Escolano and Navarro after the signing./ Photo: ICO
The Diplomat. 14/08/2016
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a EUR 250 million loan to ICO for its fund-of-funds FOND-ICO Global to improve the capitalisation of Spanish companies.
This is the second operation mounted by the EIB and ICO under the Investment Plan for Europe. Half of the EUR 250 million loan is covered by the Investment Plan guarantee. The agreement was signed on July in Madrid by EIB Vice-President Román Escolano, and ICO¿s CEO, Emma Navarro.
The operation is designed to give a boost to private investment in Spain. FOND-ICO Global was set up in 2013 to catalyse the creation of private funds and strengthen alternative sources of finance to bank loans.
The operation is designed to give a boost to private investment in Spain
Since its launch, FOND-ICO Global has approved investments in 39 funds in the amount of EUR 947 million, accounting for 63% of the EUR 1.5 billion dedicated to this initiative. Under this operation, the EIB will share with ICO the risk on the investments made by FOND-ICO Global up to the amount of EUR 125 million.
The loan is designed to mobilise total investment of EUR 4.6 billion to finance midcap companies in Spain and offer them an alternative source of funding to traditional loans. The funds in which FOND-ICO Global has stakes have to date invested EUR 683 million in over 150 Spanish businesses employing more than 50 000 people.
