natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
På baggrund af Sernam SAs økonomiske situation med vedvarende underskud (det samlede tab i de fire sidste regnskabsår før overdragelsen beløb sig til 309,2 mio. EUR) var selskabets samlede værdi negativ.
Since its economic situation continued to be in deficit (the cumulated losses of the four financial years prior to the disposal amounted to EUR 309,2 million), the total value of Sernam SA’s assets would have been negative.
For at overholde forbuddet i fransk ret mod salg til en negativ pris og sikre, at overdragelsen er økonomisk neutral, plejer man, hvis værdien af de aktiver, der skal overdrages, er negativ, 1) at fastsætte, køber betaler en symbolsk pris, og 2) at fastlægge en metode til godtgørelse af køber (enten sælgers deltagelse i en kapitalforhøjelse forud for overdragelsen eller sælgers eftergivelse af de fordringer, han måtte have mod det overdragne selskab).
To comply with the prohibition of a sale at a negative price under French law and to ensure the economic neutrality of the disposal operation, it is customary for practitioners in the case of negative value of assets to be transferred (1) to provide that the price paid by the purchaser is symbolic and (2) to set up an arrangement intended to compensate the purchaser (either participation by the seller in a capital increase prior to the disposal or write-off by the seller of debts owed to it by the transferred company).
Med henblik på at undgå, at Sernam SAs kreditorer anfægter transaktionens gyldighed eller gør deres indsigelsesret gældende, bør man desuden lægge de passiver, der er nødvendige for at videreføre Sernams virksomhed, til aktiverne »en bloc«.
In addition, in order to avoid Sernam SA’s creditors calling into question the validity of the operation or exercising their right to oppose it, it was appropriate for the assets en bloc to be accompanied by the liabilities necessary to continue Sernam’s business.
Det ville ikke have været muligt at tillægge passiverne, hvis man blot havde solgt aktiverne.
Merely selling the assets would not have allowed inclusion of these liabilities.
Man måtte derfor foretage et delvist indskud af aktiver efter fissionsordningen, jf. artikel L.236-16 til L.236-21 i den franske Code de commerce.
It was therefore appropriate to undertake a partial contribution of assets subject to the regulations on divisions under Articles L.236-16 to L.236-21 of the French Commercial Code.
I den forbindelse oplyser de franske myndigheder, at indskuddet svarer til et salg, eftersom det også indebærer en overdragelse af ejendomsret, idet det honoreres med aktier udstedt af det selskab, der modtager tilførslen.
In this respect, the French authorities specify that the contribution is equivalent to a sale in that it also entails a transfer of ownership, through remuneration by shares issued by the company in receipt of the contribution.
Da køber i medfør af artikel 3, stk. 2, i Sernam 2-beslutningen ikke måtte have nogen juridisk forbindelse med SNCF, var det ikke muligt at foretage indskuddet af aktiver en bloc direkte til Financière Sernam, for i så fald ville Sernam SA i kraft af selve indskuddet automatisk være blevet aktionær i Financière Sernam.
As, pursuant to Article 3(2) of the Sernam 2 Decision, the acquiring party could have no legal link with SNCF, it was not possible to carry out the contribution of assets en bloc directly to Financière Sernam as, in this case, Sernam SA would automatically have become shareholder of Financière Sernam through the contribution.
Det forklarer, at der blev foretaget et delvist indskud til Sernam Xpress og derefter en overdragelse af Sernam Xpress til Financière Sernam.
This would explain why there was a partial contribution of assets to Sernam Xpress then disposal of Sernam Xpress to Financière Sernam.
Ifølge de franske myndigheder udgør det delvise indskud af aktiver i Sernam Xpress på ingen måde en koncernintern overdragelse, idet Sernam Xpress er et skuffeselskab, som benyttes til at overføre aktiver en bloc fra Sernam SA med det ene formål at gøre det muligt samtidig at overdrage dem til køber — selskabet Financière Sernam — og ikke videreføre moderselskabets virksomhed.
According to the French authorities, the partial contribution of assets to Sernam Xpress is not an intra-group transfer in any case, since Sernam Xpress is a ‘shell company’ used to accommodate the assets en bloc of Sernam SA for the sole purposes of permitting their simultaneous disposal to the acquiring party – the company Financière Sernam – and not to continue the business of the parent company.
Disse aktiver overføres og indskydes til deres markedsværdi i Sernam Xpress med henblik på at gennemføre transaktionen.
These assets were purportedly accommodated and contributed at their market value to Sernam Xpress for the purposes of carrying out the operation.
