natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Tabel 10
The sellers discriminated the other bidders by allegedly granting Capricorn preferential access to major third party suppliers.
Sammenligning mellem buddene fra Capricorn og [bydende 2]
In particular, complainant 3 claims that there must have been negotiations between Capricorn, the sellers as well as the brewery Bitburger already weeks before the winning bidder was announced on 11 March 2014 [122].
Bud fra Capricorn
The notarisation of the asset purchase agreement between the sellers and Capricorn must have taken place before 11 March 2014.
Bud fra [bydende 2]
The award of the contract was already communicated to Capricorn before a decision by the committee of creditors was made, and a press release by Capricorn dates from 9 March 2014 and was thus made 2 days before the decision of the committee of creditors on 11 March 2014.
Beløb i mio. EUR
Without informing the other bidders the sellers deviated from the process letter of 17 October 2013 by waiving the requirement to provide a financing guarantee for the entire purchase price to the sole benefit of Capricorn [123].
rate af købspris 31.3.2014
The sellers violated the conditions of the process letter by not providing individual bidders with an agreed and internally approved mark-up of the asset purchase agreement prior to the submission date of the final offer thus rendering the finalisation of the financing significantly more difficult.
rate af købspris 31.7.2014
The sellers based the award of the assets also on environmental criteria and assumed — without further liaising with complainant 3 — that the company would not be able to meet such criteria, although no explicit environmental conditions were introduced by the sellers [124].
rate af købspris 2016
Finally, complainant 3 claims that the sales contract is invalid due to the violation of the standstill obligation of Article 108(3) TFEU.
Result.afh.bet. for 2015 i 2016 [133]
Complainant 3 further claims that, subsequently to the above, the financing conditions for the acquisition of the Nürburgring assets were changed to the benefit of Capricorn and in clear deviation from the rules set by the sellers and the process letter given to the bidders, which may constitute further aid to the benefit of Capricorn.
rate af købspris ved afslutning
Pursuant to the insolvency administrators, complainant 3 had not submitted any binding financing commitment for EUR 30 million neither along with its confirmatory bid of 17 February 2014 (that referred to a binding financing commitment of […] in the amount of EUR 30 million) nor along with the complaint, and the complainant 3's claim that the evidence of financing could be submitted at a later stage was even not demonstrated by non-binding statements of third parties.
Result.afh.bet. for 2016 i 2017 [133]
In contrast to the confirmatory offers of Capricorn and [Bidder 2], the confirmatory offer of complainant 3 did not meet the financing requirements set in the process letter of 17 October 2013.
Resterende købspris
On 11 March 2014, the sellers had therefore no ground to award the contract to complainant 3.
Result.afh.bet. for 2017 i 2018 [133]
For the sellers, the risk that waiting for complainant 3's evidence of financing may lead to the reduction of the bidders to one or zero was not acceptable, since:
Samlet købspris
[Bidder 2] consortium insisted on the implementation of the transfer of ownership as of 3 April 2014;
Personalenedskæring/omstrukturering
and (b) there was lack of progress in the substantiation of complainant 3's offer, despite the fact that the latter had handed in its expression of interest on 17 May 2013 and its indicative offer already on 30 September 2013, therefore the likelihood of closing the transaction with complainant 3 was reduced.
Opsigelse af kontrakter med Lindner
The alleged financing commitment of Jupiter Financial Group dated 26 March 2014 was not submitted to the sellers, while a later non-signed letter of investment bank and advisory firm […], dated 31 March 2014, is conditional on the satisfactory conclusion of the due diligence.
Neg. cashflow NBG 1. kv. 2014
The development fund for the municipalities surrounding Nürburgring, in the amount of EUR 200 million, was to no benefit of the sellers.
Betaling af saldo
According to the insolvency administrators, the bidders were informed that the selection of the successful tenderer maybe carried out shortly after the deadline for the submission of offers on 17 February 2014.
Økonomisk resultat
The information provided by the sellers could not give an expectation that the process would be extended.
Medlemmerne af [bydende 2's] gode dokumenterede resultater og deres større erfaring med transaktioner inden for fusioner og overtagelser kunne ikke begrunde, at kontrakten blev tildelt til buddet med den væsentligt lavere købspris.
The press release quoted by complainant 3 states that the insolvent administrators intend to conclude the contract in the first quarter of 2014.
Konsortiepartnernes kompetence blev ikke bestridt af sælgerne, men var ikke et tildelingskriterium.
