The European Investment Bank will grant financing of up to EUR 65 million to XDC, the n°1 digital cinema service company in Europe, in the framework of the financing structured by BNP Paribas Fortis to contribute to its digitization roll-out plans in Europe. This will also strengthen XDC’s research and development activities to further improve its digital cinema solutions.
The loan facility granted by BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC, CBC and the EIB - the financing institution of the European Union - will finance digital cinema equipment aimed to be deployed in European cinemas in the scope of the “Virtual Print Fee” co-financing scheme. This scheme based on cost sharing between exhibitors and distributors has been signed by XDC with the 6 Majors Studio’s to convert up to 8,000 screens to digital over the next 4 years.
The participation of the EIB in the first tranche of the loan facility amounts to EUR 16 million. KBC Bank and CBC Bank will also participate in this facility with a contribution of EUR 10 million. BNP Paribas Fortis which had been mandated last year to structure, arrange and underwrite this 2 x EUR 50 millions project finance loan facility will provide the remainder of the first tranche or EUR 24 million. The loan will benefit, for a substantial portion, from an insurance cover provided by ONDD, the Belgian Export Credit Agency.
Ahead of these senior debt arrangements, XDC entered into a financing agreement with Barco, one of its preferred digital projector manufacturer partners. Barco will participate in this structure through a specific and tailored made vendor financing program.
"Financing capacity and technical innovation are key matters for XDC’s business plan execution” said Serge Plasch, XDC’s CEO. “This EIB loan facility will secure our long term senior debt requirements. Moreover, this will allow XDC to emphasize its R&D projects to serve the market with innovative solutions.”
EIB President Philippe Maystadt explained “how crucial it is, and even more in this period of shortened credit for niche sectors, to support long-term investment for young, performing SMEs with high potential. It is also important to support innovative projects with a strong R&D component with tailor-made financial products such as the Risk Sharing Finance Facility for Research Development and Innovation (RSFF) which we are using for XDC. He also added: We are pleased to support the development of XDC ; it has created its unique position as a key contributor in its field, bringing added-value to the distributors and exhibitors going to digital, and becoming a leader in the high-tech world of cinema.”
Background information:
About the EIB and RSFF
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending arm of the European Union, and is wholly owned by the 27 EU member states. Its mission is to support through its activities the development of EU policies. It does this mainly by providing loans from funds raised on capital markets on favorable terms thanks to its AAA credit rating. The Bank permanently adapts its activity to developments in EU policy and contributes chiefly to economic and social cohesion, environmental protection, research and innovation, support for SMEs, the development of trans-European transport and energy networks and the promotion of secure, competitive and sustainable energy supplies. Every year, it makes available finance totalling some EUR 50bn in support of projects located in the EU.
The Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF) is a joint EIB and European Commission initiative which supports the development of research, development and innovation (RDI) projects by improving access to debt financing and creating additional funding capacity for the sector. The facility directly promotes the EU’s objective of making Europe the world’s most competitive, knowledge-driven economy.
RSFF is funded jointly by the EIB and the EU’s Seventh Research Framework Programme and will cover the financial risks associated with RDI projects worth up to EUR 10bn. In the facility’s first 2 ½ years of operation, the EIB has concluded contracts totalling EUR 4,5 billion for RDI projects from a wide range of sectors, notably renewable energy, automotive research and biotechnology.
About XDC International
XDC is the n°1 digital cinema company in Europe with more than 1.350 committed digital screens out of which 50% have already been deployed. XDC HQ is based in Liege (Belgium) and provides end-to-end digital cinema solutions including equipment supply, financing (VPF, leasing, etc), training, installation and 24/7 maintenance, as well as content processing and delivery. The company is the first entity to have VPF digital cinema deployment agreements with all 6 major US studios Warner, Fox, Universal, Paramount, Sony and Disney for a total of 8,000 digital screens in 22 European countries. Besides its financing program with ING Lease, XDC has set up a global financing of 100 million Euro with a bank consortium led by BNP Paribas Fortis to allow the VPF roll out of 2,000 digital screens for its European deployment program. XDC Digital Content Lab has been processing more than 600 different titles, and offers a full service including mastering, duplication, key management, 24/7 helpdesk, extranet tracking, physical/virtual delivery. Last but not least, XDC is also very active in Alternative Content by offering a full service from booking and promotion up to delivery, reporting and box office collection.
The main shareholders are EVS Broadcast Equipment (Euronext Brussels: EVS, Bloomberg: EVS BB, Reuters: EVSB.BR) (www.evs-global.com), GIMV (Euronext Brussels: GIMB, Bloomberg: GIMB BB, Reuters: GIMV.BR) (www.gimv.com) and SRIW (www.sriw.be).
Contacts:
At the EIB :
For RSFF financing operations: Marc D’hooge, Tel.: +352 4379 87211 - Email: m.dhooge@eib.org
At XDC International:
Serge Plasch, CEO, Tel.: +32 4 364 12 06 - Email: spl@xdcinema.com
Pierre Flamant, VP Finance, Tel.: +32 4 364 12 16 – Email: pfl@xdcinema.com