It is understood that Largo, Cologne-based Unisnack and a consortium including management have all submitted bids for the business, which carries a price tag of £15.5m ( 22.7m) and makes 73m worth of crisps every year.

The brands up for grabs are Golden Wonder, Nik Naks, Wheat Crunchies and Ringo.

Kroll, the administrator placed into Golden Wonder last Monday, is understood to be keen to close a deal by this Friday. Largo Food Exports, which has plants in Ashbourne, Co Meath, Donegal and the Czech Republic, is the biggest Irish-owned crisp and snack manufacturer, employing more than 400.

Largo's brands include Hunky Dorys, Perri and Sam Spudz. It also makes own label crisps for the major supermarkets in Ireland, and more than 40% of its business is export. In 2004, Largo reported pre-tax profit of 1m on turnover of 45.9m. Last year, it took over the production of Tayto in the Republic of Ireland from C&C.

Late last week Kroll announced the sale of the Pringles Mini brand and the Golden Wonder factory at Corby in England to another Irish company, Co Armagh based Tayto Northern Ireland. Tayto will now take control of the Golden Wonder factory in Corby, which produces the Pringles Mini brand. The production of Pringles Minis was subcontracted to Golden Wonder by Procter & Gamble, which owns Pringles, and this contract will be transferred as part of last week's deal.

The Tayto business in the North, which is owned by the Henderson family, has no connection with the operation in the Republic. Tayto's founder Joe 'Spud' Murphy sold the rights to the business in the North and the brand name shortly after he established the business in the mid 1950s.

Golden Wonder, which employed 850 people, also has facilities at Market Harborough in Leicestershire and Scunthorpe in Humberside.

Kroll said last week that part of the Corby plant will be closed and that the manufacturing of own label products will be transferred to Scunthorpe. Tayto will retain 195 of the 350 employees working at the Corby site.

Golden Wonder, which had once been the UK's favourite crisp brand, went into administration last week. In recent years it has found it increasingly difficult to compete with Walkers, which is owned by US giant Pepsi. In 2004, the last year for which results are available, Golden Wonder lost almost £11m on sales of £88m.