The EBRD is providing a €27 million loan to the Polish company Axtone, one of the leading global producers of railway shock absorption and crash technologies for rolling stock, specialising in high quality products. The company is owned by IK Investment Partners, a leading European private equity fund specialised in the industrial sector.
The EBRD loan is part of a financial package that has been put together with three commercial lenders. The loan will enable the company to refinance existing debt and continue market consolidation that will allow Axtone to achieve operating costs synergies as well as expand its product portfolio.
Axtone, established in 1992, has an extensive network of production plants in Poland, Germany, Russia, Czech Republic and a joint venture in China. The company is a sector leader in new technologies and product development which requires significant spending in R&D activities.
Lucyna Stańczak-Wuczyńska, EBRD Country Director for Poland, said: “We are proud to support a leading Polish company with an outstanding track-record in innovation and the development of new products. The EBRD sees this as an example of how we can support the modernisation of Poland’s industry and help build it into one of the strongest in Europe. We are especially happy that the today’s signing symbolically represents a successful conclusion of our 2014 Annual Meeting in Warsaw.”
Since the beginning of its operations in 1991, the EBRD has invested almost €7 billion in Poland in more than 325 projects. In addition to its wide product range for banks and companies, in recent years the Bank has also built a growing portfolio of investments in the manufacturing and services sector, for which demand remains high.