The insolvency administrator states that it is not true that he had publically stated that it is aimed to take a decision at the end of March, that Capricorn was informed already before the meeting of the creditors' committee about the award of the contract and that a press release was published by Capricorn on 9 March 2014.
[Bydende 2] var udtrykkeligt blevet informeret om, at der ville finde yderligere forhandlinger sted med andre bydende indtil mødet i kreditorudvalget den 11. marts 2014.
According to the insolvency administrators, if complainant 3 became aware of the activity of NBG indeed only during the due diligence, as alleged, it can be concluded that complainant 3 dealt unsatisfactorily with the extensive information put at the disposal before the submission of indicative offers.
Kuratorerne har endvidere anført, at deres foranstaltninger og kreditorudvalgets tilslutning ikke kunne tilregnes staten, og at der ikke var tale om nogen fordel under salgsprocessen, da den var i overensstemmelse med almindelig markedsadfærd.
At no moment in time, the sellers had required that the buyer takes over the contracts of NBG.
Med hensyn til klager 4's påstand om, at der aldrig havde foreligget en finansieringsaftale mellem […] og Capricorn, gjorde Tyskland gældende, at […] havde bekræftet sit finansieringstilbud efter en omfattende retlig og finansiel due diligence og aldrig havde annulleret sin finansieringsbekræftelse.
A take-over of the lease contract between the sellers and NBG by the buyer was not considered by the insolvency administrators, because of the special situation of NBG in view of the transfer of assets sought from the outset.
Med hensyn til klager 4's påstand om, at Capricorn ikke havde betalt den anden rate af købsprisen, har Tyskland fremført de argumenter, der er anført i betragtning 134.
The insolvency administrators claim that complainant 3 had realised very late that in case of a take-over of the assets as of 1 January 2014, it would have a predominantly ‘empty’ Nürburgring, and the new contracts with customers and sponsors would lead to (increased) revenues only in the 2015 season due to the planning time of (racing) events.
VURDERING AF FORANSTALTNINGERNE
Moreover, the sellers had repetitively stressed that the bidders could define the subject of the purchase.
I denne afgørelse skal der først tages stilling til, om NG og dets datterselskaber MSR og CMHN på det tidspunkt, hvor foranstaltning 1-19 blev truffet, var kriseramte virksomheder som omhandlet i Fællesskabets rammebestemmelser for statsstøtte til redning og omstrukturering af kriseramte virksomheder [134] (»rammebestemmelserne«).
As regards the claims for damages of third parties, the sellers informed complainant 3 that it would be hardly possible for it to conclude new contracts with the customers of NBG under terms for the customer worse than the running contract, insofar as the issue of a compensation of damages for the non-fulfilment of the contracts with NBG is not clarified.
Kommissionen vil derefter undersøge, om de pågældende foranstaltninger udgør statsstøtte efter artikel 107, stk. 1, i TEUF, og afslutningsvis, om denne støtte i så fald er forenelig med TEUF.
It was necessary to address the risk that the buyer and the contractual partners conclude a new contract that leads to a situation where the contractual partner pays a high consideration, asks for a compensation of the difference with the old amount of consideration and pays in the later years, for which there was no contract with NBG, a substantial lower consideration.
NG'S, MSR'S OG CMHN'S VANSKELIGHEDER
The requirement of the sellers for such exclusion is not unusual for asset deals that lead to business close-down and allows to guarantee the best sale in the interest of the creditors.
Hvis foranstaltning 1-19 udgør statsstøtte, og hvis NG, MSR og CMHN var kriseramte virksomheder på det tidspunkt, hvor støtten blev ydet, er det artikel 107, stk. 3, litra c), i TEUF og navnlig rammebestemmelserne, der er grundlaget for vurderingen af, om disse foranstaltninger er forenelige med det indre marked.
Pursuant to the insolvency administrators, the deadline for the submission of the confirmatory offers was extended by letter of 17 December 2013 because also other bidders had not yet submitted a satisfactory offer.
Det er derfor et af de centrale spørgsmål, om NG, MSR og CMHN var kriseramte virksomheder.
It was repetitively made clear to the bidders that NBG took over the operative business only after the 2012 season, that it had therefore to fulfil largely the contracts of NAG and that a reliable accounting for the operational business did thus not (yet) exist.
Kommissionen har konkluderet, at de havde økonomiske vanskeligheder på det tidspunkt, hvor støtten blev ydet, og derfor ikke havde været i stand til at rejse midler på det private lånemarked.
