The fate of French PVC producer Kem One could be decided on Dec. 20, just before most trading activity ceases for the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Only one bidder is left in the running to pull the former Arkema subsidiary out of the mire. The company that filed for bankruptcy at the end of March is Europe's third largest PVC producer (behind Ineos and Solvay), with sales of more than €1 billion.

On Dec. 18, the Commercial Court of Lyon, France, which is handling the insolvency proceedings, announced that two bids had been merged into one - with private equity group OpenGate Capital and industrial Alain de Krassny opting to pool their resources.

The joint bid was to be presented to Kem One's Joint Consultative Committee on Dec. 19, with another hearing scheduled for Dec. 20 to announce what the court called a "final decision."

The assets up for grabs include seven production sites with 1,300 employees at Balan, Saint-Fons, Saint-Auban, Berre, Fos-sur-Mer, Lavéra and Vauvert - all in France. Altogether, KemOne employs 2,600 people at 22 sites in Europe, Asia and North America.