Under alle omstændigheder medførte indskuddet af aktiver en overdragelse af ejendomsret, for hvilken Sernam Xpress havde udstedt en aktieandel på 100 EUR i nominel værdi.
In any case, the contribution of assets would have implied transfer of ownership, for which Sernam Xpress had issued a share with a nominal value of EUR 100.
Ifølge de franske myndigheder udgør denne foranstaltning prisen for de indskudte aktiver og passivers reelle værdi efter rekapitaliseringen på 57 mio. EUR.
According to the French authorities, this share represents the price of the real value of the assets and liabilities contributed, once recapitalised to the amount of EUR 57 million.
Som svar på indledningsbeslutningen vedlagde de franske myndigheder deres bemærkninger en udtalelse fra juraprofessor Nicolas Molfessis, som udtaler »fransk ret […] gav ikke SNCF mulighed for at afstå Sernams aktiver en bloc direkte til Financière Sernam, idet SNCF i henhold til de franske retsregler var tvunget til at iværksætte en »indskuds- og overførselstransaktion« for at opfylde de af Kommissionen pålagte krav:
The French authorities enclosed with their comments in response to the opening decision the opinion of Nicolas Molfessis, Law Professor, according to which ‘Under French law … SNCF would not be permitted to dispose of Sernam's assets directly en bloc to Financière Sernam; under the legal rules applicable, SNCF was obliged to set up a contribution and disposal operation to comply with the constraints imposed by the Commission:
Da salg til negativ pris er et ukendt begreb i fransk ret, kunne transaktionen ikke ske til markedspris som forlangt af Kommissionen uden en forudgående rekapitalisering.
since French law makes no provision for the very concept of sale at a negative price, the operation could not be undertaken at market price, as imposed by the Commission, without prior recapitalisation;
Da gældsoverdragelse er et ukendt begreb i fransk ret, og en kontraktoverdragelse er betinget af, at samtlige kontrahenter i overdragelsen har givet deres samtykke, som det i praksis er umuligt at opnå, krævede overdragelsen af de driftspassiver, der var nødvendige for at videreføre aktiviteterne, at man tog metoden med delvis indskud af aktiver i anvendelse for at overvinde den hindring.
since French law makes no provision for the concept of the assignment of debt, and makes the assignment of contract conditional upon the prior agreement of all the contractors assigned, an agreement which is impossible to obtain in practice, the assignment of the operating liabilities necessary to continue the business called for recourse to the technique of the partial contribution of assets to overcome this obstacle.
For at anvende metoden med delvist indskud af aktiver var det nødvendigt at bruge et selskab, Sernam Xpress, som mellemled for at opfylde Kommissionens betingelse om, at der ikke måtte være nogen juridisk forbindelse mellem overdrageren og erhververen.
Recourse to the technique of the partial contribution of assets required the intervention of a company, Sernam Xpress, to comply with the condition of absence of legal link between the assignor and the assignee imposed by the Commission.
Sernams strategi skal sidestilles med en overdragelse af aktiver en bloc:
The arrangement put in place by Sernam must be assimilated to a disposal of the assets en bloc:
Indskuds-overdragelsestransaktionen, som er velkendt i praksis, sidestilles af kassationsretten med en overdragelse af aktiver, hver gang indikatorer viser en udelelighed mellem de to transaktioner, idet disse i sidste instans kun omhandlede overdragelsen af aktiver.
The contribution and disposal operation, which is well-known in practice, has been assimilated by the Court of Cassation to a disposal of assets whenever indicators showed that the two operations were inextricably linked, since in the end their sole aim is the transfer of the assets;
En sådan udelelighed er afgjort tilfældet i den foreliggende sag, idet parternes vilje til at betragte de forskellige transaktioner som indbyrdes afhængige klart fremgår af de forskellige aftaler, som ikke har andet formål end at overdrage aktiver fra Sernam til Financière Sernam.«
Such an inextricable link is perfectly obvious in the present case, since the various agreements signed between the parties very clearly show the will of the parties to regard the various operations as interdependent, and having the sole objective of the disposal of Sernam’s assets to Financière Sernam.’
Ifølge de franske myndigheder blev Sernam SAs aktiver solgt en bloc til et selskab uden juridisk forbindelse med SNCF til en negativ pris svarende til en markedspris og efter en overdragelsesforhandling inden for rammerne af et åbent, gennemskueligt, ubetinget og ikkediskriminerende udbud i overensstemmelse med betingelserne i Sernam 2-beslutningens artikel 3, stk. 2.