According to the insolvency administrators, it is up to the potential buyers to take account of the related risks.
Nedenstående vurdering er baseret på punkt 9-11 i rammebestemmelserne.
The insolvency administrators indicate that on 6 March 2014, complainant 3 submitted a mark-up to the asset sale agreement to its confirmatory offer.
Kommissionen henviser til sin vurdering i betragtning 202-206 i afgørelsen af 21. marts 2012, hvor det foreløbigt ikke blev udelukket, at NG kunne betragtes som kriseramt virksomhed som omhandlet i rammebestemmelserne den 1. juli 2008 (se også betragtning 46 og 47 i afgørelsen af 7. august 2012).
The draft asset purchase agreement negotiated on 13 February was from the sellers;
Endvidere fastslog Kommissionen i betragtning 6-13 i afgørelsen af 7. august 2012, at NG, MSR og CMHN var kriseramte virksomheder.
it was therefore clear that the next draft would be produced by complainant 3.
Kommissionen er af den opfattelse, at den skal vurdere hver virksomhed som helhed, omfattende alle aktiviteter.
According to the insolvency administrators, all the bidders that qualified to the respective phase of the selection process had the same documents at their disposal in the data room.
Det kan ikke accepteres, at Tyskland ikke medtager de underskudsgivende aktiviteter, dvs. Formel 1-løbene og »Nürburgring 2009«-projektet, i vurderingen af de finansielle nøgletal.
The documents identified in the complaint were not available to the sellers and particularly to other bidders earlier, all tenderers had the same chance to view the documents in the data room, and other tenderers concluded the due diligence with the same documents.
Det er endvidere klart, at virksomhederne ikke havde adgang til eksterne finansieringskilder.
All the bidders were informed early enough that the accounting of the companies had deficiencies.
De vigtigste finansielle nøgletal for NG i perioden 2001-2011 er følgende:
Almost all documents of the sellers and NBG were put in German in the data room, and the sellers were not obliged to provide all documents in English.
Tabel 11
In addition, the insolvency administrators bring forward that the deadline for the submission of offers and evidence of financing was satisfactory.
Vigtigste finansielle nøgletal for NG 2001-2011 (i mio. EUR)
Complainant 3 had 10 months (8 April 2013, as the date of the first contact between [Bidder 3] and the sellers, until 17 February 2014) for the submission of evidence of financing and almost four months (23 October 2013 until 17 February 2014) for the due diligence.
40,1 [136]
The negotiations for the new contract on the supply of beer and with ‘Rock am Ring’ were not negotiated by Capricorn but by NBG, and the corresponding documents were put in the data room.
Tegnet kapital
There is no link to Capricorn claimed by complainant 3.
Egenkapital
The sellers had not introduced any environmental criteria in the tender process for selecting the final offer.
Gæld i alt
The only criteria of the tender process for selecting the final offer were:
Gæld/egenkapital (i %)
the maximisation of the total proceeds for all of the assets;
Gæld/omsætning (i %)
and (b) the expected transaction security.
Denne bestemmelse afspejler den antagelse, at en virksomhed, der oplever et massivt tab af sin tegnede kapital, ikke vil være i stand til at standse de tab, som næsten med sikkerhed vil medføre virksomhedens ophør på kort eller mellemlang sigt (som anført i rammebestemmelsernes punkt 9).
At the same time, the sellers carried out discussions with [Bidder 2] and the final stage of the purchase agreement's negotiation with [Bidder 2] and Capricorn, in view of [Bidder 2]'s offer of EUR [32-39] million (see Table 10 below) and the negotiation between Capricorn and […] resulting in the latter bank's financial commitment dated 10 March 2014.
Kommissionen bemærker videre, at en virksomhed i henhold til rammebestemmelsernes punkt 11 kan anses for kriseramt, »hvis de sædvanlige tegn på, at en virksomhed er kriseramt, er til stede, såsom voksende underskud, faldende omsætning, voksende lagerbeholdninger, overskudskapacitet, faldende cash flow, stigende gældsætning, stigende finansieringsudgifter og faldende eller opbrugt nettoformue.« I denne henseende henviser Retten til, at en negativ egenkapital »kan betragtes som en vigtig indikator for, at en virksomhed befinder sig i en økonomisk vanskelig situation« [137].
Therefore, based on the absence of proof of financing with the confirmatory offer of complainant 3, there was a high risk of non-conclusion of the contract with complainant 3.
