Shares were near worthless

THE suspension of Waterford Wedgwood shares on the ISEQ, as part of the group’s Irish and British operations going into receivership, has come after a long period of inactivity for the stock.

Trading at a tenth of a cent — and unmoved for some time — shares in the cash-strapped luxury goods group have been all-but-worthless for a long time. The company — which even last week was hopeful of inking a deal with a US-based private equity house to inject around €600 million into the business in return for a controlling stake and the soaking up of its €400m debt — said yesterday it was still hopeful a buyer for part of the business would be found.

Indeed, Waterford’s group chief executive David Sculley stated yesterday that the board remains optimistic “that ongoing discussions will result in a buyer being found for the businesses”.