Wellington, New Zealand, July 26, 2006--Feltex lost a third of its value after resuming trading on the stock exchange on Wednesday.
The troubled carpet-maker's shares plunged from 21c cents to 13c, valuing Feltex at $20 million - well below the $250m it was worth two years ago.
Nervous investors sold Feltex shares after it issued a warning that any new potential investor will be paying a lot less than Friday's trading price of 21c a share for a slice of the company.
Feltex is in talks with an unknown party about injecting money into the debt ridden company but it says while restructuring talks are continuing, there is no guarantee of any deal.
The bleak tone of its latest market update came only weeks after a report early last month in which it reported encouraging sales and margins in May and April.
Feltex re-listed on the stock exchange at $1.70 a share in 2004. At current prices, Feltex is worth $20m--a far cry from its listing value of more than $250m. Its total debt is $121m.
The union representing 700 Feltex workers says its members are waiting nervously to hear about the company's fate.
National Distribution Union national secretary, Laila Harre, says her members are looking for a clear message from the company over whether or not their jobs are secure.
