Companies )Sovello AG Recall of Grants by the European Commission |
| Published 30 January 2010 |
| The European Commission announced today that a share of the grants which had been awarded in 2006 for the construction of the first integrated production line of the former EverQ GmbH (today Sovello AG) has been recalled. The amount of EUR 11.6 Mio is related to a special bonus available to Small and Medium Size Enterprises known as SME Bonus. After completing an investigation launched in 2008, the European Commission came to the conclusion that the influence of the shareholder Q-Cells AG (today Q-Cells SE) had actually been significantly greater than this would normally have been the case for a share of 24.9 %. Based on information reviewed in the course of the worthiness of grants for the second production line of Sovello in 2006 it became clear that the – at the time – much larger Q-Cells AG would need to have been regarded as a partner company of Sovello. As the sales and employee numbers of partner companies must be taken into account when awarding a SME Bonus, this part of the grant was deemed to be incompatible with European subsidy regulations. Sovello AG regrets the decisions communicated today and finds this decision difficult to follow. Sovello points out the grants awarded have been employed for the purposes intended and have contributed significantly to the creation of 1200 jobs at Sovello AG in the past four years. In view of the intense competition from Asian players which benefit from generous state aid, the timing of the financial burden for the Company and its Shareholders associated with this decision is very unfavourable reducing room for important investments in technology and growth. Sovello AG refutes the supposition by the European Commission that Sovello (formerly EverQ GmbH) artificially kept the participation of one of its Joint Venture Partners below 25 %, as decisions regarding the participation are matter of shareholders only. At this point it is not yet decided whether the Company will take legal action to contest this decision. |
| Source: Sovello |
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