Ifølge NG's årsregnskaber for årene 2001-2011 var ikke mere end halvdelen af den tegnede kapital gået tabt.
Furthermore, the insolvency administrators tried to estimate the chances of complainant 3 to secure the financing by assessing further indicators of complainant 3's business model that could speak for the implementation of the transaction.
Med hensyn til NG bemærker Kommissionen, at grunden til, at ikke mere end halvdelen af den tegnede kapital gik tabt, formentlig er, at virksomheden ikke traf passende forholdsregler.
The business model of complainant 3 was based on […] and on the.
Sådanne passende forholdsregler havde taget sigte på at vende virksomhedens egenkapital fra negativ til positiv og samtidig forhøje den til et passende niveau.
[…].
Dette kunne enten ske i form af aktivering af underskudsfremførsler eller en kapitalforhøjelse eller begge dele.
As the noise requirements valid for Nürburgring do not allow for […] and a […] does not exist, the implementation of the concept in a short term could not be expected.
I denne forbindelse antager Kommissionen, at en aktivering af underskudsfremførsler ville have medført tab af virksomhedens samlede tegnede kapital, da de akkumulerede underskud var højere end den tegnede kapital.
The concept of complainant 3 was therefore evaluated as an indicator for a substantial risk in view of the conclusion of the contract or at least for a substantial time and negotiation requirements.
De vigtigste finansielle nøgletal for MSR i perioden 2007-2011 er følgende:
According to the provisions included in the relevant parts of those mark-up contracts, as submitted by the insolvency administrators and Germany, the purchaser and/or the seller had the right to withdraw from the contract if no positive decision of the Commission had been issued by 15 July 2014 (as stipulated in draft contract of 14 January 2014) or 31 December 2014 (as stipulated in draft mark-up contract of 14 February 2014).
Tabel 12
According to the insolvency administrators, the fact that none of the two bidders that submitted a qualified confirmatory offer met fully the requirement of a secured financing (guarantee regarding the price amount or payment of that amount to an escrow account), and that the sellers had therefore allegedly waived that requirement de facto, without having informed complainant 3, is no proof of an non-transparent process.
De vigtigste finansielle nøgletal for CMHN i perioden 2008-2011 er følgende:
Informing all bidders about the alleged waiver would not influence the tender process.
Tabel 13
Moreover, the waiver is not a causal for the non-submission of financing confirmations by complainant 3, and it corresponds to the behaviour of a hypothetical private seller.
Kommissionen bemærker, at MSR og CMHN ikke har fremsendt nogen dokumenter, som viser disse virksomheders rentabilitetsudsigter.
Finally, as regards the claim that Capricorn did not provide a fully financed offer because it failed to pay the second instalment of the purchase price, and that there may be further aid to Capricorn because, subsequently to the above, the financing conditions for the acquisition of the Nürburgring assets were changed to the benefit of Capricorn, the German authorities argue:
Under henvisning til rammebestemmelsernes punkt 11 antager Kommissionen, at MSR og CMHN har været kriseramte allerede siden henholdsvis 2007 og 2008, da de havde minimale indtægter, betydelige årlige underskud og stigende gældsætning, som langt oversteg deres årlige omsætninger.
there was no benefit for Capricorn, since the second instalment was rescheduled with interest of 8 % and pledges (see footnote 72);
Kommissionen kan ikke støtte Tysklands argument om, at NG, MSR og CMHN ikke var kriseramte virksomheder, da opførelsen af infrastruktur og afholdelsen af Formel 1- og Superbike-løb blev gennemført på vegne af det offentlige, og der derfor ikke skulle have været taget hensyn til dette i forbindelse med undersøgelsen af deres finansielle situation.
there is no State aid involved in the second payment's rescheduling since the decision for the latter is not imputable to the State, because the second payment's rescheduling was decided solely by the insolvency administrator, without the involvement of the Land;
Der var snarere tale om disse virksomheders kerneaktivitetsområder.
According to the insolvency administrators, the complaint should be refused as unjustified.
Selv om både kapitalejerne og ledelsen betragtede NG, MSR og CMHN som et instrument til at lade sportsinfrastrukturen »Nürburgring« forblive offentligt ejet og gennemføre urentable sportsbegivenheder, som ikke var blevet udbudt uden det offentliges dækning af underskuddene, måtte kapitalejerne og ledelsen ikke tillade, at forpligtelserne udviklede sig på en så ineffektiv og underskudsgivende måde, som det fremgår af ovenstående finansielle nøgletal for disse virksomheder, uden at der udarbejdes en solid og realistisk forretningsplan.
