of negative 0.7x at FYE08, compared to 0.2x at FYE04. XL LEISURE: Goes Into Administration; Grounds Flights ----------------------------------------------------- XL Leisure Group Plc has gone into administration. XL Airways UK Limited, Excel Aviation Limited, Explorer House Limited, Aspire Holidays Limited, Freedom Flights Limited, Freedom Flights (Aviation) Limited, The Really Great Holiday Company plc, Medlife Hotels Limited, Travel City Flights Limited, and Kosmar Villa Holidays plc are also in administration. On Sept. 12, 2008, Alastair Beveridge, Nick Cropper, Simon Appell and Stuart Mackellar were appointed as joint administrators of the companies by the Court. The companies entered into administration having suffered as a result of volatile fuel prices, the economic downturn, and were unable to obtain further funding. The joint administrators cannot continue trading the business and therefore all flights operated by the companies have been immediately canceled and the aircraft grounded. Going forward, the joint administrators are unlikely to be able to trade the business or operate the aircraft. Headquartered in Crawley, XL Leisure Group -- http://www.xl.com/ -- is the third largest tour operating group in the UK. The company also has operations in France, Germany, Ireland, Australia and Cyprus. * BOND PRICING: For the Week Sept. 8 to Sept. 12, 2008 ------------------------------------------------------ Issuer Coupon Maturity Currency Price ------ ------ -------- -------- ----- AUSTRIA ------- Immofinanz Immobilien 2.750 01/20/14 EUR 65.77 Kommunal Kredit Austria AG 0.500 03/15/19 CAD 66.95 0.250 10/14/26 CAD 40.67 Republic of Austria 1.000 06/22/22 EUR 69.57 0.000 10/10/25 EUR 62.84 5.000 10/24/35 EUR 64.42 BELGIUM Fortis Bank 8.750 12/07/10 EUR 53.27 FINLAND ------- M-Real Serla 7.250 04/01/13 EUR 70.85 Muni Finance PLC 1.000 11/21/16 NZD 64.66 1.000 10/30/17 AUD 62.6 1.000 02/27/18 AUD 61.73 0.500 09/24/20 CAD 63.54 0.250 06/28/40 CAD 21.37 FRANCE ------ Alcatel S.A. 4.750 01/01/11 EUR 14.99 Altran Technologies S.A. 3.750 01/01/09 EUR 12.74 Calyon 6.000 06/18/47 EUR 43.55 CAP Gemini S.A. 2.500 01/01/10 EUR 51.65 1.000 01/01/12 EUR 43.41 Club Mediterranee S.A. 3.000 11/01/08 EUR 67.62 4.380 11/01/10 EUR 45.33 Essilor Intl 1.500 07/02/10 EUR 71.86 Europcar Groupe 8.130 05/15/14 EUR 64.54 8.130 05/15/14 EUR 64.42 FCC Rome Alliance Funding 2.260 01/08/21 EUR 71.51 Havas S.A. 4.000 01/01/09 EUR 10.92 Infogrames Entertainment S.A. 1.500 04/01/09 EUR 0.25 Ingenico 2.750 01/01/12 EUR 15.91 Maurel & Prom 3.500 01/01/10 EUR 21.04 Publicis Group 1.000 01/18/18 EUR 42.01 Rhodia S.A. 0.500 01/01/14 EUR 35.47 Soc Air France 2.750 04/01/20 EUR 22.23 Wavecom S.A. 1.750 01/01/14 EUR 17.96 Wendel Invest S.A. 4.880 05/26/16 EUR 70.96 2.000 06/19/09 EUR 40.86 4.380 08/09/17 EUR 67.71 GERMANY ------- Allgemeine HypothekenBank Rheinboden 5.080 12/10/14 EUR 66.39 Deutsche Schifbk 4.200 01/23/09 EUR 99.67 IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG 5.760 03/31/23 EUR 54.11 4.500 07/09/13 EUR 70.11 5.670 02/27/23 EUR 53.64 5.580 03/31/18 EUR 59.40 KfW Bankengruppe 1.250 05/23/20 EUR 74.96 0.500 10/30/13 AUD 73.70 1.250 07/21/25 EUR 68.03 0.500 12/19/17 EUR 69.71 1.250 07/29/20 EUR 72.82 5.000 10/17/35 EUR 58.91 2.820 08/10/30 EUR 67.05 Landeskreditbank Baden- Wuerttemberg Foerderbk 0.500 05/10/27 CDN 45.73 0.250 10/13/37 CAD 25.37 Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank AG 1.000 03/29/17 NZD 63.31 ICELAND ------- Glitnir Banki HF 6.000 03/05/12 GBP 74.50 Kaupthing Bank 6.500 