natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Det var ministeriets konklusion, at såfremt Arrivas bud kunne nedbringes til en negativ pris på 290 mio. DKK, ville det være det klart bedste alternativ at arbejde videre med over for kreditorerne.
The Ministry concluded that, if Arriva’s offer could be reduced to a negative price of DKK 290 million, it would clearly be the best alternative to pursue with the creditors.
Disse forhandlinger mundede den 21. november 2000 ud i en aftale i form af en hensigtserklæring om salget af Combus til Arriva, der blev underskrevet af Trafikministeriet som sælger af Combus og Arriva som køber af Combus og Combus' private långivere.
These negotiations resulted, on 21 November 2000, in the agreement of a Letter of Intent regarding the sale of Combus to Arriva, which was signed between the Danish Ministry of Transport, acting as seller of Combus, Arriva, acting as buyer of Combus, and the private commercial creditors of Combus.
Hensigtserklæringen indeholdt følgende hovedelementer:
The letter of intent contained the following main elements:
Staten modtog 100 DKK for overdragelsen af alle aktier i Combus.
The State would receive DKK 100 for the transfer of all shares in Combus (100 %).
Staten konverterede forudgående den ansvarlige lånekapital på 100 mio. DKK til aktiekapital.
The State would convert in advance the subordinated loan capital of DKK 100 million into share capital.
Combus' kapitalgrundlag styrkedes med yderligere 240 mio. DKK enten i form af indskud af ny egenkapital eller nedskrivning/konvertering af bankgæld.
Combus’ capital base would be strengthened by a further DKK 240 million, either in the form of an injection of new equity capital or the writing down/conversion of bank debt.
Staten stillede herudover beløbsmæssigt begrænsede garantier på i alt 57,5 mio. DKK i form af (i) en garanti for eventuelle miljøomkostninger på 22,5 mio. DKK, der ville blive udløst i det omfang sådanne omkostninger oversteg det i virksomheden allerede hensatte beløb til miljøomkostninger på 10 mio. DKK, og ii) en garanti på op til 35 mio. DKK for alle forhold, inklusive reguleringer af selskabets egenkapital i forhold til en af ledelsen præsenteret balance pr. ultimo september 2000 samt yderligere forpligtelser.
The State would additionally provide limited guarantees amounting to a total of DKK 57,5 million in the form of (i) a guarantee for potential environmental costs of DKK 22,5 million, which would be released to the extent that such costs exceeded the amount of DKK 10 million already allocated in the company for environmental costs and (ii) a guarantee of up to DKK 35 million for all matters including the regulation of the company’s equity capital in relation to the balance presented by the management as at the end of September 2000 and further commitments.
Staten stillede ubegrænsede garantier over for Arriva i forbindelse med eventuelle skattekrav, der kunne henføres til perioden forud for overdragelsen, for tab som følge af eventuelle krav fra tidligere tjenestemænd, for eventuelle tab som følge af Combus' tidligere afhændelse af Combus International og for eventuelle økonomiske tab, som Arriva kunne godtgøre stammede fra den forestående granskningsrapport.
The State would provide unlimited guarantees to Arriva in connection with any tax demands that could result from the period prior to the transfer, for losses as a result of any claims from former employees, for any losses that could result from Combus previous sale of Combus International, and for any financial losses that Arriva could establish originated from the forthcoming audit report.
Overdragelsen skulle ske med virkning fra den 1. januar 2001.
The transfer would take place with effect as from 1 January 2001.
Handlen var betinget af, at såvel trafikselskaber som Færdselsstyrelsen godkendte, at Combus' kørselskontrakter blev overtaget af det overtagende selskab, ligesom handlen var betinget af konkurrencemyndighedernes godkendelse.
The deal was conditional on both the transport companies and Denmark’s Road Safety and Transport Agency approving Combus’ bus service contracts being taken over by the new owner and also on the approval of the competition authorities.
Den i hensigtserklæringen aftalte videre proces indebar, at Trafikministeriet og Arriva — efter forudgående godkendelse i Finansudvalget og Arrivas bestyrelse — herefter indgik en endelig aftale efter ovenstående retningslinjer.
The further process, agreed in the letter of intent, meant that the Ministry of Transport and Arriva — after prior approval from the Finance Committee of the Danish Parliament and Arriva’s board — subsequently entered into a final agreement in accordance with the above guidelines.
Gennemførelsen af handlen ville først ske, når alle nødvendige eksterne godkendelser var opnået, dog senest den 1. februar 2001.
The conclusion of the deal would not take place until all necessary external approvals had been obtained, but no later than 1 February 2001.
