However, sources say Manroland employees are unlikely to be in favour of the Platinum bid. A source also told PrintWeek that the Plauen facility would probably be sold post acquisition. "Anyone buying the whole lot would most likely look to sell that asset as an engineering company," the source said.

The €100m figure attributed to the Platinum bid has also caused a flurry of industry comment. One press manufacturing expert said: "We now know the value is at least €100m. What if someone offers more than that for Augsburg alone?"

The second bidder concept is thought to combine offers from various companies that are only interested in one of the three sites, Augsburg, Offenbach and Plauen.

German manufacturing group L Possehl & Co, which also owns mailroom systems specialist Böwe Systec, is reported to be interested in the Augsburg web offset facility, as is a north German-based private equity investor.

And there is still speculation about trade interest in some of Manroland's technology and the ongoing service and support business from Shanghai Electric, KBA, and Heidelberg.