The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union's financing institution, has just signed two agreements for EUR 20 million each with Cofiloisirs S.A. and Coficiné S.A., credit institutions specialising in the audiovisual sector. These will enable the EIB to contribute to loans relating to the production and distribution of audiovisual and multimedia works in France and other EU countries. The contracts have been signed today by Francis Mayer, Vice-President of the EIB, and for Cofiloisirs by Denis Offroy, Director General, and for Coficiné by Didier Courtois Duverger, Vice-President Director General.
Against the background of a fall in the number of finance providers in the audiovisual sector, the facility thus created will make it possible to maintain, and even increase, the sector's financing capacity thanks to syndication of the loans set up by Coficiné and Cofiloisirs with the EIB. The effect will be to facilitate the access of audiovisual enterprises, especially independent producers, to credit.
These agreements constitute the EIB's first investment in financing European audiovisual production. They will be implemented on the basis of the well-established expertise of Coficiné and Cofiloisirs (as well as of their principal shareholders: Natexis Banque Populaires (NBP) on the one hand; and BNP Paribas, Banque Odier, Bungener, Courvoisier S.A. (OBC) and the Dexia Group, on the other) in the appraisal and financing of audiovisual productions.
The signatories to these agreements envisage supporting the funding of a total of some 30 to 40 cinematographic or audiovisual works.
Companies from both France and other European countries will be able to attract loans under this facility. Indeed, Coficiné is also active in Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany; and Cofiloisirs in the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. Coficiné and Cofiloisirs will serve as the points of contact for the beneficiaries of this facility and as such will be responsible for appraising projects submitted, subject to the EIB's approval, and concluding and monitoring finance contracts.
The aim of the audiovisual component of the EIB's Innovation 2000 Initiative (Audiovisual i2i), set up several months ago, is to offer Europe's film and audiovisual industry a package of financial instruments equipping it to meet the cultural and technological challenges it faces in a globalised economy. Financing to the tune of EUR 500-600 million is scheduled for the period 2001-2003. Some thirty operations totalling EUR 210-250 million and involving a number of EU Member States are already under appraisal or being negotiated.
Audiovisual i2i is based on four main strategies:
- Opening of EIB credit lines (or "global loans") to banks specialising in finance for small audiovisual production companies, enterprises using audiovisual technologies or subcontracted firms.
- EIB medium to long-term financing, in partnership with the banking sector, for large private or public-sector television and audiovisual production and film distribution groups to cover their infrastructure investment needs (studios, digitalisation facilities, broadcasting stations, etc.) or creative enterprises (production of film "packages", distribution of works and back catalogues).
- Financing of venture capital funds operating in the audiovisual sector, through equity participations by the European Investment Fund (EIF), the EIB's specialist subsidiary for strengthening SME equity and providing guarantees.
- Joint action by the EIB Group and the European Commission to foster the creation of cultural works and development of the film and television industries. The aim will be to ensure maximum complementarity between the Group's banking resources and Community grants under the EUR 400 million "Media Plus" programme.
Audiovisual i2i is based on four main strategies:
- Opening of EIB credit lines (or "global loans") to banks specialising in finance for small audiovisual production companies, enterprises using audiovisual technologies or subcontracted firms.
- EIB medium to long-term financing, in partnership with the banking sector, for large private or public-sector television and audiovisual production and film distribution groups to cover their infrastructure investment needs (studios, digitalisation facilities, broadcasting stations, etc.) or creative enterprises (production of film "packages", distribution of works and back catalogues).
- Financing of venture capital funds operating in the audiovisual sector, through equity participations by the European Investment Fund (EIF), the EIB's specialist subsidiary for strengthening SME equity and providing guarantees.
- Joint action by the EIB Group and the European Commission to foster the creation of cultural works and development of the film and television industries. The aim will be to ensure maximum complementarity between the Group's banking resources and Community grants under the EUR 400 million "Media Plus" programme.
Audiovisual i2i forms an integral part of the Innovation 2000 Initiative (i2i) launched by the EIB Group in June 2000 to support the development of a knowledge-based, innovation-led European economy. At 31 August 2001, finance already made available under "i2i" totalled EUR 3.65 billion from a budget for the period 2000-2003 of EUR 12 to 15 billion in loans and EUR 1 billion in venture capital.