Brussels, 15 May 2023
The European Commission has concluded that certain financial support measures in favour of Polish company RUCH S.A (‘RUCH’) do not constitute State aid within the meaning of EU rules. RUCH is active in the sector of fast-moving consumer goods, including press distribution in Poland.
In 2019, the Commission received a complaint from a competitor alleging that RUCH benefited from liquidity support of approximately €58.9 million (PLN 281.6 million) granted by three companies in which the Polish state owns shares. RUCH had been facing financial difficulties since 2012. The restructuring measures granted in the context of a court supervised restructuring procedure included: (i) a guarantee, an extended financing and a debt write-off provided by Alior Bank, (ii) a guarantee provided by PZU, and (iii) a set of agreements concluded with PKN Orlen, including the acquisition of RUCH by PKN Orlen.
The Commission assessed the measures under EU State aid rules, in particular Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’). The Commission found that PKN Orlen, PZU, and Alior Bank are majority privately-owned entities and that there is no sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the Polish state was directly or indirectly involved in the companies’ decisions to take part in the restructuring process of RUCH. The Commission also found that the support measures were made on terms that a private company would have accepted under market conditions and that therefore they did not confer any selective economic advantage to RUCH.
On this basis, the Commission concluded that the measures do not constitute State aid within the meaning of EU law.The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number SA.43147 in the State aid register on the Commission’s competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.
Source – EU Commission