1700 join class action against Feltex

The listed defendants include the former chairman and CEO. Photo / APN

About 1700 of Feltex's former 6000 shareholders who represent $100 million in lost investments have joined a class action to try to get some money back from the failed carpet company.

The deadline to sign up closed on Tuesday as it was the sixth anniversary of the company's float and proceedings needed to be filed within that timeframe.

But the plaintiff's lawyer, Christchurch-based Austin Forbes, said investors still wanting to join should still send in the forms as he would argue for them to be included in the action.

Eric Houghton, the main plaintiff, lost $20,000 when he invested in the NZX listed company. He said a lot of people signed up before Tuesday's deadline.

"Investors [signed on] vary in size from the small to substantial. The collective amount they invested in Feltex was $100 million. We haven't got everyone. We got a large percentage. But we're not sure how many people [investors] are in New Zealand. We're not sure how many people would have got the message the action was on," Houghton said. The class action alleges that the prospectus at the time Feltex floated in May 2004 contained information that was misleading or wrong, or omitted to make information available that would have affected an investor's decision to invest in the company.

The listed defendants include former chairman Tim Saunders, former chief executive Sam Magill and former directors John Feeney, Craig Horrocks, Peter Hunter, Peter Thomas and Joan Withers. Also targeted are Credit Suisse First Boston Asian Merchant Partners - the firm that offered Feltex for sale - as well as Credit Suisse Private Equity Inc and the joint lead managers of the float, First New Zealand Capital and Forsyth Barr. The proceedings have been filed in the High Court at Christchurch.