Headlines

Dutch utility Eneco has agreed to buy various operations of sustainable energy company Econcern in a controlled auction, after a Dutch court declared the Econcern holding company bankrupt, Reuters reported. Econcern said in May it had filed for voluntary receivership after it failed to secure refinancing. It said the receivership would give it more time to secure financing and negotiate options for its future with interested parties. Econcern said that a Dutch court on Friday had ended its period of receivership, and declared the company and various domestic and international units bankrupt.

The UK government has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the British insolvency rules, it said on Monday, The Guardian reported. Changes to Britain's insolvency rules were first suggested in April's budget and would bring the system closer to the more borrower-friendly U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection scheme. The measures proposed include allowing new money to be lent to companies in administration and providing medium-sized and large companies with extra time to talk to creditors under a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).

Bankrupt German retailer Arcandor, which holds about 53 percent in travel company Thomas Cook, will decide soon whether it will apply for an insolvency loan, a spokesman said on Monday. A source with knowledge of the situation said Arcandor -- which filed for insolvency last week after the German government rejected its requests for state aid -- would need funding soon to keep operations going. The Arcandor spokesman said the company was in the process of making a decision on a potential insolvency loan, the size and the banks.

The liquidator for numerous companies owned by ex-Olympian Brent Clode has managed to escape serious repercussions after failing to appear in court, The National Business Review reported. Michael Cooper failed to turn up at the High Court at Auckland twice – but documents obtained by NBR indicated Mr Cooper would not have to go before the court to explain his absence. NBR reported in Friday’s print edition that receiver for Retail on Main, BDO Spicers, had filed proceedings against Mr Cooper, who is Mr Clode’s brother-in-law, as liquidator of the company.

Troubled Saudi conglomerates Saad Group and Ahmad Hamad al-Gosaibi & Bros Co will meet creditors this month to restructure $10 billion of debt, a Saudi newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed bankers. Al-Hayat newspaper said the two firms would talk to their creditors over the next two weeks in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Great Britain. The paper said that there were more than 100 creditors that would agree to major debt restructuring. This is the first time a figure has been given for the size of the debts. Al-Hayat did not say how much each company had in debt.

The European Central Bank says euro-zone banks will need to write down $283 billion more by the end of next year and sees the bloc's total crisis-related losses at $649 billion, far below the $904 billion the International Monetary Fund forecast in April. In a grim edition of its twice-yearly Financial Stability Review, the ECB, which sets interest rates for the 16 countries that share the euro currency, warned that risks to euro-zone financial stability "remain high" despite some signs of stabilization in the economy, as well as in equity and money markets.

Ever since a new scheme to deal with debtors kicked in on May 18, banks are believed to be filing fewer bankruptcy petitions, The Business Times reported. That is because they are assessing how the debt repayment scheme (DRS) works - and what it can do for them - instead of taking the extreme legal route. Before this, anyone who owed a debt of more than $10,000 faced the shadow of bankruptcy and the stigma that it carries.

RTÉ Director General Mr. Cathal Goan, at an Oireachtas meeting last week told the gathered committee there was no financial crisis at the national broadcaster and that the €68m shortfall was currently being dealt with, IFTN reported. TD’S and Senators called for a re-examination of the six-figure salaries that top RTÉ broadcasters are currently being paid, which were deemed “disproportionate and unjustifiable” by those present at the meeting.

South Korean electronics company MagnaChip Semiconductor Ltd.'s American parent company has filed a prearranged bankruptcy in order to sell its assets to a group of investors led by a Korean private equity fund for $80 million, blaming a sharp decline in demand, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. MagnaChip started looking for a buyer to acquire its assets through a prepackaged bankruptcy last fall in the face of declining demand, Sakai said.

Carmaker Saab said on Monday it was likely to unveil its new owner this week, and that three quarters of its creditors had agreed to a proposed writedown of the loss-making General Motors brand's debt. A source told Reuters last week luxury carmaker Koenigsegg and Norwegian investors had reached a preliminary agreement to buy Saab Automobile, which was put up for sale by its now bankrupt U.S. parent earlier this year.