The rescue capital raising by Alstom, the troubled French engineering firm, has fallen 20% short of target after creditors shunned the debt-for-equity swap component of the deal. Alstom sought €2.25bn (€2.76bn), but raised only €1.8bn.

BNP Paribas, Calyon and SG led the banking syndicate for Alstom, which launched its rights issue in July with help from the French state.