L 27/12 Official Journal of the European Union 31.1.2012 COMMISSION DECISION of 23 March 2011 on State aid C 39/07 implemented by Italy for Legler SpA (notified under document C(2011) 1758) (Only the Italian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2012/51/EU) THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter ‘the Treaty), and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 108(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having regard to the Commission decision to initiate the procedure laid down in Article 108(2) of the Treaty (1), Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above, and having regard to their comments, Whereas: [. PROCEDURE (1)~ On 5 April 2007, six months after the granting of rescue aid approved as compatible with the internal market by the Commission (?), Italy notified a restructuring plan for Legler SpA. (2)  On 25 September 2007, the Commission initiated the formal investigation procedure in respect of the restruc- turing plan (}). Observations from Italy were received on 30 November 2007. (3)  On 10 December 2007, the Commission received comments from one interested party. It transmitted the comments to Italy by letter dated 3 March 2008. Italy provided its observations by letter dated 20 May 2008. (4)  On 23 July 2008, the Italian authorities withdrew the restructuring aid notification, stating that the plan had been abandoned. (5)  The Commission requested further information from the Italian authorities on 8 August 2008, 22 October 2008, 9 February 2009, 4 September 2009 and 17 March 2010, to which the Italian authorities replied by letters () OJ C 289, 1.12.2007, p. 22. () OJ C 159, 12.7.2007, p. 2. The rescue aid was approved for the period 5 October 2006 to 5 April 2007. () See footnote 1. dated 26 September 2008, 1 December 2008, 3 June 2009, 6 October 2009, 24 February 2010 and 20 April 2010. II. DESCRIPTION II.1. Beneficiary (6)  Legler SpA is the parent company of an Italian textile manufacturing group (hereinafter referred to as ‘Legler, ‘the group’ or ‘the company’) founded in 1863 which, at the time the formal investigation procedure was initiated, comprised several legal entities, namely: Legler Ottana SpA, Legler Siniscola SpA and Legler Macomer SpA. Legler SpA held a minority shareholding in Legler Maroc SA and a 40 % share in Legler Ottana SpA The majority shareholding in Legler SpA was held by the holding company Piltar Ltd (hereinafter referred to as ‘Piltar’). (7)  In 2007, Legler employed 1213 (*) persons and had plants in the region of Sardinia (at Macomer — province of Oristano, and at Siniscola and Ottana — province of Nuoro) and in the region of Lombardy (at Ponte San Pietro — province of Bergamo). The group’s turnover was EUR 101 million in 2006 and EUR 30,9 million in September 2007. (8)  Legler's core activity was the manufacturing of high- quality denim fabric, a sector in which the company had been a leading player in Italy and Germany and an important supplier to France and the Benelux. According to the Italian authorities, the denim market comprises two segments: prét-a-porter for famous brands (this was Legler's main sector) and mass-market products, where competition is mainly price-based. Legler's main competitors were based in Italy, Greece, France, Tunisia, Turkey and Japan. Legler began experiencing difficulties in 2003, when a significant part of production was relocated to Asia or the southern Mediterranean. (99 On 30 May 2007, at a board meeting of SFIRS SpA, an investment company of the region of Sardinia, it was decided that SFIRS would purchase from Intex SpA, in liquidation, for the price of EUR 450 000, a debt of a nominal value of EUR 17 million owed by Legler SpA and Legler Siniscola SpA. (% This figure represents the number of persons who worked full-time for the company during the entire period under consideration.