Waterford €190m bond issue bid

WATERFORD Wedgwood chairman Tony O'Reilly is driving a re-capitalisation of the company similar to his successful re-capitalisation of IN&M.

However, the initial response of the market to plans to raise up to €190m in a bond issue was negative, with Waterford shares down by as much as 17% in early trade rising to a fall of 13.79% by 10.20pm in Dublin to 25 cent, but the shares rallied to close 10% down on the day.

The stock has slid 49% in 2003 after dropping 44% last year and 30% in 2001. Like IN&M, Waterford has built up a significant debt mountain €398.4m but the fall in the share price appears to be a reaction to the stricture put on the company that it cannot issue dividends without the consent of its bankers.