Clifford Chance Prague has advised the European Investment Bank on its up to EUR 50 million equity investment into Inven Capital, a Czech SICAV fund that is fully-owned by the regional energy group CEZ. Inven Capital reportedly was counseled by DBK Partners.
EIB agreed to co-invest into Inven Capital on a 50:50 basis with CEZ under a Joint Co-Investment Program. This is the first equity investment of EIB in the Czech Republic. The transaction is backed by a guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investments, which is the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.
This EUR 100 million co-investment initiative will provide additional liquidity to leading European venture capital-dependent SMEs and midcaps in the energy sector, which, according to Clifford Chance, "are typically in a growth stage and need early-stage investments to innovate and expand their product and service offering, increase their productivity and manufacturing capacity and expand internationally."
The Clifford Chance team advising on the transaction was led by Managing Partner Alex Cook, with Senior Associate Michal Jasek as executive lawyer. The team also included Associate Ludvík Ruzicka and Junior Associate Zuzana Moravkova.
DBK Partners did not reply to our inquiries.
