Deutsche Telekom AG and Vivendi SA Wednesday settled a years-long legal battle over Polish mobile-phone operator Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa, or PTC, giving the German company sole ownership and freeing up more cash for Vivendi to spend on buying out minority stakes in its domestic subsidiaries, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Under the settlement, Deutsche Telekom will pay another EUR1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) in total to Vivendi and Polish conglomerate Elektrim SA, which as a result of the payment will exit bankruptcy proceedings, giving Deutsche Tekekom 100% ownership.

Leading German biodiesel producer EOP Biodiesel AG said on Tuesday it had declared insolvency, Reuters reported. The company said in a statement it had been unable to reach agreement with its banks about finance. EOP produces 132,000 tonnes of biodiesel annually at a plant in Pritzwalk in eastern Germany. In October, the company stopped biodiesel production following damage to a gear unit at its oil mill. Read more.

Germany's Schiesser AG said Monday a relevant local district court has approved its insolvency plan, removing the last obstacle to the company's planned initial public offering, or IPO, Nasdaq.com reported on a Dow Jones story. In November, the lingerie, sportswear and swimwear company said it aimed to list in the prime standard segment of the German stock exchange, naming equinet Bank AG and private bank BHF-Bank as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners of the IPO.

K1 Group hedge fund founder Helmut Kiener’s personal assets were placed under the control of a court-appointed administrator less than two weeks after he was charged with running an international fraud scheme, Bloomberg reported. A court in Aschaffenburg, Germany, opened preliminary insolvency proceedings on Nov. 25 after a creditor request, according to a filing in Germany’s online insolvency registry. The creditor was a health insurer, insolvency judge Juergen Roth said in an interview today.

Germany beat back bids for more expansive approaches to Europe's rescue of its fiscally troubled countries, leaving the euro zone to muddle through in the near term as markets warily watch Portugal and Spain, The Wall Street Journal reported. The European Union's chief economic power said that for now, it wouldn't support an enlarged rescue facility, nor the issuance of joint bonds that would let weaker nations ride the coattails of its sterling credit, though it didn't rule them out in the future.

The German Bank Restructuring Act, which takes effect next year, could be a template for a European Union-wide law, Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Monday, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The new German bank restructuring regime "is an important step in forming the post-crisis European regulatory landscape," the rating agency said. Moody's expects the European Commission "to scrutinize the legislation and to consider it as a blueprint for its own legislative proposal" due next spring.

German chipmaker Infineon said it would defend itself vigorously against legal action by the insolvency administrator of Qimonda, its former memory chip unit, seeking an unspecified payment, Reuters reported. "We are firmly convinced that we have done nothing wrong," an Infineon spokesman said, adding that the company would defend itself against this action and pursue all avenues of legal proceedings. Qimonda collapsed in 2009 as chip prices plunged and then filed for insolvency after failing to hammer out details of a rescue package in time.

Germany's insistence that Ireland, Greece and the euro zone's other fiscally feeble members adopt punishing austerity regimes has fueled concern across Europe that the bloc's biggest member is souring on the euro. But Sunday's agreement among euro-zone leaders to establish a permanent rescue facility for overly indebted members suggests that rather than turning its back on the euro, Germany is doubling its bets, The Wall Street Journal reported. Put simply, Chancellor Angela Merkel and her allies have concluded that the euro is essential for Germany's continued prosperity.

Germany's upper house of parliament Friday approved the country's bank restructuring law, which includes a bank levy to generate funds for troubled banks, Dow Jones reported. The upper house voted against the recommendations of its finance and economic committees, which were in favor of having the conciliation committee of both houses of parliament deal with the law, as the proposed levy would also affect savings and cooperative banks. The legislation sets up a restructuring procedure for banks, allowing for early intervention to tackle problems before insolvency.

The European Union will give state-controlled German lender WestLB AG more time to create a new restructuring plan as it continues to investigate the bank's use of state aid, the EU's competition chief said Monday. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told journalists that Berlin is prepared to make difficult decisions regarding WestLB. "We are ready to do it and use the next three months to find solutions," he said.