On Monday 19 July, the European Commission authorised Spain’s plan to set up a €1 billion recapitalisation fund that will invest through debt and equity instruments in certain companies affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The support will take the form of debt and recapitalisation instruments, in particular equity and hybrid capital instruments.
The measure is open to companies established in Spain and active in all sectors, with the exception of the financial sector, with total annual net revenues of between €15 million and €400 million on a consolidated basis and which currently have capital needs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Companies that have already received support through the ‘Solvency Fund for Strategic Enterprises’, approved by the Commission in July 2020, are not eligible for this new scheme.
The Commission found that the measure taken by Spain was in line with the conditions laid down in the Temporary Framework. In particular, safeguards are in place, such as a prohibition on acquisitions for the purpose of aggressive business expansion, to prevent beneficiaries from taking undue advantage of state recapitalisation aid to the detriment of fair competition in the single market. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)