First Anniversary of the EIB-EIF Co-Investment Facility celebrated with EUR 128 million for European companies

A novel EIB and EIF financing model providing growth capital for innovative European SMEs and mid-caps
Celebrating its first anniversary with total approved investments of EUR 128 million backed under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (part of the Juncker Plan)

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) today celebrate the first year anniversary of the joint EIB-EIF Co-Investment Facility.

The new EIB-EIF Co-Investment Facility supports European innovation by increasing the overall availability of risk capital for early stage, high-growth technology and life sciences companies as well as funding to innovative Mid-caps. The facility further supports the European venture ecosystem by providing additional firepower to the best performing fund managers backed by EIF and is guaranteed under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe of the Juncker Commission.

Competitiveness to European companies

Over the past twelve months, the EIB and the EIF teams have jointly supported top rated fund managers, building up a portfolio of co-investments in highly innovative companies for a total approved capital contribution of EUR 128m as of November 2018.

Companies financed to date include, amongst others, fintech pioneers such as N26 (DE) and Qonto (FR), or innovators in life sciences such as Biogroup (FR). A most recent co-investment supports novel approaches to waste management advanced by Kom-Eko of Poland (http://kom-eko.lublin.pl/). Kom-Eko is a Polish integrated provider of waste management services including waste collection, waste processing, and landfilling. It is a regional market leader and has a clear development plan to increase the share of recycling in its activities.

Vice-President Dario Scannapieco of the European Investment Bank says: “The EIB-EIF Co-Investment Facility highlights the strong cooperation between EIB and EIF in their common objective of strengthening the European innovation ecosystem. The facility gives additional firepower to EIF-backed, top performing fund managers to pursue investment opportunities in fast growing companies, leveraging on EIB’s proven investment expertise and processes to pick the most innovative, value adding European projects.”

The EIB-EIF Co-Investment Facility has introduced a systematic EIB Group approach to co-investments alongside commercial fund managers, combining the market reach of the EIF with EIB’s expertise in analysing and valuing individual corporate investments.

Traditionally, the EIB has to a large extent offered financing to companies in the form of loans and guarantees. EFSI-guaranteed financing to companies as equity and hybrid investments is a novel type of operation, designed to fill in market gaps in European venture capital and private equity landscape that today hinder companies’ development and internationalisation.

Further background on the EIB Co-Investment Schemes

Co-investments are one of the instruments employed by the EIB in order to address certain market gaps and maximize the policy and financial impact of the EFSI resources.

The EIB today deploys a wide a range of equity and hybrid co-investment schemes including with National Promotional Institutions, corporate venture funds, and financial sponsors, encompassing a total capital commitment at present of over EUR 600m.

For more information, please see http://www.eib.org/en/products/lending/coinvestment-facilities/index.htm

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