20.4.2002 Official Journal of the European Communities L 105/33 COMMISSION DECISION of 20 December 2001 on the measure which Germany is planning to implement in favour of the steel company Georgsmarienhiitte Holding GmbH (notified under document number C(2001) 4510) (Only the German text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2002/286EC, ECSC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, and in particular Article 4(c) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof read in conjunction with protocol 14, Having regard to Commission Decision No 2496/96/ECSC of 18 December 1996 establishing Community rules for state aid to the steel industry (1), Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above (), Whereas: 1. PROCEDURE (1) By letter dated 31 August 2000 Germany notified the Commission of an asset sale between the receivers of the steel company Stahl Groditz and its subsidiaries on the one side and two subsidiaries of the Georgs- marienhiitte Holding GmbH (hereafter GMH) on the other side (3). () O L 338, 28.12.1996, p. 42. () 0] C 199, 14.7.2001, p. 4. (®) The buyers of the assets are Einhundertvierzigste KOPA Vermogensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbh and Einhundertvierund- vierzigste KOPA Vermogensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbh, which are two subsidiaries of Georgsmarienhiitte Holding GmbH. In context of the asset sale the term GMH refers also to this two subsidiaries. (2) By letter dated 8 June 2001, the Commission informed Germany that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty and Article 6(5) of Commission Decision No 2496/96/ECSC (hereinafter referred to as the Steel Aid Code) in respect of the aforementioned measure. The Commission called on interested parties to submit their comments. (3)  The United Kingdom Steel Association, the United Kingdom Permanent Representation and the beneficiary company GMH sent comments in the context of the procedure. On 7 August 2001 and 23 August 2001, the Commission forwarded these comments to Germany, which made its comments thereon by letter dated 23 August 2001 and 20 September 2001. (4  Germany responded to the opening of procedure by letter dated 17 July 2001 and 19 October 2001. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASURE (5)  Groditzer Stahlwerke GmbH and its subsidiaries (%) (hereafter: Groditzer) are located in Saxony. Since 1990 Groditzer has been owned by the Treuhandanstalt (THA) and its public successors, respectively EREL Verwaltungs GmbH und Co Management KG (EREL), Beteiligungs-Management-Gesellschaft mbH  (BMGB), and, lastly, the BvS. (6)  On 25 February 1997 BMGB entered into an agreement ‘Kauf und Abtretungsvertrag iiber Geschiftsanteile’ (hereafter: privatisation agreement) with the Georgs- (*) On 20 April 1999 Gréditzer Stahlwerke GmbH sold its assets and liabilities — and thus its economic operations — to the newly created Edelstahl Groditz GmbH and Stahlwerk Groditz GmbH which are subsidies of Stahl Groditz Holding GmbH. The sole shareholder of Stahl Gréditz Holding GmbH is BvS. In the meantime Stahl Groditz GmbH sold the shares in this two subsidiaries to Groditzer Stahlwerke GmbH.