I forlængelse af hensigtserklæringen forhandlede Trafikministeriet med kreditorerne om fordeling af indskuddet på de 240 mio. DKK.
As an extension of the letter of intent, the Ministry of Transport negotiated with the creditors on the distribution of the injection of DKK 240 million.
Der var enighed om, at den danske stat ville indskyde ny egenkapital på 140 mio. DKK, og at kreditorerne enten ville konvertere gæld til aktiekapital for 100 mio. DKK eller ville nedskrive gælden med samme beløb.
Agreement was reached that the Danish government would inject new equity capital of DKK 140 million and that the creditors would either convert debts to share capital to an amount equivalent to DKK 100 million or write down the debt by this amount.
Ifølge notatet skulle den danske stat justere købesummen (dog maksimalt 35 mio. DKK), hvis selskabets balance pr. 31. december 2000 viste, at kapitalreserverne udgjorde under 31,8 mio. DKK, hvilket svarer til bestyrelsens forventning, da hensigtserklæringen mellem parterne blev underskrevet.
In the memorandum, the Danish government had engaged to adjust the sales price (limited to a maximum amount of DKK 35 million), provided the company’s balance sheet as per 31 December 2000 revealed a capital reserve of less than DKK 31,8 million, which was the management’s expectation when the Letter of Intent between the parties was signed.
Det viste sig, at kapitalreserverne pr. 31. december 2000 udgjorde 10,3 mio. DKK.
The capital reserves as per 31 December 2000 turned out to be DKK 10,3 million.
Dette indebar, at staten skulle udbetale 20,5 mio. DKK for at opfylde sine forpligtelser under denne garanti.
Hence, the Danish government was obliged to make a payment of DKK 20,5 million to fulfil its obligations under this guarantee.
Arriva overtog Combus' resterende gældsforpligtelser, som på det tidspunkt androg 208 mio. DKK.
Arriva took over the remaining liabilities of Combus, which at the time amounted to DKK 208 million.
Arriva tilbagebetalte denne gæld umiddelbart efter købet af Combus og optog i stedet et lån hos moderselskabet, Arriva plc.
Arriva paid off these liabilities immediately upon purchasing Combus, and replaced them by a loan contracted from its mother company, Arriva plc.
I forhold til Arrivas oprindelige tilbud havde den danske stat forhandlet følgende væsentlige ændringer på plads:
Compared to the initial offer of Arriva, the Danish government had negotiated the following significant changes:
Combus' långivere var gået med til at deltage i rekonstruktionen ved at nedskrive en del af deres gæld (i alt 100mio. DKK)
Combus’s lenders had agreed to participate in the restructuring process, by writing down parts of their debt (in total DKK 100 million);
Kravet om tilførsel af 290 mio. DKK blev nedsat til 240 mio. DKK.
The requirement for an injection of DKK 290 million was reduced to DKK 240 million;
Aftalen indeholdt garantier for i alt 57,5 mio. DKK samt en række beløbsmæssigt ubegrænsede garantier.
The agreement contained guarantees limited in coverage for a total of DKK 57,5 million and a number of unlimited guarantees;
Staten indestod for, at Combus' nettoaktiver pr. 31. december 2000 efter regulering for nedskrivninger m.v. i henhold til aftalen udgjorde 31,8 mio. DKK.
The Danish government guaranteed for Combus’ net assets value as of 31 December 2000, after adjustment for write-offs etc. under the agreement, amounting to DKK 31,8 million;
Arriva var enig i, at anmodningerne om reguleringer på i alt 109 mio. DKK (nævnt i forslaget af 3. november 2000) ikke længere var relevante.
Arriva agreed that the requests for adjustments totalling DKK 109 million (mentioned in the proposal of 3 November 2000) were no longer relevant.
Det var således lykkedes Trafikministeriet ved forhandlingerne om hensigtserklæringens indhold at reducere Arrivas priskrav i forhold til forslaget af 3. november 2000 væsentligt.
In conclusion, the Ministry of Transport was thereby successful in the negotiations on the content of the letter of intent in significantly reducing Arriva’s price demands in relation to the proposal of 3 November 2000.
Finansudvalgets godkendelse af salget til Arriva
Approval by the Danish Parliament’s Finance Committee and sale to Arriva
Ved fortroligt aktstykke anmodede Trafikministeriet den 13. december 2000 om Finansudvalgets tilslutning til, at staten kunne afhænde alle aktier i Combus.
In a confidential bill of 13 December 2000, the Ministry of Transport requested the Finance Committee’s approval for the State to dispose of all shares in Combus.
Et flertal i Finansudvalget tiltrådte det fortrolige aktstykke samme dag.
