As Plasteurope.com went to press, Sandretto Industrie srl (Via de Amicis 44, I-10097 Collegno, TO) was still awaiting confirmation that a takeover bid by Cannon SpA (Via C. Colombo 49/A, I-20090 Trezzano s, Naviglio / MI) has been approved by the Italian government. If the Lit 120bn deal goes through it will bring to an end several years of operating under "Leggi Prodi" a form of protective receivership, after the collapse of the former owners, the Fornara Group, in 1993. This latest development follows the failure of a consortium of banks and other financial institutions to takeover Sandretto last year (see Plasteurope.com 11, 1996). In 1996 Sandretto had an aggregated turnover of USD 150m, with 700 employees in several countries.

Cannon is best known as a producer of PU systems, although the group has been diversifying its activities in recent years into composites and thermoforming. The acquisition of Sandretto will nearly double the group in turnover terms and create Italy's largest industrial machinery manufacturer.