natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
That criterion is met in this case, given that real estate and real-estate-related services are subject to intra-Union trade and investment, a fact which, in the present case, is substantiated by the fact that the previous owner of the Facility (Chips AB) is the Finnish-based subsidiary of Orkla, a group with international operations.
V tem primeru je navedeno merilo izpolnjeno, saj so nepremičninske in z nepremičninami povezane storitve predmet trgovine in naložb znotraj Unije, pri čemer je to dejstvo v obravnavanem primeru podkrepljeno z dejstvom, da je prejšnji lastnik obrata (podjetje Chips AB) hčerinsko podjetje skupine Orkla s sedežem na Finskem, tj. skupine, ki je dejavna na mednarodnem trgu.
This constitutes evidence of cross-border interest in the asset in question, i.e. the Facility, which, moreover, is not an empty plot of land but an operational production facility for frozen foodstuffs.
To je dokaz čezmejnega interesa za zadevno premoženje, tj. obrat, ki poleg tega ni prazno zemljišče, ampak delujoč proizvodni obrat za zamrznjena živila.
Therefore, the Commission is of the view that, even if Hammar operates exclusively at local level, the company is active in a market where an effect on intra-Union and EEA trade and competition cannot be ruled out.
Zato Komisija meni, da je podjetje Hammar kljub temu, da deluje izključno na lokalni ravni, dejavno na trgu, kjer ni mogoče izključiti učinka na trgovino in konkurenco znotraj Unije in EGP.
The arguments put forward by Hammar thus give the Commission no reason to depart from the preliminary findings of the opening decision on this criterion.
Zato argumenti, ki jih je izpostavilo podjetje Hammar, Komisiji ne dajejo razloga, da bi v zvezi s tem merilom odstopila od predhodnih ugotovitev iz sklepa o začetku postopka.
The advantage
Prednost
The sole criterion of the State aid definition under discussion, therefore, is whether FABV’s sale of the Facility conferred an advantage on Hammar.
Zato se lahko za opredelitev obravnavane državne pomoči kot edino merilo upošteva, ali je prodaja obrata s strani podjetja FABV dala prednost podjetju Hammar.
On the basis of the information available, the Commission is of the view that FABV sold the Facility to Hammar at a price below its market value, which a private market investor is unlikely to do, thereby granting an advantage to Hammar.
Komisija na podlagi razpoložljivih informacij meni, da je podjetje FABV podjetju Hammar obrat prodalo po ceni, ki je pod tržno vrednostjo, česar zasebni tržni vlagatelj verjetno ne bi storil, s tem pa je podjetju Hammar dalo prednost.
The present case concerns the sale of certain assets in public ownership to a private undertaking.
Obravnavani primer se nanaša na prodajo določenega premoženja, ki je v javni lasti, zasebnemu podjetju.
Some of those assets are real estate (land and buildings) and to assess the presence of aid in those cases the Commission applies the Commission Communication on State aid elements in sales of land and buildings by public authorities [12] (‘the Communication’).
Del tega premoženja so nepremičnine (zemljišča in objekti), za oceno prisotnosti pomoči pa Komisija uporablja Sporočilo Komisije o elementih državne pomoči pri prodaji zemljišč in objektov s strani javnih oblasti [12] (v nadaljnjem besedilu: Sporočilo).
When the sale concerns other types of assets, the Commission applies the test of the private operator in a market economy, i.e. it assesses whether the public seller behaved as a private investor operating in a market economy.
Kadar se prodaja nanaša na druge vrste premoženja, Komisija uporabi preskus zasebnega akterja v tržnem gospodarstvu, tj. oceni, ali je javni prodajalec ravnal kot zasebni vlagatelj, ki deluje v tržnem gospodarstvu.
However, since the Communication is based on the same private investor test, for ease of presentation, the Commission will refer to that Communication to assess the whole transaction [13].
Ker pa Sporočilo temelji na enakem preskusu zasebnega vlagatelja, se bo Komisija zaradi lažje predstavitve v zvezi z oceno celotne transakcije sklicevala na Sporočilo [13].