According to the French authorities, Sernam SA’s assets were sold en bloc to a company that has no legal link with SNCF, at a negative price corresponding to a market price, following negotiation of the disposal conducted in the context of an open, transparent, unconditional and non-discriminatory tendering procedure, in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 3(2) of the Sernam 2 Decision.
Udvælgelsesprocessens åbne og gennemskuelige karakter
Concerning the open and transparent nature of the selection process
For de franske myndigheder er påstanden om, at det sagsmateriale, som blev fremsendt til de potentielle købere af aktiverne i Sernam SA, ikke omhandlede salget af Sernam Xpress, men salget af Sernam SAs aktiver, materielt falsk.
For the French authorities, the assertion that the file transmitted to potential buyers of Sernam SA’s assets did not refer to the sale of Sernam Xpress but to the sale of Sernam SA’s assets is materially incorrect.
Endvidere indebar kravet om et åbent, gennemskueligt og ikkediskriminerende udbud ikke, at der skulle foretages et nyt udbud efter rekapitaliseringen, da denne kun er det direkte resultat af udbuddet og den deraf følgende negative pris.
Moreover, the requirement of an open, transparent and non-discriminatory tendering procedure would not imply undertaking a new tendering procedure after the recapitalisation, since this is merely the direct result of the tendering procedure and the negative price resulting from it.
Den berettigede forventning
Concerning legitimate expectations
De franske myndigheder mener, at man ved eksplicit at fastsætte en mulighed i Sernam 2-beslutningen for at overdrage Sernams aktiver en bloc har givet SNCF og de franske myndigheder begrundede forhåbninger om, at de havde lov til at træffe den foranstaltning.
The French authorities consider that by providing explicitly for the possibility to undertake the disposal of Sernam’s assets en bloc, the Sernam 2 Decision gave rise to expectations on the part of SNCF and the French authorities based on the fact that they were authorised to proceed in this way.
Indledningen af undersøgelsesproceduren vedrørende statsstøtte er således udtryk for manglende anerkendelse af den berettigede forventning, de franske myndigheder havde til Sernam 2-beslutningen, så meget desto mere som de havde handlet i total gennemsigtighed i forhold til Kommissionen og givet alle nyttige forklaringer om de nærmere omstændigheder ved denne overdragelse.
Initiating the State aid investigation procedure would therefore ignore the legitimate expectations that the French authorities had placed in the Sernam 2 Decision, especially as they had acted with total transparency in relation to the Commission, providing it with all the relevant explanations on the terms and conditions of this disposal.
De såkaldte manipulationer ved værdiansættelsen af de aktiver og passiver, der blev overført fra Sernam SA til Sernam Xpress
Concerning the alleged manipulations carried out at the time of the valuation of the assets and liabilities transferred from Sernam SA to Sernam Xpress
Med hensyn til de såkaldte manipulationer ved værdiansættelsen afviser de franske myndigheder først og fremmest, at der skulle være anvendt et haircut på 22 mio. ved værdiansættelsen af aktiverne.
Concerning the alleged manipulations carried out at the time of the valuation, the French authorities firstly reject the discount of EUR 22 million purportedly made on the valuation of the assets.
Når der er tale om en transaktion med delvis indskud af aktiver efterfulgt af en overdragelse, kræver de gældende regnskabsbestemmelser, at værdien ansættes på grundlag af de indskudte aktiver og passivers reelle værdier og ikke til den regnskabsmæssige nettoværdi, som den første klager påstår.
In fact, since the operation in question was a partial contribution of assets followed by a disposal, the accounting rules applicable required valuation not at net accounting value as the first complainant claims, but based on the current value of the assets and liabilities contributed.
Disse værdier skal vurderes i forhold til markedsprisen eller uafhængige ekspertvurderinger.
These values were assessed in accordance with the market price or valuations by independent experts.
De gældende regnskabsregler er ligeledes anvendt til værdiansættelse af de udskudte skattegodtgørelser.
The accounting rules in force were also applied for the valuation of the deferred tax credits.
Hvad vurdering af varemærkeporteføljen angår, er denne baseret på et overslag, som Kommissionen foretog den 23. maj 2001 ved et indskud fra SNCF til SCS Sernam.
As regards the valuation of the brand portfolio, this was based on an estimate made by the European Commission on 23 May 2001 at the time of a contribution by SNCF to SCS Sernam.
Med hensyn til værdiansættelsen af passiverne mener de franske myndigheder, at kun de passiver, som er nødvendige for at videreføre aktiviteterne i det selskab, der modtager indskuddet, blev overført.
