ICO Chairwoman Irene Garrido, at a press conference held today at the company's headquarters, announced the names of the funds selected in the fourth call of the FOND-ICO Global tender process.
A total of 23 funds participated in the bidding process, many of which (44%) were international. This call included four fund categories: growth capital, venture capital, seed capital and debt funds. The strong showing by foreign funds is further evidence of international investor confidence over Spain and the interest generated by investment in Spanish companies.
The venture capital funds selected were CABIEDES & PARTNERS IV SCR SA and INVEREADY ASSET MANAGEMENT SGECR SA.
BRIDGEPOINT ADVISERS LTD, MCH PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENTS SGECR SAU and TALDE GESTIÓN SGECR SA were the winners in the growth fund category.
In the seed capital fund category, CLAVE MAYOR SGECR SA and SUANFARMA BIOTECH SGECR SA were chosen.
Finally, in the debt fund category, the funds selected were ALTERALIA MANAGEMENT S.à.r.l (N+1) and BTC INVESTMENTS 2012 S.à.r.l (AMTREA).
FOND-ICO Global will invest €194 million in this round. Meanwhile, the chosen funds' investment commitment in Spain amounts to €669 million.
FOND-ICO Global in numbers
Since its launch, FOND-ICO Global now has a total investment commitment of €631 million, making it a key driver of the recovery by the private equity sector in Spain, as underscored by the Spanish Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, ASCRI, in its Yearbook 2013 and its quarterly publication for the third quarter of 2014.
The ICO Chairwoman highlighted that the "investment commitment of the funds selected in the three FOND-ICO calls amounts to over €1.99 billion”.
Ms. Garrido noted the importance of public-private projects such as FOND-ICO Global, which are "designed to diversify funding sources and promote the internationalisation of Spanish companies”. In this vein, she insisted on the importance of providing SMEs with alternatives to bank finance in order for them to become more competitive.
Fund selection procedure
The ICO Chairwoman also underlined the transparency of the selection process in each of the calls, noting that tender rules and selection criteria are publicly available on the AXIS website.
The evaluation process is designed to select the funds with the highest scores according to the criteria set out in the rules for each call and fund category. All bidders are informed of the tender process and evaluation criteria beforehand.
Fourth call for FOND-ICO Global
During yesterday's press conference, the ICO Chairwoman announced that the fourth call for the tender would target three fund categories: venture capital, growth capital and seed capital.
This call is scheduled to be held on 28 November 2014. Two seed capital, two venture capital and two debt capital funds will be selected.
About FOND-ICO Global:
FOND-ICO Global is the first public-capital private equity fund-of-funds created in Spain. It is endowed with €1.2 billion. Its aim is to foster the creation of private equity funds that invest in Spanish companies at all stages of development. The fund-of-funds is managed by AXIS, ICO's 100%-owned private equity firm. The idea is to invigorate the private equity market and catalyse private equity investing activity.
The goal is to attract private Spanish and international investors with the ability to mobilise around €5 billion of funds. Management estimates that during its lifetime the Fund will help to create over 40 new private equity funds, in their assorted legal manifestations, which will invest in companies at various stages of development. For more information: www.axispart.com
About Axis:
Axis is a private equity company 100%-owned by ICO. Its track record in the private equity market dates back over 25 years, during which time it has invested over €350 million in more than 150 companies. For more information: www.axispart.com
About Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO):
Instituto de Crédito Oficial is a state-owned bank with the legal structure of a public sector company, attached to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness via the State Secretariat for Economy and Enterprise Support. From a legal point of view it is a credit institution, and it is treated as a State Finance Agency. As a state-owned bank, ICO grants loans to finance companies' investment projects and liquidity needs, both within and beyond Spain, either through financial entities or directly. In addition, as the State Finance Agency, it manages the official financing instruments that the Spanish government deploys to promote exports and provide development aid. For more information, visit www.ico.es
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