Parmalat shares fell heavily again yesterday, highlighting the difficulty of valuing the Italian dairy company while investor expectations are ruled by the anticipated recovery of billions of euro from lawsuits.

Parmalat relisted in October, less than two years after its spectacular collapse.

Enrico Bondi, the government-appointed administrator who has since been elected chief executive, started dozens of lawsuits against banks he alleges helped prolong fraud at the company.

No bank has admitted wrongdoing but markets are anticipating that a portion of the €13.2 billion ($15.4 billion) being sought in damages will be added to the company's existing €2 billion asset base.

Another tranche of lawsuits covers about €7.5 billion in Parmalat financial deals which Mr Bondi is seeking to unwind.

The return of some of that money is also anticipated by some investors.

In Ireland, the liquidation of Parmalat's IFSC-based subsidiary, Eurofood, is being carried out by Pearse Farrell of Farrell Grant Sparks.

Bank of America, which is being sued for up to €8 billion by Parmalat, claims it is owed more than €3 million by Eurofood.

Parmalat's shares have fallen about 8.5 per cent in the past two trading days because a regional court last week sent a case involving one of the financial deals to a higher constitutional court in Rome.

Lawyers fighting Mr Bondi say he interpreted incorrectly a new Italian bankruptcy procedure while filing efforts to unwind the deals.

The referral was expected by both sides although it seems to have scared investors, perhaps because no bank is likely to agree to pay back money before a ruling.

Investors who helped inflate the share price when Parmalat relisted last month might therefore be realising that the recovery of any money could take a long time.

There have been some calls for the company to be split into two - a manufacturing arm and a branch devoted to litigation. - (Financial Times service)