Eurotunnel spokesman John Keefe said the cross-Channel rail firm's parent company, Groupe Eurotunnel, would make the bid.

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Not to be outdone by these century bonds, Eurotunnel, the beleaguered company that operates the railway beneath the English Channel, is trying to tempt investors with a millennium's worth of profits.

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Officials for Eurotunnel S.A., the company that runs Eurostar trains between England and the continent, noted a heightened police presence at their terminals in Brussels, Paris and London, a spokeswoman said.

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The tribunal in Paris awarded the assets on the condition the shipping company operated under the French flag and Eurotunnel leased the ships to a workers' co-operative.

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Mr Klesch has, for example, become a thorn in the side of Eurotunnel, which operates the Channel tunnel between Britain and France, making doom-laden pronouncements about the company's prospects and criticising the financial restructuring agreed on by its 200-plus banks.

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