The majority of the Finance Committee approved the confidential bill on the same day.
Aktiesalgsaftalen blev underskrevet den 15. januar 2001; Combus blev overdraget til Arriva den 2. april 2001 med tilbagevirkende kraft fra den 1. januar 2001, efter at den oprindelige kommissionsbeslutning var vedtaget.
The ‘Share Sale Agreement’ was signed on 15 January 2001; Combus was transferred to Arriva on 2 April 2001, after the initial Commission decision had been adopted, with retrospective effect from 1 January 2001.
»Closing« fandt sted den 2. april 2001 mellem Trafikministeriet og Arriva.
‘Closing’ took place on 2 April 2001 between the Ministry of Transport and Arriva.
Et tidligere udkast til aktiesalgsaftalen, som den danske regering havde tilsendt Kommissionen den 18. december 2000, indeholdt en klausul, hvorefter den danske regering skulle sikre Arriva mod mulige fordringer fra offentlige institutioner (f.eks. konkurrencemyndigheder og Kommissionen).
An earlier draft of the share sale agreement, sent by the Danish government to the Commission on 18 December 2000, contained a clause, according to which the Danish government was to guarantee Arriva for possible claims from public institutions (e.g. competition authorities and the EU Commission).
Den danske regering meddelte i sit brev til Kommissionen af 23. januar 2001, at denne klausul ikke var medtaget i den endelige aktiesalgsaftale.
The Danish government informed the Commission in its letter of 23 January 2001 that this clause had not been included in the final share sale agreement.
Grunden til denne ændring var, at den danske regering har foretrukket at anmode om godkendelse fra de relevante myndigheder inden »closing«.
The reason for this change was that ‘the Danish government has chosen to demand approval from the relevant authorities prior to the closing’.
Rigsrevisionens vurdering
Assessment of the Office of the Auditor General of Denmark
Salgsprocessen er også blevet beskrevet i en beretning fra Rigsrevisionen [21].
The sales process has also been the object of a special report of the Office of the Auditor General of Denmark [21].
Af beretningens konklusion (side 60) fremgår følgende:
The conclusion (page 60) of the report states that:
»Rigsrevisionens undersøgelse har vist, at Arrivas tilbud var lavt, men at ingen seriøse tilbud var bedre.
‘The investigation of the Office of the Auditor General of Denmark has shown that Arriva's offer was low, but that no serious offer was better.
Rigsrevisionen har konstateret, at Trafikministeriets undersøgelser viste, at et samlet salg af aktierne i Combus var at foretrække frem for en gradvis afvikling af selskabet eller en betalingsstandsning.
The Office of the Auditor General of Denmark has established that the Ministry of Transport’s investigations showed that the total sale of shares in Combus was preferable to a gradual dismantling of the company or going into administration.
Rigsrevisionen har konstateret, at Trafikministeriets overvejelser ved forberedelsen og gennemførelsen af aktiesalget har været velfunderede.
The Office of the Auditor General of Denmark has established that the Ministry of Transport’s considerations, when preparing and conducting the sale of shares, were well founded.
Trafikministeriet fik ved forhandlingerne reduceret Arrivas pris for at overtage aktierne, og ministeriet fik ved forhandling selskabets långivere til at medvirke til aktiehandelens gennemførelse.
The Ministry of Transport managed, by negotiation, to have Arriva’s price for taking over the shares reduced and the Ministry also managed, by negotiation, to involve the company’s lenders in the shares deal.
Rigsrevisionen finder ud fra de foreliggende vurderinger og oplysninger, at den indgåede aftale må anses for tilfredsstillende.
On the basis of the assessments and information available, the Office of the Auditor General of Denmark conclude that the agreement should be regarded as satisfactory.
Det var således i forbindelse med salgsaftalen nødvendigt, at staten indskød 140 mio. DKK i Combus og stillede garantier for selskabet på ca. 58 mio. DKK.«
It was therefore necessary for the State to inject DKK 140 million into Combus and provide guarantees of approx. DKK 58 million for the company in connection with the sales agreement.’
Det efterfølgende salg af 50 % af Combus til Connex
The subsequent sale of 50 % of Combus to Connex
Kommissionen havde i betragtning 66 i sin beslutning om at indlede proceduren rejst tvivl om, hvorvidt Combus blev solgt til Arriva til markedsprisen.
In recital 66 of the decision to initiate the procedure, the Commission had raised doubts as to whether the sales price of Combus to Arriva was the market price.
Tvivlen opstod, fordi salgsprisen ved salget af 50 % af Combus til Connex, der fandt sted den 1. maj 2001, mindre end en måned efter at aftalen mellem den danske stat og Arriva var blevet underskrevet, ifølge den danske presse var på 223 mio. DKK.