In particular, in accordance with point II.1 of the Communication, the existence of State aid in favour of the buyer is automatically ruled out when the sale follows ‘a sufficiently well-publicised, open and unconditional bidding procedure, comparable to an auction, accepting the best or only bid’.
Zlasti v skladu s točko II.1 Sporočila je obstoj državne pomoči v korist kupca samodejno izključen, kadar je prodaja izvedena po „zadosti oglaševanem, odprtem in brezpogojnem ponudbenem postopku, primerljivem z dražbo, na katerem se sprejme najboljša ali edina ponudba“.
Hammar argues that the price of SEK 8 million reflects the market value of the Facility because at the time the option was agreed there were no other bids.
Podjetje Hammar trdi, da cena v višini 8 milijonov SEK odraža tržno vrednost obrata, ker v času dogovora o možnosti ni bilo nobenih drugih ponudb.
The Commission notes, however, that the Municipality’s sale of the Facility was not transparent and open to other bidders.
Vendar Komisija ugotavlja, da prodaja obrata s strani občine ni bila pregledna in odprta za druge ponudnike.
Consequently, the price at which it was sold does not allow the Commission to draw any conclusion as to its genuine market value [14].
Zato na podlagi cene, po kateri je bil prodan, Komisija ne more sprejeti nikakršnega sklepa v zvezi z dejansko tržno vrednostjo [14].
In addition, the Commission notes that FABV purchased the Facility for SEK 17 million on 13 February 2008, and on the same date agreed to provide a purchase option to Hammar for the much lower price of SEK 8 million.
Poleg tega Komisija ugotavlja, da je podjetje FABV 13. februarja 2008 kupilo obrat za 17 milijonov SEK in na isti dan privolilo, da bo podjetju Hammar zagotovilo možnost nakupa po veliko nižji ceni, tj. 8 milijonov SEK.
Point II.2(a) of the Communication further provides that, if the sale takes place without an unconditional bidding procedure, ‘an independent evaluation should be carried out by one or more independent asset valuers prior to the sale negotiations in order to establish the market value on the basis of generally accepted market indicators and valuation standards’.
Točka II.2(a) Sporočila nadalje določa, da mora v primeru, ko se prodaja izvede brez brezpogojnega ponudbenega postopka, „pred dogovori o prodaji en cenilec ali več opraviti neodvisno oceno, da se določi tržna vrednost na podlagi splošno sprejetih tržnih kazalcev in cenilskih standardov“.
The Commission notes that FABV did not request any independent evaluation of the Facility prior to the sale negotiations.
Komisija ugotavlja, da podjetje FABV pred pogajanji o prodaji ni zahtevalo nobene neodvisne ocene obrata.
However, notwithstanding the absence of an open and unconditional bidding procedure and of an independent evaluation prior to the sale negotiations, the market value of the Facility as it was sold by FABV to Hammar can be inferred from other information available.
Vendar je kljub odsotnosti odprtega in brezpogojnega ponudbenega postopka ter neodvisne ocene pred pogajanji o prodaji tržno vrednost obrata, po kateri ga je podjetje FABV prodalo podjetju Hammar, mogoče ugotoviti na podlagi drugih razpoložljivih informacij.
Indeed, when the Facility was put up for sale in late 2007, Chips AB commissioned Colliers International [15] to draw up a memorandum of sale for the Facility.
Ko je bil leta 2007 obrat dan v prodajo, je podjetje Chips AB organizaciji Colliers International [15] dejansko naročilo, naj pripravi memorandum o prodaji obrata.
Colliers International indicated a sale price of SEK 27 million (EUR 2,7 million) for the real estate alone, i.e. not including movable property and intellectual property rights.
Organizacija Colliers International je navedla prodajno ceno v višini 27 milijonov SEK (2,7 milijona EUR) samo za nepremičnino, tj. brez premičnin in pravic intelektualne lastnine.
