27.01.2021
For entrepreneurs
The Fund of Funds has signed a contract with the team that will manage the Mezzanine / Growth Fund - Silverline Partners
The Fund of Funds (FF) signed a contract with the selected financial intermediary for the implementation of the Mezzanine/Growth Fund. This is the last instrument from the FF portfolio for equity and quasi-equity investments, as such it is made for the first time in Bulgaria with public resources. The funds for it are provided under the Operational Program "Innovation and Competitiveness" 2014-2020, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.
The resource will be managed by Silverline Partners Ltd. This is the name under which the Bulgarian Mezzanine Partners Association DZZD, selected as a contractor in the procedure for selection of a financial intermediary, will operate. Its partners are: Evgeni Angelov, Diana Aladzhova, Ivan Hristanov, Loid Schultz and River Styx Capital EAD.
The key persons of the selected fund manager have gained significant experience in the management of alternative investment funds supporting companies in Bulgaria, Central, Eastern Europe and others. Along with the implementation of equity instruments, the team has expertise in providing mezzanine financing, which will be an essential part of the portfolio of the newly established fund.
The mezzanine is a form of hybrid investment that falls between capital and debt financing. In the general case, it enables companies to attract risky financing, without necessarily leading to the transfer of a significant share in their ownership to the new investor.
Silverline Partners will manage BGN 83.7 million, of which BGN 75.3 million are public funds provided by the main investor Fund of Funds. In addition, private capital will be attracted at the fund level, as well as in the implementation of each transaction.
The fund will support at least 10 small and medium enterprises with investments ranging between BGN 4.9 million to BGN 13.7 million, and at least half of the resource will be invested in the form of mezzanine financing.
The purpose of the instrument is to support the development of the competitiveness of Bulgarian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a mature stage of development. It will provide access to alternative financing for those who have the potential for growth and are looking for opportunities to expand their activities by entering new markets or developing new products and services.
With the Mezzanine/Growth Fund, there are five working funds for alternative investments financed by the FF. Until now, such a tool has not been available on the market and its implementation will provide the necessary resources to cover the entire life cycle of a company's development - from the idea for it, during the initial stage to its mature phase.
After signing the contract, the intermediary is expected to make its first investments in the summer of this year.
On the occasion of the signing, Vladimir Danailov, Executive Director and Member of the Management Board of the Fund of Funds, expressed his joy at the professional work done and shared the following: "I am happy that Bulgarian business will now be able to take advantage of a financial instrument for growth. we need it. Through it and other financial instruments, we stimulate a new way for the Bulgarian economy to be competitive - mostly through globally oriented companies."
"In Bulgaria there are proven entrepreneurs with integrity and companies with regional and global potential. We want to work with them and contribute to their success," said Evgeni Angelov, managing partner of Silverline Partners.