02/03/45 EUR 41.75 7.130 05/19/16 USD 72.25 IRELAND ------- Allied Irish Bks 5.630 11/29/30 GBP 76.03 Banesto Finance Plc 6.120 11/07/37 EUR 6.12 Depfa ACS Bank 0.500 03/03/25 CDN 50.19 0.250 07/08/33 CDN 29.17 Irish Nationwide Building Society 5.500 01/10/18 GBP 62.32 Irish Perm Plc 2.500 02/15/35 EUR 50.00 Ono Finance II 8.000 05/16/14 EUR 68.52 UT2 Funding Plc 5.320 06/30/16 EUR 73.60 ITALY ----- Alitalia Spa 7.500 07/22/10 EUR 66.15 CIR SPA 5.750 12/16/24 EUR 74.63 IGD 2.500 06/28/12 EUR 72.69 Risanamento S.p.A. 1.000 05/10/14 EUR 28.88 LUXEMBOURG ---------- Globus Capital Finance SA 8.500 03/05/12 US$ 74.17 IT Holding Fin 9.880 11/15/12 EUR 58.18 Kloeckner Fin. Intl 1.500 07/27/12 EUR 69.37 Nell AF S.A. 8.380 08/15/15 EUR 57.08 NETHERLANDS ----------- ABN Amo Bank B.V. 6.000 03/16/35 EUR 64.87 Air Berlin Finance B.V. 1.500 04/11/27 EUR 28.30 ALB Finance BV 7.880 02/01/12 EUR 65.36 9.250 09/25/13 US$ 68.28 9.750 02/14/11 GBP 76.16 8.750 04/20/11 USD 74.71 Biopetrol Finance 4.000 02/21/12 EUR 47.69 BK Ned Gemeenten 0.500 06/27/18 CDN 68.72 0.500 02/24/25 CDN 50.24 BLT Finance BV 7.500 05/15/14 US$ 66.42 Cirio Del Monte 7.750 03/14/05 EUR 19.94 Elec De Car Fin 8.500 04/10/18 US$ 72.44 EM.TV Finance B.V. 5.250 05/08/13 EUR 3.86 Indah Kiat Intl 11.88 06/15/02 US$ 53.00 IVG Finance B.V. 1.750 03/29/17 EUR 56.35 Kazkommerts Fin 8.500 06/13/17 US$ 71.00 8.630 07/27/16 US$ 74.67 Kazkommerts Intl 8.000 11/03/15 US$ 73.64 7.500 11/29/16 US$ 69.65 6.880 02/13/17 EUR 68.43 KBC Ifima NV 5.880 02/07/25 US$ 72.71 Lehman Bros TSY B.V. 2.000 03/16/35 EUR 37.63 2.000 03/18/15 EUR 72.96 7.000 05/17/35 EUR 39.75 3.440 11/26/13 EUR 67.70 6.000 02/15/35 EUR 44.75 Natl Invester Bank 25.982 05/07/29 EUR 31.80 Ned Waterschapbk 6.000 06/01/35 EUR 60.81 6.500 08/15/35 EUR 54.20 6.000 06/30/45 EUR 53.25 NXP BV/NXP FUNDI 8.630 10/15/15 EUR 64.03 9.500 10/15/15 US$ 66.75 8.630 10/15/15 EUR 64.69 Rabobank Groep N.V. 2.500 02/22/35 EUR 58.55 6.000 05/09/35 EUR 60.64 2.000 03/23/35 EUR 55.75 5.000 02/28/35 EUR 61.56 0.440 04/08/20 EUR 71.69 Turanalem Fin BV 8.250 01/22/37 US$ 69.37 NORWAY ------ Eksportfinans 0.250 07/14/33 CAD 30.87 Norske Skogindustrier ASA 7.000 06/26/17 EUR 64.70 SPAIN ----- Bancaja 4.380 02/14/17 EUR 74.66 General de Alqui 2.750 08/20/12 EUR 72.18 SWITZERLAND ----------- Cytos Biotechnology 2.880 02/20/12 CHF 70.19 UNITED KINGDOM -------------- Anglian Water Finance Plc 2.400 04/20/35 GBP 51.55 Aspire Defence 4.670 03/31/40 GBP 65.13 4.670 03/31/40 GBP 65.08 Bank of Scotland 6.000 02/07/35 EUR 46.95 Bradford&Bin BLD 5.750 12/12/22 GBP 59.83 6.630 06/16/23 GBP 55.48 5.500 01/15/18 GBP 74.04 Brit Insurance 6.630 12/09/30 GBP 77.27 Britannia Building Society 5.880 03/28/33 GBP 69.99 5.750 12/02/24 GBP 74.28 Enterprise Inns 6.380 09/26/31 GBP 69.41 F&C Asset Management plc 6.750 12/20/26 GBP 72.24 Grainer Plc 3.630 05/17/14 GBP 51.78 Greene King Fin 5.110 03/15/34 GBP 74.34 Hammerson Plc 6.000 02/23/26 GBP 74.82 HBOS Plc 4.500 03/18/30 EUR 71.15 HSBC Bank Plc 3.750 05/18/15 EUR 94.65 Ineos Group Holdings Plc 7.880 02/15/16 EUR 61.29 7.880 02/15/16 EUR 61.08 Marston's Issuer PLC 5.640 07/15/35 GBP 74.48 National Grid Gas Plc 1.750 10/17/36 GBP 42.23 1.770 03/30/37 GBP 42.20 Progress Health 5.580 10/02/42 GBP 71.61 Punch Taverns 6.470 04/15/33 GBP 70.63 Royal BK Scotland 9.500 04/04/25 US$ 67.94 Unique Pub Fin 6.460 03/30/32 GBP 71.14 ********* 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 V. 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. 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