Parthus Technologies, the Irish semiconductor company listed on the London Stock Exchange, has underlined the fragility of the European technology market by pricing its £116m (€193m) secondary sale at more than 35% below the price just before the sale was confirmed.

The sharp fall in Parthus' share price in the past fortnight means that Goldman Sachs, which was sole bookrunner on the deal, will reap just £38m from the sale of part of its stake, rather than the expected £50m. Goldman, which invested in Parthus in 1998 at the equivalent of just 8.5p a share, is selling 18.3 million shares in the secondary, cutting its stake in the company to around 13.5%.