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EBRD to make equity investment in Baltic Investment Fund
The Baltic Investment Fund (the Fund) was launched yesterday in association with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Fund, which is a limited partnership established in Jersey, has so far attracted approximately US$10.5 million (ECU 8.5 million) of which 50 per cent is from EBRD and Baltic Investment Special Fund (BISF) and the rest from mainly private sector investors. Its main objective is to undertake equity and equity-related investments primarily in medium-sized enterprises in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to achieve long-term capital growth.
Jacques de Larosière, President of the EBRD, said: “This regional venture fund is an efficient channel of the EBRD’s equity to private sector medium-sized enterprises in the Baltic Republics. We trust this fund will stimulate joint-ventures and other investment in the region”.
The EBRD’s equity investment will be up to US$ 7.5 million (ECU 6.5 million) and BISF will also co-invest with EBRD for up to US$ 7.5 million when the Fund reaches its US$ 30 million (ECU 25 million) target. The life of the Fund will be eight years with a possibility of extension up to a further two years.
The Fund will be managed by Baltic Investment Fund Management Limited (BIFM), a company expected to be established in Jersey. BVFM will have offices in Helsinki and in all three Baltic States. BVFM will be owned by the Sponsors of the Fund, the Finnish National Fund for Research and Development (SITRA), the Mosvold Group, a Norwegian investment group and CAPEX A/S, a Danish corporate finance advisory firm.
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