Germany

Construction group Zech is seen as the front runner to buy the German unit of bankrupt Dutch engineering services company Imtech, two people familiar with the deal said. A decision on Zech's offer, which was discussed among creditors on Monday, is expected by the end of the week, they said, adding that other bidders remain in the race. Zech and administrator Peter Borchardt declined to comment. Imtech Germany filed for insolvency on Aug.

Volkswagen AG is facing billions in fines after admitting it rigged U.S. emissions tests, but it likely has the financial wherewithal to handle the monetary hit, The Wall Street Journal The CFO Report blog reported. The German car maker could pay more than $18 billion in fines from U.S. environmental regulators and also faces a U.S. criminal investigation related to the scandal that has roiled the company. European officials are also calling for an investigation.

As Germany has emerged as the dominant actor in Europe, it has lectured Greece and other debtor nations on the virtues of thrift and lately wagged its finger at countries that balk at receiving a share of refugees from the killing fields of Syria. Its right to lead, based on a narrative of self-sacrifice and obedience to rules, was generally acknowledged, the International New York Times reported. That is one reason the Volkswagen scandal has shaken the country’s very core.

Lufthansa failed in a legal bid to halt a pilot strike planned for today which has resulted in about 1,000 flights being cancelled, as the airline’s dispute with crews escalated, the Irish Times reported. Pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) staged a strike on long-haul routes yesterday and has called another walkout for today on short-haul flights – and it warned there could be more pain to come.

The German unit of bankrupt Dutch engineering services company Imtech is expected to be sold in November, according to Imtech Germany's insolvency administrator, Reuters reported. "The aim is to sign the sales contract for the whole unit or major parts shortly after ordinary insolvency proceedings have been opened in early November," Peter-Alexander Borchardt said. Imtech Germany filed for insolvency on Aug. 6, and the parent company followed suit a week later, capping a long slide that began in 2013 after accounting irregularities were uncovered at its Polish and German operations.

The opening of regular insolvency proceedings on the Walsum Papier magazine paper mill in Germany has been postponed to the start of October, EUWID Pulp and Paper reported. According to information from the administrators' office, the payments of insolvency benefits covered by the German state could have been extended for another month until the end of September. Meanwhile, operations at the 205,000 tpy LWC paper machine PM 10 are running to capacity as the mill's customers continue placing orders with the company, despite it being in preliminary administration.

Creditors have granted the German unit of bankrupt Dutch engineering services company Imtech a credit line worth a "significant" sum in the millions of euros, Imtech Germany's insolvency administrator said on Friday. It is currently unclear whether Imtech Germany will need to draw on the credit line because its liquidity has developed better than expected, Peter Alexander Borchardt said in a statement.

Germany’s parliament ratified a new Greek bailout deal, but a record number of lawmakers in Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc rejected the motion, highlighting the political risks the chancellor is taking in supporting Greece, The Wall Street Journal reported. The “yes” vote in Germany’s Bundestag cleared one of the last hurdles to the rescue, allowing eurozone finance ministers to give final approval for the bailout later on Wednesday.

Frankfurt prosecutors have charged eight current and former Deutsche Bank employees in connection with €220 million in sales tax evasion following a long-running investigation into Europe’s carbon emission certificate market, the Irish Times reported on a Financial Times story. Prosecutors did not identify the bank, but people familiar with the case say the accused are mid-ranking employees of Deutsche Bank, which was raided in 2012 as part of the investigation. Seven of the eight accused are still employed by Deutsche. A court must now decide whether to hear the case.

The insolvency of Royal Imtech's German arm last week was triggered by the parent company's failure to pay the unit 21 million euros ($23 million) it owed, Imtech Deutschland's insolvency administrator said, Reuters reported. Royal Imtech filed for protection from its creditors on Tuesday, five days after the German unit made a similar filing, overwhelmed by accounting fraud in Germany that triggered three years of operating losses and major asset writedowns.