As noted in the opening decision, the Commission believes this to constitute a reasonable estimate of the market price because (i) the estimate was obtained prior to the sale negotiations; (ii) it was commissioned by Chips AB in relation to the sale of the Facility, i.e. in a context where Chips AB could reasonably have had no other interest than to obtain an accurate estimate of the market value; (iii) the study was performed by a third party independent of both seller and buyer; and (iv) Colliers International has wide experience in the real estate sector.
Kakor je ugotovljeno v sklepu o začetku postopka, Komisija meni, da ta vrednost predstavlja razumno oceno tržne cene, ker (i) je bila ocena pridobljena pred dogovori o prodaji; (ii) jo je naročilo podjetje Chips AB v zvezi s prodajo obrata, tj. v okoliščinah, v katerih podjetje Chips AB razumno ne bi imelo nobenega drugega interesa kot pridobiti točno oceno tržne vrednosti, (iii) je študijo izvedla tretja stran, neodvisna tako od prodajalca kot kupca; in (iv) ker ima organizacija Colliers International veliko izkušenj v sektorju nepremičnin.
However, Hammar contests the Commission’s preliminary view that this evaluation was independent, as it was commissioned by the seller.
Vendar podjetje Hammar izpodbija predhodno stališče Komisije, da je bila ta ocena, kot jo je naročil prodajalec, neodvisna.
Hammar also considers that the assumptions used by Colliers International were not realistic (inter alia as it assumed only a 10 % vacancy rate), in view of the situation of the Facility at the time of the transaction.
Podjetje Hammar prav tako meni, da predpostavke, ki jih je uporabila organizacija Colliers International, glede na položaj obrata v času transakcije niso bile realne (ker so med drugim predvidevale samo 10-odstotno stopnjo nezasedenosti objekta).
Swedbank estimated the market value of the Facility at SEK 30 million (EUR 3 million), even though the premises valued were smaller than the total size of the Facility [17].
Podružnica Swedbank je tržno vrednost obrata ocenila na 30 milijonov SEK(3 milijone EUR), čeprav so bili ocenjeni prostori manjši od skupne velikosti obrata [17].
The vacancy rate assumption used by Swedbank was 35 %, while all other assumptions were comparable to those used by Colliers International.
Domnevna stopnja nezasedenosti objekta, ki ga je uporabila podružnica Swedbank, je bila 35-odstotna, medtem ko so bile vse ostale predpostavke primerljive s tistimi, ki jih je uporabila organizacija Colliers International.
The PwC report provides a series of market value estimates for the Facility depending on the moment at which it was sold.
Poročilo PwC navaja vrsto ocen tržne vrednosti obrata glede na čas prodaje.
For instance, the report concludes that the value of the Facility at the time of the sale from Chips AB to FABV was approximately SEK 9 million, while it was approximately SEK 5,5 million (EUR 0,55 million) when rented by Hammar from FABV on the same date (13 February 2008).
Na primer, v poročilu je ugotovljeno, da je vrednost obrata v času prodaje podjetju FABV s strani podjetja Chips AB znašala približno 9 milijonov SEK, medtem ko je na isti datum (13. februar 2008), ko ga je podjetje Hammar vzelo v najem od podjetja FABV, znašala 5,5 milijona SEK (0,55 milijona EUR).
The PwC report provides a third estimate of the market value of the Facility at the time when Hammar rented it to the local entrepreneurs (1 March 2008) of approximately SEK 21 million (EUR 2,1 million).
Poročilo PwC vsebuje še tretjo oceno tržne vrednosti obrata, ko ga je podjetje Hammar dalo v najem lokalnim podjetnikom (1. marec 2008), in sicer približno 21 milijonov SEK (2,1 milijona EUR).
The Commission first notes that the PwC report provides diverging figures for the market value of the Facility over a short period of time.
Komisija najprej ugotavlja, da poročilo PwC zagotavlja različne številke za tržno vrednost obrata v kratkem času.
