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State aid: Commission finds sale of LOT Polish Airlines’ subsidiaries did not involve state aid

Direct News Source

20-Nov-2012 The European Commission has concluded that the sale of LOT Services, LOT Catering and LOT Airport Maintenance Services, subsidiaries of LOT Polish Airlines, was carried out on market terms and did therefore not involve state aid in the meaning of EU rules.

LOT has been under restructuring since 2009. The company is trying to improve its financial situation by selling subsidiaries and focusing on its main business activity - the transport of passengers and cargo.

The Commission's investigation related to the sale of LOT Services - which provides ground handling services -, LOT Catering and LOT Aircraft Maintenance Services. These companies were acquired by State-owned entities. No open and transparent tender was organised. The Commission therefore had to make sure that these sales did not contain hidden subsidies in favour of LOT.

The Commission has examined the conditions of the transactions, in particular the purchase price as well as the pre-transaction valuations of the companies concerned. On this basis, the Commission concluded that the sales were carried out under terms that a private player operating under market conditions would have accepted (the market economy investor principle - MEIP). The sales therefore did not involve any state aid.