Investment Plan for Europe: EIB Group’s first equity participation in investment fund in France dedicated to renewable energies

For immediate release – July 24, 2015

The day after the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and the European Commission signed in Brussels an agreement to implement the Investment Plan for Europe (the Juncker Plan), the EIB signed its first equity participation under the plan, a €50 million commitment to an investment fund managed by Omnes Capital and entirely dedicated to developing renewable energies :  Capenergie 3.

The signing ceremony was chaired by the Minister of Finance and Public Accounts, Michel Sapin, and the Minister for the Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs, Emmanuel Macron, in the presence of the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, and the three signatories to the finance contract : EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, Omnes Capital’s CEO Fabien Prevost, and a Managing Director of Omnes Capital, Serge Savasta.

Michel Sapin, Minister of Finance and Public Accounts, commented :  “This project shows that we are now moving into the concrete implementation phase of the Juncker Plan. Six months after the facility was launched, we need to expand the number of projects : the moment to get investment back on track is now, not in two years’ time. What counts for growth is that the Juncker Plan unblocks finance for innovative new projects that have difficulty completing their finance plan with traditional instruments.”

Emmanuel Macron, Minister for the Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs, added : “Investment Europe is on the march. In less than six months, the investment plan has been set up, the first projects have been financed and France has been fully mobilised in all sectors: innovation, digital, infrastructure, the energy transition, and so on.  We must not relax our efforts to boost investment in France and Europe.”

Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, commented : “The national economies are faced with a dramatic fall in investment. The Investment Plan for Europe is designed to bring back investment in the real economy, growth and job creation. By financing innovative projects, the plan will give a vital boost to Europe’s competitiveness – the Juncker Commission’s top priority. As the person in charge of the Horizon 2020 financing programme, I shall continue to play my part in ensuring that innovation, SMEs and new technologies in sectors such renewable energy contribute to the success of the investment plan.”

As the EIB’s first equity participation in France under the Investment Plan for Europe, this project also represents the first renewable energy development operation under the Juncker Plan. This investment project will serve to finance means of energy production with a global capacity of over 500 MW and create more than 1,000 jobs during the construction and operation of the renewable energy projects supported. The EIB’s participation in the form of an equity injection is expected to attract other international investors, helping Capenergie to speed up its fund-raising and grow its business.

“The EIB is mobilising more than ever to ensure the successful implementation of the Investment Plan for Europe in France. Our first equity participation in this fund has a twofold objective : to ensure the success of Capenergie 3’s first fund-raising while attracting other European and global investors. The growing competitiveness of renewable energies creates new investment opportunities that must be seized. Rapid and targeted action is the key to achieving the lasting return of growth through investment” EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle commented.

With a target size of €200 million, the Capenergie 3 fund will leverage total investment of €1 billion. On the strength of its expertise in the sector, it will focus on European renewable energy production infrastructure projects. These decentralised projects will be developed by key SMEs in the sector (wind, solar, hydropower and heat networks). As a partner to such SMEs for the past ten years, Omnes Capital is a vital player in the renewable energies market.

“With the EIB’s support, Capenergie 3 will be able to finance several hundred megawatts of power – meaning job creation in our regions – and foster the global development of partner SMEs in our projects. The market environment is favourable : renewables are now competitive with traditional sources of energy. So this is the right time for institutional investors to invest in this asset class” said Serge Savasta, Managing Director of Omnes Capital.

Investment Plan for Europe
The Investment Plan for Europe is endowed with €21 billion (€5 billion from the EIB and €16 billion from the EU budget). It will boost the EIB’s lending capacity, while acting as catalyst by enhancing the ability to take risk, especially with newly developed financing tools. The plan is expected to leverage a total of least €315 billion worth of new investment in Europe over the next three years.

About the European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union Together with its dedicated enterprise support subsidiary the European Investment Fund, it forms the EIB Group. Its shareholders are the EU Member States. The EIB’s remit is to work towards the achievement of the EU’s key objectives. The Bank provides its finance and expertise in support of sound, sustainable investment projects.
Supporting growth and employment is the EIB’s top priority in France. To optimise its activity, the EIB lends in support of viable projects, blends its loans with EU resources and provides technical and financial advice. It supports SMEs, promotes innovation, contributes to the construction and upgrading of strategic infrastructure and finances climate action.
www.eib.org

About Omnes Capital

Omnes Capital is a major private equity and infrastructure investment player. With €2.1 billion under management, Omnes Capital provides businesses with the equity they need to develop in its key areas of expertise: growth capital and buyouts, venture capital, renewable energies, co-investment, secondary funds-of-funds. In the renewables sector, Omnes Capital led the field with the launch of its first Capenergie fund in 2006. Since then, the company has made over 30 investments in France and elsewhere in Europe in the wind, solar, hydropower and biomass sectors equating to 1 500 MW of production capacity. Omnes Capital was a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole S.A. until March 2012. The company is now owned by its employees. Omnes Capital is a signatory to the United Nations’ Responsible Investment Principles.
www-rec.omnescapital.com

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