As the 19 September deadline drew to a close, three of the four companies planning to submit takeover proposals for insolvent French PVC producer Kem One (Lyon; www.kemone.com) had completed the task – see Plasteurope.com of 17.09.2013. All three of the final candidates have expressed interest in their binding proposals to take over the entire business activities. The next step for all three is a 26 September date with the commercial court in Lyon, where the proposals of each will be evaluated and discussed.

According the ailing company's official receiver, Bruno Sapin, from the law firm AJPartenaires (Lyon; www.ajpartenaires.fr), the short list includes the US-based investment firm OpenGate Capital (Los Angeles, California; www.opengatecapital.com), UK-based Sun European Partners (London), which is a subsidiary of US private equity company Sun Capital Partners (Boca Raton, Florida; www.suncappart.com) and a consortium of French unions overseen by the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT; www.cgt.fr).