These doubts were in particular founded on the observation that according to the Danish press, the sale of 50 % of Combus to Connex, which took place on 1 May 2001, less than a month after the signing of the sales agreement between the Danish government and Arriva, took place at a sales price of DKK 223 million.
Den danske stat og Arriva har sendt supplerende oplysninger herom til Kommissionen.
The Danish government and Arriva have transmitted additional factual information on this point to the Commission.
Forhandlingerne mellem Arriva og Connex indledtes i 2000.
The process of the negotiations between Arriva and Connex started in 2000.
Arriva og Connex aftalte på europæisk lederplan den 10. oktober 2000 et »Memorandum of Understanding«, som fastlagde principperne for parternes samarbejde om processen frem mod overtagelse af Combus.
Arriva and Connex agreed on a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ at European management level on 10 October 2000, which established the principles for cooperation between the parties in the run-up to the take-over of Combus.
Det var oprindeligt tanken, at begge selskaber skulle give et fælles tilbud.
The initial idea was that both companies submitted a joint bid.
Forud for udfærdigelsen af denne hensigtserklæring havde Connex og Arriva deltaget i en af Alfred Berg kontrolleret screeningsproces, men selskabet havde valgt ikke at gå videre på egen hånd.
Prior to the drawing up of this declaration of intent, Connex, as well as Arriva, had taken part in the screening process controlled by Alfred Berg, but the company had chosen not to go further on its own.
På baggrund af det udarbejdede »Memorandum of Understanding« fik begge parter adgang til datarummet for derved at vurdere selskabets værdi og de risici, der var forbundet med et køb.
In accordance with the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’, both parties were given access to the data room in order to assess the company’s value and the risks associated with the purchase.
Arriva og Connex udvekslede erfaringer fra datarummet, og det stod klart, at der var store forskelle på de to selskabers forventninger til og vurderinger af Combus.
Arriva and Connex exchanged experiences from the data room and it was clear that there were great differences in the two companies’ expectations and assessment of Combus.
Således vurderede Arriva, at selskabet havde en negativ værdi på omkring 300 mio. DKK, og Connex vurderede, at Combus havde en negativ værdi på ca. 700-1000 mio. DKK.
Thus, Arriva assessed the company as having a negative value of approx DKK 300 million and Connex assessed Combus as having a negative value of approximately DKK 700-1000 million.
Da parterne således var fundamentalt uenige om risiciene forbundet med købet, afbrød man forhandlingerne om en deling af selskabet, og Arriva fortsatte forhandlingerne med den danske stat på egen hånd.
As the parties therefore fundamentally disagreed on the risks associated with the purchase, negotiations on a division of the company were broken off and Arriva continued the negotiations with the Danish State on its own.
Som beskrevet ovenfor førte forhandlingerne i sidste ende til, at Combus blev solgt til Arriva i maj 2001.
As described above, these negotiations eventually led to the successful sale of Combus to Arriva in May 2001.
Ultimo december 2000 blev forhandlingerne mellem Arriva og Connex genoptaget, denne gang med henblik på salg af visse af Combus' aktiver (dvs. kontrakter og busser) til Connex.
At the end of December 2000, the negotiations between Arriva and Connex were resumed, this time with a view to the sale of certain assets (i.e. contracts and busses) of Combus to Connex.
Connex fik fuld adgang til det udarbejdede due diligence-materiale, og Arriva delagtiggjorde Connex i detaljer i en af Arriva udarbejdet business case.
Connex was given full access to the due diligence material that had been compiled and Arriva initiated Connex in the details of a business case drawn up by Arriva.
På den baggrund indgik parterne en aftale, »Head of Terms«, der blev underskrevet den 21. februar 2001 med en aftalt pris på 230 mio. DKK.
Against this background, the parties entered into an agreement, ‘Head of Terms’, which was signed on 21 February 2001 with an agreed price of DKK 230 million.
Denne værdi svarede til de involverede aktivers bogførte værdi (busser, infrastruktur og gældende underskudsgivende offentlige kørselskontrakter, især i hovedstadsområdet).
This value corresponded to the book value of the actives involved (busses, infrastructure and existing loss-making public service contracts, in particular in the Copenhagen area).
Efter yderligere forhandlinger, der især var baseret på en tilbundsgående cash flow-analyse, blev salgsprisen i den endelige aftale, som blev underskrevet den 30. april 2001, fastsat til 113,9 mio. DKK.
Following further negotiations, which involved in particular a detailed cash-flow analysis, the final price in the sales agreement signed on 30 April 2001 was DKK 113,9 million.