With regard to the valuation of the liabilities, the French authorities consider that only the liabilities necessary to continue the business of the company in receipt of the contribution were transferred.
I øvrigt svarer værdiansættelsen af »badwill« kun til den regnskabsmæssige gengivelse af den negative markedsværdi på 57 mio. EUR.
Moreover, in their view, the valuation of the badwill corresponds only to the entry in the accounts of the negative market value of EUR 57 million.
Manglende forpligtelse til at tilbagesøge støtten på 41 mio. EUR fra Sernam Xpress
Concerning the absence of obligation to recover the aid amounting to EUR 41 million from Sernam Xpress
De franske myndigheder gør gældende, at sondringen mellem share deal og asset deal, som Kommissionens argumentation bygger på inden for rammerne af SMI [16]- og CDA [17]-sagerne, ikke er relevant i den foreliggende sag.
The French authorities emphasise that the distinction between share deal and asset deal, which forms the basis for the Commission’s arguments developed in the context of the SMI [16] and CDA [17] cases, is not relevant in the present case.
Opsplitning af transaktionen mellem koncernintern overførsel og share deal
Concerning the breakdown of the operation into intra-group transfer and share deal
Af de i pkt. 61-70 anførte årsager mener de franske myndigheder, at overførslerne af aktiviteter fra Sernam SA til Financière Sernam ikke udgør en koncernintern overførsel efterfulgt af en share deal, men af overdragelse af aktiver til tredjemand.
For the reasons described in recitals 61 to 70, the French authorities consider that the operations for the transfer of the activities from Sernam SA to Financière Sernam do not constitute an intra-group transfer followed by a share deal, but a disposal of assets to a third party.
Subsidiært gør de franske myndigheder gældende, at markedsprisen på Sernam Xpress nødvendigvis ville have afspejlet, at der forelå en gæld på 41 mio. EUR, hvis støtten var blevet overført.
In the alternative, they emphasise that the market price of Sernam Xpress would necessarily have taken into account the existence of the debt of EUR 41 million if the aid had been transferred.
Efter denne hypotese ville den negative pris have været på 98 mio. EUR (57 + 41).
Under this assumption, the negative price would have been EUR 98 million (57 + 41).
Men den negative pris, der blev »betalt« — i realiteten opkrævet — af Financière Sernam, var kun på 57 mio. EUR. Således sparede sælger 41 mio. EUR, men det er derfor også sælger, der bevarer den økonomiske fordel ved støtten.
However, the negative price ‘paid’ – in reality received – by Financière Sernam was allegedly only EUR 57 million. Consequently, the seller would have saved EUR 41 million, but it is therefore the seller who would have kept the economic benefit of the aid.
Myndighederne henviser i den forbindelse til Banks-dommen [18].
They refer in this context to the Banks judgment [18].
Overholdelse af betingelserne i CDA- og SMI-dommene
Concerning compliance with the conditions of the CDA and SMI judgments
De franske myndigheder anfører, at Domstolen i sin dom i CDA-sagen har lagt til grund, at det forhold, at CDA videreførte de støttemodtagende virksomheders aktiviteter, ikke som sådan beviser, at der foreligger forsæt til at omgå virkningerne af et pålæg om tilbagesøgning [19].
The French authorities maintain that, in its CDA judgment, the General Court considered that the fact that CDA continued the business of the undertakings which have benefited from aid does not, as such, prove the existence of an intention to evade the effects of a recovery order [19].
Domstolen præciserede, at der ikke havde været forsæt til at omgå virkningerne af pålægget om tilbagesøgning, eftersom CDA havde betalt en markedsbestemt købspris for overtagelsen af dele af selskabet LCAs aktiver [20].
The General Court specified that there was no intention to evade the effects of the recovery order in so far as a purchase price in line with the market was paid by CDA for the takeover of the company LCA’s assets [20].
Da Sernam Xpress ifølge de franske myndigheder havde erhvervet ejendomsretten til aktiverne og en del af passiverne i Sernam SA til markedsværdien, indebærer denne transaktion ikke, at Sernam Xpress faktisk kan nyde godt af den fordel, som ligger i bevillingen af støtten på 41 mio. EUR. Desuden kan Kommissionen ikke hævde, at Sernam SA efter købet af selskabets aktiver står tilbage som en tom skal, som det ikke er muligt at opnå tilbagebetaling af den ulovlige støtte fra.
