The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into whether capital injections paid to PostNord Strålfors A/S between 2017 and 2019 complied with EU State aid rules.
PostNord Strålfors A/S works in customer communication management and sits within the PostNord group, the Commission noted in a release on Friday.
The company is ultimately owned through PostNord AB, which is co-owned by Denmark (40%) and Sweden (60%).
The case follows a complaint received by the Commission in 2020 alleging that PostNord Strålfors A/S benefited from four capital injections between 2014 and 2019 worth a total of €15.9 million (DKK 118.5 million).
The complaint also alleged a commitment to provide further financing in 2019 and the provision of free storage services by Post Danmark, another PostNord group entity.
The complainant argued the injections could amount to State aid because decisions were attributable to the Danish and Swedish states via control of the group, and claimed a private investor would not have invested because the company was loss-making.
What the Commission has decided so far
The Commission said it had doubts, based on its preliminary assessment, about whether the capital injections made in 2017, 2018 and 2019 were in line with EU State aid rules.
It concluded the 2014 injection fell outside the 10-year limitation period, meaning it counts as “existing aid” and is not subject to recovery.
The Commission also pointed out that an alleged commitment to provide further financing in 2019 did not constitute State aid because it was non-binding and could not be linked to State resources.
It found Post Danmark did not provide storage services to PostNord Strålfors without payment, meaning no state aid was involved on that point.
In its statement, the Commission noted that in two other cases involving injections to PostNord group entities — Post Danmark and PostNord Logistics — the General Court ruled the Commission should have opened formal investigations to examine the measures in depth.
The Commission said the opening of the in-depth investigation allows Denmark, Sweden and interested third parties to submit comments, and does not prejudge the outcome.
A non-confidential version of the decision will be published in the Commission’s State aid register under case numbers SA.56621 and SA.56622 once confidentiality issues have been resolved.
