Godfrey Hirst acquires Feltex

Australian carpet maker Godfrey Hirst has acquired troubled Feltex Carpets as a going concern, the receivers said today.

Godfrey Hirst was the sole bidder for Feltex, and the purchase price was sufficient to repay the company's existing bank facilities, Feltex receiver and manager Colin Nicol of McGrathNicol and Partners said.

"Godfrey Hirst will acquire all of Feltex's assets and operations in Australia, New Zealand and the USA as a going concern. We anticipate that the handover will occur in early November 2006," Mr Nicol said.

Godfrey Hirst planned to offer jobs to about 85 per cent of Feltex's 820 New Zealand employees, cutting 123 jobs, with redundancies expected at plants at Kakariki, near Marton, and Christchurch. The company planned to offer jobs to all of Feltex's 500 Australian employees.

Godfrey Hirst already owns a tufted wool carpet making plant in Auckland, a wool scouring plant in Napier and a spinning plant in Christchurch and employs 490 people in New Zealand.

Sleepyhead owners Graeme and Craig Turner earlier led a consortium in talks with ANZ over a $51m rescue bid for Feltex before it went into receivership, with a deal including refinancing from the Bank of New Zealand.

Feltex, which had owed the ANZ $135 million, posted a $57.65 million annual loss.

Feltex listed on the New Zealand stock exchange only two years ago at $1.70 a share but struck financial difficulties in 2005 due to its Australian operations. The shares traded as low as 1c before they were suspended.

- NZPA