The European Investment Fund (EIF) and CVI Dom Maklerski (CVI), the CEE leader in private debt financing, together with Open Finance Corporate Bonds Fund (OFCBF), a closed-end fund co-managed by CVI and Noble Funds TFI, have signed a guarantee agreement supporting a EUR 200 million portfolio of bonds to innovative Polish companies.

Thanks to this EU support, CVI and OFCBF, will purchase new bonds from innovative SMEs and small mid-caps at favourable terms. This transaction is expected to benefit up to 60 Polish businesses, helping them to grow and improve their capital flows.

The agreement was signed under InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators, backed by the EU's research and innovation programme Horizon 2020. It is supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) - the central pillar of the European Commission's Investment Plan for Europe, the Juncker Plan. This is the largest InnovFin SME transaction in Poland to date.

Speaking at the signature event in Warsaw, EIF Chief Executive, Pier Luigi Gilibert, commented: “We are delighted to be signing this InnovFin SME guarantee agreement with the first asset manager in Poland to provide debt financing to SMEs. CVI’s financing activity is aligned with EIF's mission and strategy to enhance innovative SMEs and small mid-caps' access to finance.”

European Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said: "Today's Juncker Plan agreement between the European Investment Fund and CVI Dom Maklerski will allow us to provide an additional €200 million in financing to small businesses in Poland. CVI will purchase new bonds from innovative Polish SMEs, benefitting around 60 companies. Using the EU budget guarantee to support this, and therefore provide easier access to financing to more businesses, is precisely the aim of the Juncker Plan."

Commenting on the operation, Rafał Lis, CVI’s Managing Partner said: "Acquiring the European Investment Fund, as a partner, is an excellent reference for CVI. Thanks to the risk-sharing transaction we have signed, CVI will be able to provide preferential private debt financing to Polish innovative SME’s. "

"I am glad that another financial institution joins the group of allies in building an innovative economy in Poland. The new EIF agreement with CVI reduces the financial gap in the country, giving the opportunity to implement new investment projects. I would like to congratulate both institutions on the inaugurated transaction today. It should be emphasized that this is the largest EIF contract concluded with the Polish financial institution under the Horizon 2020 program", said Jarosław Gowin, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Science and Higher Education.

"One of the priorities of the Polish government is to support the development of the SME sector, especially in the field of innovation and technology. I hope that the transaction announced today will translate to a real investment injection for these companies and will encourage other domestic financial institutions to become more involved in this field", said Jadwiga Emilewicz, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology, SME Envoy by European Commission.

About EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments, which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. More information on EIF's work under EFSI is available here.

About CVI

CVI Dom Maklerski (CVI) is an independent investment company, leader in non-bank debt financing for the SME and mid-cap sector in Poland and the CEE region. CVI currently manages funds with total assets under management of EUR 1.4 billion. Open Finance Corporate Bonds Fund, the closed-end fund supported by the EU guarantee instrument, is currently one of the largest corporate bond funds in Poland, with assets under management exceeding EUR 800 million. Since 2012, when CVI started operations, it has completed over 700 corporate debt financings, including over 450 private-debt deals. More about CVI

About the Juncker Plan

The Investment Plan for Europe focuses on breaking down barriers to investment, providing visibility and technical assistance to investment projects and making smart use of new and existing financial resources. More information on EIF's work under EFSI is available here. The EFSI is already seeing results. The projects and agreements approved for financing under EFSI so far are expected to mobilise more than EUR 287 billion in total investments across 28 Member States and to support around 635 000 SMEs. Based on this success, on 14 September 2016 the European Commission proposed extending the Plan, increasing its capacity and duration and reinforcing its strong points. The European Parliament and Member States adopted the "EFSI 2.0" Regulation in December 2017. The latest figures on EFSI by sector and country can be found here.

About InnovFin

The InnovFin SME Guarantee Facility is established under the "InnovFin - EU Finance for Innovators" initiative developed under Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for research and innovation. It provides guarantees and counter-guarantees on debt financing of between EUR 25,000 and EUR 7.5 million in order to improve access to finance for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and small mid-caps (up to 499 employees). The facility is managed by EIF and is rolled out through financial intermediaries – banks and other financial institutions – in EU Member States and Associated Countries. Under this facility, financial intermediaries are guaranteed by the EU and EIF against a proportion of their losses incurred on the debt financing covered under the facility.

Press contacts:

EIF:
David Yormesor
Tel.: +352 24 85 81 346
E-Mail: d.yormesor@eif.org

CVI:
Iwona Drabot
Tel.: +48 605 621 264
E-Mail: iwona.drabot@prboutique.pl

European Commission:
Siobhan Millbright
Tel.: +32 22957361
e-mail Siobhan.millbright@ec.europa.eu

HIGHLIGHTS