1.6.2013 Official Journal of the European Union L 148/33 COMMISSION DECISION of 7 March 2012 on State aid No SA.29041 (C 28/2009, ex N 433/2009) Support measures in favour of Oltchim SA Ramnicu Vilcea (notified under document C(2012) 1369) (Only the Romanian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2013/246/EU) THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter: ‘TFEU’), and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 108(2) thereof (1), Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having regard to the decision by which the Commission decided to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 108(2) TFEU in respect of the aid C 28/2009 (ex N 433/2009) (3, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above, and having regard to their comments, Whereas: I. PROCEDURE () On 17 July 2009 Romania notified two support measures (hereinafter: ‘the notification’) in favour of Oltchim SA Ramnicu Valcea (hereinafter: ‘Oltchim’ or ‘the company’): (i) the conversion of debt towards the public authorities amounting to RON 538 million (approximately EUR 128 million (%)) into equity and (ii) a state guarantee covering 80 % of a commercial loan amounting to EUR 424 million. Romania notified these (") With effect from 1 December 2009, Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty have become Articles 107 and 108, respectively, of the TFEU. The two sets of provisions are, in substance, identical. For the purposes of this Decision, references to Articles 107 and 108 TFEU should be understood as references to Articles 87 and 88, respectively, of the EC Treaty where appropriate. The TFEU has also introduced certain changes in terminology such as replacement of the terms ‘Community’ and ‘common market’ by, respectively, ‘Union’ and ‘internal market’. The terminology of the TFEU will be used in this Decision. () Commission Decision C(2009) 6867 final of 15 December 2009 (O] C 321, 29.12.2009, p. 21). (}) The ECB exchange rate on 17 July 2009 was EUR 1 = RON 4,2. In this decision all RON figures are converted into EUR at this exchange rate, unless figures were only available/provided in EUR, in which case only the EUR value is used. state support measures for reasons of legal certainty, arguing that they did not involve state aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU. () Prior to this notification, on 10 April 2008, PCC SE (hereinafter: ‘PCC’), a company based in Duisburg, Germany, which currently owns a minority stake of 18,31 % in Oltchim, submitted a formal complaint, alleging that the planned debt-to-equity conversion involved incompatible state aid. (3)  Following the registration of the complaint, the Commission exchanged correspondence and information with the Romanian authorities, Oltchim and the complainant, and met on several occasions with the Romanian authorities and representatives of Oltchim, on the one hand, and with representatives of the complainant, on the other hand. 4 On 15 September 2009 the Commission opened a formal investigation procedure pursuant to Article 108(2) TFEU with regard to the notified measures (hereinafter: ‘the opening decision’). Romania submitted comments on the opening decision on 3 November 2009. (5)  The opening decision was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 29 December 2009 (%). By letters of 21 December 2009, the Commission invited eight companies potentially interested in the proceedings as competitors of Oltchim to submit comments on the opening decision. (6)  The Commission received comments from five third parties: by letter of 26 January 2010, from Vestolit GmbH & Co. KG (hereinafter: ‘Vestolit); by letter of 26 January 2010 from Ineos ChlorVinyls (hereinafter: ‘Ineos’); by letters of 27 January 2010 and 28 January 2010, from two companies which requested confiden- tiality as regards their identity (hereinafter: ‘Anonymous parties I and IT'); and by letter of 29 January 2010, from Mr Virgil Bestea, a private individual. (*) See footnote 2.