Marconi seeks to calm nervous creditors

Meeting to head off fears...

Telecoms equipment company Marconi is meeting its backers to convince them of its ability to pay off its £4.4bn debts. Following its profit warning in September, Marconi pledged to slash its overdraft by at least £2.7bn by the year's end. Analysts told the FT that Marconi's plans to sell off parts of its non-core assets would be hit by recent events in the US. They said that market uncertainty, reinforced by terrorist attacks, were seriously delaying merger and acquisition activity.