Given that the market value of real estate tends to remain relatively constant in the short term, except in the occurrence of exceptional circumstances, the Commission has strong doubts as to some of the valuations provided in the PwC report, in particular in view of the fact that all transactions took place within a very short timeframe.
Glede na to, da je običajno tržna vrednost nepremičnine v kratkoročnem obdobju sorazmerno stalna, razen v posebnih okoliščinah, Komisija resno dvomi v nekatere ocene iz poročila PwC, zlasti glede na dejstvo, da so bile vse transakcije izvedene v zelo kratkem časovnem okviru.
In relation to the first two valuations of the Facility contained in the PwC report (SEK 9 million and SEK 5,5 million, respectively), the Commission comes to the conclusion that, when compared to the contemporaneous estimates of Colliers International and Swedbank, these two valuations appear unrealistic.
Komisija v zvezi s prvima dvema ocenama obrata iz poročila PwC (9 milijonov SEK oziroma 5,5 milijona SEK) ugotavlja, da se zdita ti oceni v primerjavi s sočasnima ocenama organizacije Colliers International in podružnice Swedbank nerealni.
On the one hand, in relation to the estimate of SEK 5,5 million, the Commission notes that PricewaterhouseCoopers (‘PwC’) bases its valuation on the cash flows derived from the rents paid by Hammar to FABV for the rental of the Facility, rents which PwC itself acknowledges to be very low compared to the normal return on a comparable industrial facility.
Po eni strani Komisija v zvezi z oceno v višini 5,5 milijona SEK ugotavlja, da ocena podjetja PricewaterhouseCoopers (v nadaljnjem besedilu: podjetje PwC) temelji na denarnih tokovih, izhajajočih iz najemnin, ki jih je podjetje Hammar plačevalo podjetju FABV za najem obrata, tj. najemnin, ki jih podjetje PwC samo priznava kot zelo nizke v primerjavi z običajno donosnostjo primerljivega industrijskega obrata.
This is particularly striking when compared to the rents charged by Hammar to the local entrepreneurs only a few days later, which were approximately seven times higher (see footnotes 7 and 8).
To je izrazito zlasti v primerjavi z najemninami, ki jih je podjetje Hammar zaračunalo lokalnim podjetnikom le nekaj dni pozneje in so bile približno sedemkrat višje (glej opombi 7 in 8).
In view of this, the Commission concludes that the rents charged to Hammar were below market price.
Glede na navedeno Komisija ugotavlja, da so bile najemnine, zaračunane podjetju Hammar, pod tržno ceno.
The Commission thus considers that the valuation of SEK 5,5 million, which rests on an assumed level of rental income which is below market level, does not reflect the true market value of the Facility.
Zato Komisija meni, da je ocena v višini 5,5 milijona SEK, ki temelji na domnevni ravni prihodkov od najemnin, ki je pod tržno ravnjo, ne odraža dejanske tržne vrednosti obrata.
On the other hand, the estimate of SEK 9 million rests on an assumed vacancy rate of 100 % in the two first years of ownership, which then falls to 75 % in year 3 and 50 % in year 4 and levels out at 60 % for the remainder of the period covered by the valuation.
Po drugi strani ocena v višini 9 milijonov SEK temelji na domnevni 100-odstotni stopnji nezasedenosti objekta v prvih dveh letih lastništva, ki nato v tretjem letu upade na 75 % in v četrtem letu na 50 %, v preostalem obdobju, ki je zajeto v oceni, pa se ustali na 60 %.
However, the assumed vacancy rate disregards the fact that, at the time of the sale, it was known that the local entrepreneurs were prepared to rent the Facility, and that consequently the value to assess is that of the Facility with a tenant.
Vendar domnevna stopnja nezasedenosti objekta ne upošteva dejstva, da so bili v času prodaje lokalni podjetniki pripravljeni najeti obrat in da je posledično vrednost, ki jo je treba oceniti, vrednost obrata z najemnikom.
The third estimate of the PwC report places the market value of the Facility at the time when Hammar sold it to the local entrepreneurs at approximately SEK 21 million, even if the premises covered by that estimate are somewhat smaller than the total size of the Facility (see footnote 17).
