It seems that yet another potential investor for Vinyls Italia’s (Porto Marghera / Italy) chlor-vinyl chain has gotten cold feet. After making a binding offer, Swiss fund Gita Holding (Zug; www.gita-holding.com) has allowed the first payment deadline to elapse without any money changing hands – for most recent coverage, see Plasteurope.com of 11.02.2011. By now, some EUR 700,000 were to have been set aside to pay the employees, as well as EUR 100m to invest in all the necessary equipment to restart the plants.

Following the failure to secure the funds in a timely fashion, Italian minister for economic development Paolo Romani quickly called a meeting with administrators, union representatives and local authorities, during which it was decided to extend the payment deadline to 27 April, giving other interested parties time to resubmit their offers. Romani emphasised that there would be no additional concessions, indicating that Syndial’s planned takeover of the chlorine chain could be jeopardised, too.

Aside from Gita, it looks like there are no real alternative investors. Although Dioki (Zagreb / Croatia; www.dioki.hr) was once dealt as a favourite, the company’s owner is now embroiled in a blackmail scandal – see Plasteurope.com of 26.01.2011. Silence also engulfs the erstwhile interested party Generali spa (IGS, Samarate / Italy; www.industriegenerali.it). Indeed, the administrators have rejected both these companies, since they only intend to acquire parts of the PVC chain, and – most important of all – would omit the popular but controversial site of Porto Marghera. As for the unions, they have accused the politicians of failing to consider what they believe is the only feasible solution: the come-back of Eni (Rome / Italy; www.eni.it).