Insolvent Spanish PET producer La Seda de Barcelona (Barcelona / Spain; www.laseda.es) has asked the Commercial Court of Barcelona for permission to sell its Artenius España production site at El Prat de Llobregat, near Barcelona / Spain and the Industrias Químicas Asociadas (IQA) site at Tarragona / Spain. At the first location, the company produces 170,000 t/y of PET, according to Plasteurope.com database Polyglobe (www.polyglobe.net). The second has capability for 140,000 t/y EO and 60,000 t/y of feedstock MEG.

Selling off non-core businesses that have low profitability and high volatility is expected to facilitate finding a buyer for the more viable units. Spanish reports say the bidding process for the two businesses has begun and La Seda also has asked the court for permission to start the process for its Turkish unit, Artenius TurkPet.

On 17 June, the Spanish company filed a petition for voluntary insolvency of the parent and 12 subsidiaries – see Plasteurope.com of 20.06.2013 – after its diverse shareholders failed to reach agreement on debt restructuring. The court later ruled it would handle the bankruptcy proceedings for all subsidiaries. Insolvency administrator Forest Partners Estrada y asociados (Madrid; www.forestpartners.es) is said to have approved the sale plans for the three production sites.