Tretja ocena iz poročila PwC določa tržno vrednost obrata v času, ko ga je podjetje Hammar prodalo lokalnim podjetnikom za približno 21 milijonov SEK, čeprav so prostori, zajeti v tej oceni, nekoliko manjši od skupne površine obrata (glej opombo 17).
That estimate is based on essentially the same methodology as the estimates by Colliers International and Swedbank, and uses as its main assumption the terms of the tenancy agreement between Hammar and the local entrepreneurs, i.e. the terms of the actual lease that applied at the time of the sale.
Ta ocena temelji na pretežno isti metodologiji kot ocena organizacije Colliers International in podružnice Swedbank, pri čemer kot svojo glavno predpostavko uporablja pogoje najemne pogodbe med podjetjem Hammar in lokalnimi podjetniki, tj. pogoje dejanskega zakupa, ki so veljali v času prodaje.
It must also be noted that the terms of the lease presumably were market conform, in particular since they were agreed between two private market operators arguably having only economically rational motives.
Prav tako je treba opozoriti, da so bili pogoji zakupa domnevno skladni s trgom, zlasti zato, ker so bili dogovorjeni med dvema zasebnima akterjema na trgu, ki sta imela dokazano samo gospodarsko smiselne nagibe.
The Commission thus considers that the third estimate of the market value of the Facility contained in the PwC report is plausible.
Zato Komisija meni, da je tretja ocena tržne vrednosti obrata iz poročila PwC verjetna.
Therefore, irrespective of which estimate of the Facility’s market value one chooses (the Colliers International one, the Swedbank one, or the third estimate in the PwC report), it is clear that the price of SEK 8 million at which FABV sold the Facility to Hammar was well below market price, and consequently that it granted an advantage to Hammar.
Zato je ne glede na to, katera ocena tržne vrednosti obrata se upošteva (organizacije Colliers International, podružnice Swedbank ali tretja ocena iz poročila PwC), jasno, da je cena 8 milijonov SEK, po kateri je podjetje FABV obrat prodalo podjetju Hammar, bistveno pod tržno ceno in je posledično dala prednost podjetju Hammar.
Quantification of the advantage
Količinska opredelitev prednosti
The advantage for the beneficiary will correspond to the difference between the price paid by Hammar, i.e. SEK 8 million, and the market price of the Facility.
Prednost upravičencu bo ustrezala razliki med ceno, ki jo je plačalo podjetje Hammar, tj. 8 milijonov SEK, in tržno ceno obrata.
In establishing the market price of the Facility, the Commission will examine the possible alternatives and estimates available, namely: (i) the SEK 17 million effectively paid by FABV to Chips AB on 18 February 2008; (ii) the SEK 40 million effectively paid by the local entrepreneurs to Hammar; (iii) the SEK 27 million estimated by Colliers International before the sale; (iv) the SEK 30 million estimated by Swedbank in June 2008; and (v) the SEK 21 million valuation contained in the PwC report.
Pri določanju tržne cene obrata bo Komisija proučila možne razpoložljive alternative in ocene, in sicer: (i) 17 milijonov SEK, ki jih je 18. februarja 2008 podjetje FABV dejansko plačalo podjetju Chips AB; (ii) 40 milijonov SEK, ki so jih lokalni podjetniki dejansko plačali podjetju Hammar; (iii) ocena pred prodajo s strani organizacije Colliers International v višini 27 milijonov SEK; (iv) ocena s strani podružnice Swedbank iz junija 2008 v višini 30 milijonov SEK ter (v) ocena v višini 21 milijonov SEK iz poročila PwC.
The Commission considers that the price of SEK 17 million paid by FABV to Chips AB at the time of its purchase of the Facility does not constitute compelling evidence of the market value.
Komisija meni, da cena v višini 17 milijonov SEK, ki jo je podjetje FABV v času svojega nakupa obrata plačalo podjetju Chips AB, ne pomeni nujnega dokaza tržne vrednosti.
