UPDATE 2-F&P Appliances gets China shareholder, shares leap

* China's Haier to buy 20 pct stake

* F&P Appliances posts big FY loss on writedowns; no div

* F&P to raise new equity, agrees finance

* Sees little sign of improvement in sales over next 12 mths

* Shares soar 58 percent (Adds company comment)

By Adrian Bathgate

WELLINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) - Chinese white goods maker Haier Group will buy 20 percent of New Zealand's debt-laden Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd FPA.NZ for $28.5 million, F&P said on Wednesday, sending F&P shares up more than 50 percent.

New Zealand's largest appliance manufacturer also reported a full-year loss and said it would raise up to NZ$201 million ($124.3 million) through a rights issue.

The deal with Haier (1169.HK) will open up the Chinese market to F&P Appliances and involves joint sales and marketing and manufacturing arrangements, CEO John Bongard said.

It is also a leap offshore for Haier, which has previously eyed deals with U.S. firms, including Maytag and General Electric's (GE.N) appliances unit.

"We think the arrangement with Haier offers a great opportunity for synergies and fully globalises the F&P brand," he told a media briefing.

F&P said the capital issues that had forced it to secure temporary funding and seen its share price plunge were now fixed, although its trading outlook was still tough.

Investors were relieved to see F&P secure a backer, and the associated capital package went a long way to securing the company's short-term future, said Ricky Ward, an analyst at Tyndall Investment Management.

"It's good they've got a cornerstone shareholder, and a reputable one at that, and that's why the share price has reacted in the manner it has," Ward said.

F&P Appliances shares jumped as much as 58 percent to NZ$1.00, around the level prior to the company's mid-February announcement that sales had fallen sharply and it needed to raise capital due to a blowout in short-term debt.

F&P Appliances posted a net loss of NZ$95.2 million in the year to end-March, compared with a year-earlier profit of NZ$54.2 million. It said it would not pay a dividend.

The company said there was little sign of improvement in sales over the next 12 months, with Bongard describing markets as "bumping along the bottom". It forecast 2010 operating profit of NZ$34 million.

F&P Appliances, known for its double-door dishwashers and smart washing machines, is shifting most of its manufacturing to low cost markets in Mexico and Thailand.

Falling sales left it short of cash for the moves, blowing its bank debt out to about NZ$570 million and forcing it to examine capital raising options.

F&P Appliances said it agreed a new debt facility of NZ$575 million with its banks, and debt would fall to about NZ$153 million by the end of the 2010 financial year.

F&P Appliances, which makes white goods including washing machines and fridges, has a global marketing, sales and product tie-up with Whirlpool Corp (WHR.N), the world's No.1 appliance maker. Bongard said the Haier deal was unlikely to affect the relationship with Whirlpool.

The F&P is a niche player catering to the top end of the market, as opposed to mass-market rivals such as Whirlpool's Maytag, Sweden's Electrolux (ELUXb.ST) and South Korea's LG Electronics (066570.KS). ($1=NZ$1.60) (Editing by Ian Geoghegan)