This chapter deals with the pursuit of public interests in the context of privatisation and sales of public property. It identifies the various interests involved and sets out the relevant EU legal framework for this domain. On the basis of this, the chapter addresses the question of whether the sale should be carried out through competitive tendering, given that it might be possible to apply alternative – and still legitimate – systems to achieve the sale. In answering this question, the chapter assumes that State aid rules identify the market economy operator principle as the cornerstone around which the allocation procedure must revolve. Hence, the question from an EU law viewpoint becomes: does competitive tendering only ensure compliance with the market economy vendor principle (MEVP) test or are there other methods to achieve the same result? On the basis of the outcome of the analysis, the chapter assesses which public interests can be pursued and which transaction system better pursues which type of public interest.