The Commission has already explained in the opening decision that Chips AB accepted a price lower than the estimated market value of the Facility because it wanted to avoid damage to its corporate reputation deriving from the closure of the Facility and the job losses that would have followed, It also wished to avail itself of the opportunity of a quick sale to close the book on its Topp operations.
Komisija je v sklepu o začetku postopka že pojasnila, da je podjetje Chips AB sprejelo ceno, nižjo od ocenjene tržne vrednosti obrata, ker se je hotelo izogniti škodi, ki bi jo zaradi zaprtja obrata in posledične izgube delovnih mest utrpel njegov ugled. Prav tako se je želelo okoristiti z možnostjo hitre prodaje, s čimer bi končalo dejavnosti podjetja Topp.
A private market operator not having these constraints (which are specific to Chips AB) would have requested a higher price.
Zasebni akter na trgu brez teh omejitev (značilnih za podjetje Chips AB) bi zahteval višjo ceno.
For those reasons, the Commission does not deem it necessary to reply to the argument of Hammar (summarised in recital 27 of the present Decision), which moreover concerns a point which is not part of the formal investigation.
Iz teh razlogov Komisija meni, da ni treba odgovoriti na argument podjetja Hammar, povzet v uvodni izjavi 27 tega sklepa, ki poleg tega zadeva točko, ki ni del formalnega postopka preiskave.
On the basis of the information received in the course of the formal investigation procedure, the Commission has also found that the amount of SEK 40 million agreed with the local entrepreneurs does not seem a good proxy for the market price of the Facility, because the entrepreneurs financed this agreed amount partly through a bank loan and partly through a loan from Hammar itself.
Na podlagi informacij, prejetih med formalnim postopkom preiskave, je Komisija tudi ugotovila, da znesek v višini 40 milijonov SEK, ki je bil dogovorjen z lokalnimi podjetniki, ni dober približek tržne cene obrata, ker so podjetniki ta dogovorjeni znesek delno financirali z bančnim posojilom, delno pa s posojilom samega podjetja Hammar.
The large proportion of funding provided by the seller (who is the same time creditor of the transaction) and the corresponding credit risk borne by him do not directly support the argument that the nominal price of SEK 40 million represents the actual financial value of the Facility.
Velik del financiranja, ki ga je zagotovil prodajalec (ki je hkrati upnik transakcije), in ustrezno kreditno tveganje, ki ga nosi sam, ne podpirajo neposredno argumenta, da nominalna cena v višini 40 milijonov SEK predstavlja dejansko finančno vrednost obrata.
The nominal price paid in this transaction is thus not compelling evidence of the price that would have been paid for the Facility in a sale on market terms, but it is certainly a further indication that the price of SEK 8 million does not reflect the market value of the Facility.
Zato nominalna cena, plačana v tej transakciji, ni nujen dokaz cene, ki bi bila plačana za obrat ob prodaji pod tržnimi pogoji, ampak je gotovo dodaten kazalnik, da cena v višini 8 milijonov SEK ne odraža tržne vrednosti obrata.
Indeed, the two options were set within a period of less than three weeks, and such a considerable price difference over a short period of time confirms that this amount was not a market price.
Obe možnosti sta bili dejansko določeni v obdobju manj kot treh tednov, taka bistvena razlika v ceni v kratkem obdobju pa potrjuje, da ta znesek ni tržna cena.
Regarding the estimates of Colliers International and Swedbank, the Commission sees in principle no reason to doubt that they are independent and produced according to generally accepted standards.
V zvezi z ocenama organizacije Colliers International in podružnice Swedbank Komisija načeloma nima razlogov za dvom o tem, ali sta neodvisni in izvedeni v skladu s splošno sprejetimi standardi.
However, the Commission acknowledges that those estimates are not immediately comparable, since some of the assumptions underlying the assessments diverge.
Vendar Komisija priznava, da navedeni oceni nista neposredno primerljivi, ker se nekatere predpostavke, na katerih sta osnovani, razlikujejo.