According to the French authorities, since Sernam Xpress had acquired ownership of the assets and part of the liabilities from Sernam SA at their market value, this operation did not transfer to Sernam Xpress the actual benefit of the advantage generated by the granting of aid of EUR 41 million. Furthermore, the Commission cannot argue that, as a result of the takeover of its assets, Sernam SA remains like an empty shell from which it is not possible to secure repayment of the unlawful aid.
Et sådant argument, der allerede er fremsat i CDA-dommen, ville være blevet afvist af Domstolen [21].
Such an argument, already developed in the CDA judgment, was rejected by the General Court [21].
De franske myndigheder understreger, at overdragelsen af Sernam SAs aktiver en bloc var en mulighed, Kommissionen udtrykkeligt havde forudsat.
The French authorities emphasise that the disposal of Sernam SA’s assets en bloc was a possibility explicitly considered by the Commission.
Når SNCF overdrog Sernams aktiver en bloc til markedsprisen til et selskab efter en gennemskuelig og åben procedure, kan det derfor på ingen måde anses for at være en omgåelse heraf.
For SNCF, the fact of transferring Sernam’s assets to a company en bloc, at market price, through an open and transparent procedure, could not therefore under any circumstances be considered an evasion.
Det gælder så meget desto mere, som Kommissionen selv har fastslået, at en sådan omgåelse var udelukket, »hvis overdragelsen »en bloc« af det støttemodtagende selskabs aktiver, ud over at den finder sted på grundlag af markedsprisen, gennemføres inden for rammerne af en procedure, der ikke er undergivet betingelser, og som alle selskabets konkurrenter har adgang til.« [22]
This is all the more compelling as the Commission itself apparently considered that such an evasion was ruled out ‘where, in addition to taking place at the market price, the transfer of the beneficiary company’s assets ‘en bloc’ is made as part of an unconditional procedure that is open to all the company’s competitors’ [22].
Med hensyn til Kommissionens argument [23] om, at transaktionen ikke blot havde gjort det muligt at beskytte aktiverne, hvilket er tilladt i henhold til CDA-dommen, men også at skabe en struktur til at finansiere nye investeringer såsom opkøbet af selskabet Coulonge, kan man blot konstatere, at Sernam Xpress opkøbte Coulonge Services samtidig med BCPs overtagelse af Sernam Xpress, og at Sernam Xpress kunne støtte sig til BCPs overtagelse gennem indskud af friske penge til at foretage dette opkøb.
Concerning the Commission’s argument [23] that the operation not only allowed the assets to be sheltered as authorised by the CDA judgment, but also a structure to be created permitting the financing of new investments such as the takeover of the company Coulonge, it sufficed to observe that the acquisition of the company Coulonge Services by Sernam Xpress was carried out simultaneously with the takeover of Sernam Xpress by BCP and that Sernam Xpress was able to draw on the takeover by BCP by injection of new capital to undertake this acquisition.
I modsætning til den tvivl, Kommissionen giver udtryk for, vil det, de franske myndigheder kalder CDA-dommens »tredje kriterium«, derfor også være opfyldt.
Consequently, contrary to the doubts expressed by the Commission, ‘the third criterion’ of the CDA judgment, as identified by the French authorities, is therefore also complied with.
Den nye støtte til Sernam Xpress og/eller Financière Sernam
Concerning the new aid to Sernam Xpress and/or Financière Sernam
For så vidt angår tilstedeværelsen af ny støtte i aftaleprotokollen af 21. juli 2005 (SNCFs rekapitalisering af Sernam SA med 57 mio. EUR, SNCFs rekapitalisering af Sernam Xpress med 2 mio. EUR, SNCFs garantier til Financière Sernam, ophævelsesklausul) anfører de franske myndigheder, at et salg ikke omfatter elementer af statsstøtte, når det finder sted til markedspris efter et åbent og gennemsigtigt udbud og til en lavere pris end likvidationsprisen.
Concerning the existence of new aid in the memorandum of understanding of 21 July 2005 (recapitalisation of Sernam SA by SNCF amounting to EUR 57 million; recapitalisation of Sernam Xpress by SNCF amounting to EUR 2 million; guarantees granted by SNCF to Financière Sernam; cancellation clause), the French authorities consider that, where a sale took place at market price following a tendering procedure which was open and transparent and at a cost lower than the cost of winding-up, this does not include any aid components.
Endvidere svarede den negative pris, Financière Sernam fremsatte, til de uafhængige eksperters overslag.
In addition, the negative price presented by Financière Sernam allegedly corresponds to the estimates made by independent experts.