MILAN (Reuters) - Shares in Parmalat hit a record low on Tuesday after a U.S. jury found the Italian dairy group defrauded Citigroup in a case stemming from the group's 2003 collapse.
The New Jersey state court jury voted on Monday six-to-one that PARMALAT (PLT.IT)committed fraud, negligent misrepresentation and coversion, also known as theft, in favor of CITIGROUP (C.NY)and awarded the bank $364.2 million in damages.
At 3:39 a.m. EDT, Parmalat's stock was down 18.53 percent at 1.296 euros after being suspended from trade earlier in the session. It briefly touched 1.274 euros, its lowest since the company relisted in 2005.
Parmalat's new management, which accused Citigroup of actions that contributed to the firm's collapse, had itself sought up to $2.2 billion in damages from the biggest U.S. bank.
Citigroup called itself a victim of Parmalat's fraud, however, and countersued. The jury awarded the bank the maximum amount of monetary damages it had sought.
Parmalat said it planned to seek to have the verdict set aside. If that fails, the Italian food company said it would appeal against both the verdict and an earlier court ruling that narrowed the scope of its claims against Citigroup.
Known for its long-life milk, Parmalat collapsed in December 2003 under 14 billion euros of debt after uncovering a 4 billion euro hole in its accounts. Some have dubbed the episode "Europe's Enron."
Chief Executive Enrico Bondi has filed dozens of lawsuits against former Parmalat bankers and auditors and has so far recovered 2 billion euros, according to the company's public relations firm.
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Quentin Bryar)
