German Fin Min Doesn't Rule Out State Aid For Arcandor
May 27 2009 - 8:10AM
Dow Jones News
German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck isn't ruling out state
aid for retail and travel group Arcandor AG (ARO.XE), he told ARD
television show Morgenmagazin early Wednesday.
Any decision on state aid for Arcandor must take into account
the company's situation and whether it only ran into trouble after
July 1, 2008, he said.
Arcandor, with over 50,000 employees, employs more people in
Germany than General Motors Corp.'s (GM) unit Adam Opel GmbH,
Steinbrueck noted. The German government is expected to help fund a
deal to secure the future of Opel.
Arcandor has applied for EUR650 million in state-backed
guarantees from the German government's EUR115 billion fund to
assist companies pinched by tight credit conditions as a result of
the global financial crisis. Arcandor has said it needs the
guarantees by June 12 to prevent looming insolvency.
A government committee will meet Thursday to review Arcandor's
aid application.
Television Web site: www.daserste.de/moma/
-Frankfurt Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; 49-69-29725-500.