The unsubstantiated hints of complainant 3 regarding financing are not compatible with the behaviour of a prudent market player or insolvency administrator.
Kommissionen er derfor nået til den konklusion, at NG, MSR og CMHN var kriseramte som omhandlet i rammebestemmelserne på det tidspunkt, hvor foranstaltning 1-19 blev truffet, og at deres vanskeligheder var så alvorlige, at de ikke kunne opnå finansiering på markedet.
Complainant 4 claims that Capricorn was awarded the contract not for the most economically advantageous offer, but because it is a German undertaking and the sellers did not want to sell to a private equity led consortium.
STATSSTØTTE
It further alleges that the offer from Capricorn was lower than the offer from [Bidder 2] across multiple criteria.
Statsmidler og tilregnelse til staten
The financing of the offer from Capricorn was less secure than that of [Bidder 2] [128].
En del af foranstaltning 1 (forhøjelser af egenkapital), der blev gennemført af delstaten og Landkreis Ahrweiler, samt en anden del af foranstaltning 1 (overførsler til kapitalreserven) og foranstaltning 3, 9, 16 og 19, som blev gennemført af delstaten alene, stammer entydigt fra statsmidler og kan tilregnes staten.
[Bidder 2]'s offer foresaw higher up-front payments [129].
Med hensyn til NG's foranstaltninger (foranstaltning 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 — med hensyn til overførsel af andele i MSR til NG — og 17) har Tyskland udtrykkeligt erkendt, at midlerne kan tilregnes staten.
The execution risk was higher in case of Capricorn than in case [Bidder 2]'s offer would be accepted [130].
Derudover kan det konstateres, at NG's bestyrelse repræsenterede delstaten og Landkreis Ahrweiler som kapitalejere i NG.
[Bidder 2] has more experience and capability than Capricorn [131].
I denne forbindelse erklærede bestyrelsesnæstformanden på mødet den 28. august 2005, at kontrakten kun kunne tildeles til private investorer, hvis risikoen for delstaten var lav [139].
[Bidder 2] will invest further EUR 25 million in the Nürburgring with a higher probability than Capricorn.
Med hensyn til lånene fra RIM til MSR via Mediinvest og PNG som formidlere (foranstaltning 11) og overførslen af andele i MSR til RIM (del af foranstaltning 15) bemærker Kommissionen, at RIM er en offentlig myndighed, som har til opgave at støtte delstatens erhvervs- og strukturpolitik [143].
According to complainant 4, the above also raise questions around the information provided by KPMG and the insolvency administrators to the Creditors Committee in the context of the tender procedure, and demonstrate that Capricorn's financial ability was not properly presented.
Med henblik på de nævnte foranstaltninger medvirkede ISB og RIM derfor på statens vegne ved gennemførelsen af delstatspolitikken, hvilket viser, at ISB's og RIM's aktiviteter kan tilregnes staten, hvad angår disse foranstaltninger.
Furthermore, complainant 4 supports that there was never a signed agreement between […] and Capricorn for the latter's financing, but only a term sheet, therefore at the time of the creditors' committee, Capricorn had no funding agreed.
Alle disse foranstaltninger involverer derfor midler, som kan tilregnes staten.
Finally, complainant 4 concludes that the information put forward by him makes it clear that an advantage was granted to Capricorn in the sale of the Nürburgring assets, that that advantage stems from a decision that is inconsistent with the manner in which a commercial seller would have run the process and have assessed the bids against the award criteria, that such a commercial seller could not have concluded that the Capricorn bid was overall more economically advantageous than [Bidder 2]'s bid and that a new process needs to be run in which a consistent set of criteria are applied in order to provide for an open, fair and unconditional tender, a clear timetable is set out and adhered to, and the identity of the bidders is shielded from the creditors' committee.
Økonomisk virksomhed
The insolvency administrators state that complainant 4 as member of the [Bidder 2] consortium is affected only indirectly.
I analogi med dommen i sagen Flughafen Leipzig/Halle [144] kan opførelsen af infrastruktur betragtes som økonomisk virksomhed, hvis den umiddelbart er forbundet en kommerciel udnyttelse, hvilket er tilfældet her.
Moreover, they propose to refute the complaint, because the tender process was open, transparent and unconditional, and the assets were sold to the bidder submitting an offer that leads to the highest proceeds.