L 353/36 Official Journal of the European Union 13.12.2006 COMMISSION DECISION of 20 October 2005 on the State Aid implemented by Finland for investment aid to Componenta Corporation (notified under document number C(2005) 3871) (Only the Finnish and Swedish versions are authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2006/900/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above (%), Whereas: L PROCEDURE By letter dated 10 March 2004 from Metalls Verkstadsklubb vid Componenta Alvesta AB, Sweden, the Commission was informed that the City of Karkkila had made a financial transaction with Componenta Corporation Oyj in Karkkila, Finland which it suspected contained state aid. Based on this information the Commission requested clarifications from Finland. By letter dated 22 June 2004 Finland provided the Commission with the information requested. By letter dated 19 November 2004 the Commission informed Finland that it had decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty in respect of the suspected aid. The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (%). The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments on the measure. The Commission received no comments from interested parties. 1L DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE AID The aid and the beneficiaries Componenta Corporation Oyj (hereinafter called Compo- nenta) is a metal sector company with international operations, based in Karkkila, Finland. It has production plants in Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden. Most of the company’s net sales in 2004 of EUR 316 million came from the Nordic countries and Central Europe. The Group employs around 2 200 people. () OJ C 49, 25.2.2005, p. 11. () See footnote 1. (6) The suspected aid was provided to Componenta in December 2003 and consisted of two operations. In one case it was provided through the purchase by the city of Karkkila (hereinafter called Karkkila) of 50 % of the shares in the real estate company Karkkilan Keskustakiinteistot Oy (hereinafter called KK), which was jointly owned (50/50) by Karkkila and Componenta. In the other case Karkkila granted KK an interest-free loan, which was used by KX to reimburse a loan of the same amount that it had been granted by Componenta in 1996. The total sum of the deal was EUR 2 383 276,5 (EUR 713 092,5 for the shares and EUR 1 670 184 in the form of the loan repayment) (°). The price for the shares was based on the estimated net value of the company (assets minus liabilities) and by dividing this amount by 2, since Componenta owned 50 % of KK. Since the net value of KK was calculated as EUR 1495918, the value of the 50 % shares was EUR 747 958. The price for the shares was set somewhat lower at EUR 713 092,5. The sales agreement between Karkkila (Buyer) and Componenta (Seller) furthermore stated the following: a. ‘The Seller agrees to invest in the extension of Componenta Karkkila Oy’s production facilities in the territory of the City of Karkkila as specified in Appendix 1 of this contract. It is estimated that the investment will create 50-70 new full-time jobs in Karkkila in 2004 (the average number of Componenta employees in Karkkila in 2003 was 130). b. If the extension of the Seller’s facilities is not commenced in 2004 as specified in the above paragraph, the Buyer has the right to cancel the transaction at its own discretion.’ Annex 1 of the sales agreement stated that Componenta will merge the operations of two of the Group’s foundries (the Alvesta foundry in Sweden and the Karkkila foundry); that the two units that operate at a low utilisation rate will be merged; that analyses were required for making the decision on the location of the foundry and commence- (%) Elsewhere in the text these amounts have been rounded for convenience.