LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), July 9 (SeeNews) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Tuesday it is investing up to 10 million euro ($11.5 million) in Invera Private Equity Fund to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses in five countries of Southeast Europe.
“The fund will focus on supporting and developing private companies in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro with equity and equity-related investments,” the EBRD said in a press release.
Invera Equity Partners is a newly established private equity fund manager which will target total capital commitments of up to 100 million euro, including through the mobilisation of local institutional investors, the lender said. The fund has a broad sectoral focus including food and beverages, manufacturing and industrials, information and communication technologies, services and hospitality.
“EBRD’s investment will enable the bank to address the SME private equity segment in south-eastern Europe. We are excited to support the establishment of a new local and independent team,” EBRD director and head of the equity funds team, Anne Fossemalle, commented.
“Through our investment in Invera we will provide indirect equity financing to Croatian corporate clients to support their growth and development,” EBRD director for Croatia, Victoria Zinchuk, said.
The region has strong entrepreneurial potential that is often held back due to difficult access to financing, the EBRD noted, adding that the fund will target a diversified portfolio with a typical investment size of 4-12 million euro.
($ = 0.87193 euro)