Georgia Gulf and Silver-Line want to buy Freedom Plastics

Who wants to buy PVC pipe and fittings manufacturer Freedom Plastics Inc.? None other than Silver-Line Plastics Corp. and Georgia Gulf Corp.. You'll recall that Georgia Gulf made a big bet on the plastics construction market back in 2006 when it bought Royal Group Technologies Ltd. -- an investment that hasn't gone all that well. But, then again, not much in the construction market has gone well lately. According to this story in the The Janesville Gazette, Georgia Gulf wants Freedom's plant in Janesville, Wis., and Silver-Line wants the company's plant in Fort Pierce, Fla. These companies were the high bidders in an auction for the assets last week, but the court decided to hold another auction next week. "Had we won yesterday, we would have been there today engaging the employees," Ashley Mendoza of Georgia Gulf told the newspaper. "That was our plan." Court-appointed receiver Michael Polsky told the newspaper that Bank of America, Freedom's primary secured creditor, would not agree to the bids from Silver-Line Plastics and Georgia Gulf. The bids were for "substantially less" than the $20 million Freedom owes the bank. Marc Skapof, a lawyer representing Silver-Line and Georgia Gulf, told the newspaper that his clients object to the new auction. So the next step, and the future of Freedom Plastics, is unclear. Polsky told the newspaper that a company consultant is preparing an operating budget for the next couple of weeks, and the bank will decide whether the company keeps running or shuts down. Stay tuned!