Salgsprisen blev nedjusteret, fordi det af cash flow-analysen fremgik, at de løbende offentlige kørselskontrakter gav meget større underskud end oprindeligt forventet.
The downward adjustment of the sales price is due to the fact that the cash-flow analysis showed that losses from on-going public service contracts were much higher than initially foreseen.
Som følge heraf blev Arriva nødt til at udnytte hensættelserne i Combus' regnskab for underskudsgivende offentlige kørselskontrakter fuldt ud.
As a consequence, Arriva had to make full use of the provisions made in Combus’ accounts for the loss-making public service contracts.
Som svar på betragtning 118 i beslutningen om at indlede proceduren, hvori Kommissionen stillede spørgsmålstegn ved, om Arriva kunne sælge kontrakterne, når lovgivningen ikke tillod, at kontrakterne blev ophævet, forklarer den danske regering, at salget af kontrakterne indebærer et almindeligt realdebitorskifte, der kræver samtykke fra realkreditor (kommuner og amter) og indebærer, at busdriften opretholdes til den tidligere fastsatte pris og på de i øvrigt tidligere aftalte vilkår.
In response to recital 118 of the decision to initiate the procedure, where the Commission wonders whether Arriva could sell the contracts, when there were legal clauses to prevent the contracts being terminated, the Danish government explains that the sale of the contracts means a straightforward change in the provider, which requires the consent of the recipient (municipalities and counties) and involves bus operations being maintained at the previously fixed price and on the previously agreed terms.
Kommunerne og amterne gav deres samtykke til, at kontrakterne blev overdraget fra Arriva til Connex. 2.1.4. OMSTRUKTURERINGSFORANSTALTNINGERNE I 1999 OG 2001
In the case of the transfer of contracts from Arriva to Connex, the municipalities and counties involved gave their consent.
De beskrives nøjere nedenfor.
These are described in detail in the following sections.
Omstruktureringsforanstaltningerne i 1999
The 1999 Restructuring Measures
De danske myndigheder tilsendte Kommissionen fire notater i april 2007.
The Danish authorities submitted to the Commission in April 2007 four separate notes.
Tre af notaterne, dateret den 26. april 1999, 15. maj 1999 og 18. maj 1999, var skrevet af Kromann & Münter, og et, dateret den 18. maj 1999, af KPMG.
Three of the notes, dated 26 April 1999, 15 May 1999, and 18 May 1999, had been written by Kromann and Münter, one, dated 18 May 1999, by KPMG.
Efter de danske myndigheders opfattelse udgør notatet fra KPMG den driftsmæssige omstruktureringsplan for kapitaltilførslen i 1999 og de tre notater fra Kromann & Münter den finansielle omstruktureringsplan.
The Danish authorities consider that the note of KPMG constitutes the operational restructuring plan for the 1999 capital injection, and that the three notes of Kromann and Münter constitute the financial restructuring plan.
KPMG's notat
KPMG’s note
KPMG, som er et af Combus' revisionsfirmaer, havde foretaget en gennemgang af lønsomheden af udvalgte kørselskontrakter i maj 1999.
KPMG, one of Combus’s accountancy firms, had carried out an examination of the profitability of selected bus contracts in May 1999.
Det forelagde sine resultater i et notat af 18. maj 1999 med titlen »Lønsomheden af udvalgte kørselskontrakter for perioden 1999/2001«.
In a memo of 18 May 1999, entitled ‘Profitability of selected transport service contracts in the period 1999/2001’, it transmitted its results.
Undersøgelsen byggede på Combus' driftsbudgetter for årene 1999-2001, som godkendt af ledelsen i Combus i november 1998 og korrigeret med et budgetoverslag, som ledelsen havde opstillet i april 1999.
The examination was based on the operating budgets for Combus for the years 1999-2001, as approved by the board of Combus in November 1998, and corrected with a budget estimate drawn up by the management in April 1999.
Revisorerne anførte i notatet, at der ikke var tale om en budgetgennemgang.
The accountants stated in the memo that the work carried out was not a budget examination.
Ifølge notatet betød dette, at revisorerne ikke havde vurderet, om budgetterne som helhed indeholdt alle de oplysninger, som var nødvendige til en selvstændig bedømmelse af Combus forventede udvikling, og at de heller ikke havde vurderet, om budgetterne var udtryk for den mest sandsynlige udvikling.
According to the memo, this meant that the accountants had not assessed whether the budgets as a whole contained all the information that was necessary for an independent assessment of Combus’ anticipated development, nor had they assessed whether the budgets reflected the most probable development.