Waterford Wedgwood of Ireland - the owner of the Wedgwood and Royal Doulton brands of luxury tableware - is in receivership.
Receiver Deloitte said on Monday a number of subsidiaries, including Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Ltd and Royal Doulton Ltd, have been placed into administration. They will continue to trade while buyers are sought.
The company also asked on Monday that its shares be suspended from trading on the Irish Stock Exchange. It is heavily in debt and warned in December that it would not be able to pay interest to bondholders.
Waterford crystal is one of Ireland's most famous brands. Luxury tableware was once a mainstay of wedding gift lists worldwide.
Wedgwood was founded 250 years ago. Its brands include Royal Doulton, known for its fine china tableware and figurines.
The group has some 8,000 employees worldwide, including 1000 at the Rosenthal porcelain makers in Germany. It has already moved a lot of production to Indonesia.
Chairman Anthony O'Reilly has repeatedly pumped extra funds into Waterford Wedgwood. But its shares have been in steady decline since 2001. Net debt was 448.9 million euros ($US625.1 million) in October.
