San Sebastián 2023 – San Sebastián Industry
Industry Report: European Policy
The European Commission and the European Investment Fund seal four investment agreements worth €68.25 million
The deals are expected to mobilise around €500 million worth of new financing for audiovisual and creative companies and projects
On Sunday 24 September, the European Commission and the European Investment Fund (EIF) signed four investment agreements at the San Sebastián Film Festival. The deals, worth a total of €68.25 million, are expected to mobilise around €500 million worth of new financing for audiovisual and creative companies and projects.
One of the deals concerns an EIF-approved equity investment of up to €25 million in the French fund Logical Content Ventures (part of Logical Pictures). It aims to raise up to €70 million in equity investment in European audiovisual production and distribution companies.
This is the first transaction made under MediaInvest, a new equity tool managed by the EIF targeting the audiovisual industry with €400 million over the period 2022-2027, which was launched at the Cannes Film Festival last year (see the news).
The three other deals have been sealed with two Spanish bodies (Cersa and Crea) and a Luxembourgish entity (The Archers). The agreements, worth €20 million, €15 million and €8.25 million, respectively, were signed on Sunday under the InvestEU Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS) Guarantee and “are expected to leverage a portfolio of up to €425 million”.
Commenting on the four deals, Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton said: “Preserving a robust and independent European audiovisual industry is one of our best assets to defend our cultural diversity. The MediaInvest instrument, which I launched in Cannes last year, fulfils that. I am glad to see that the very first MediaInvest agreement has been signed. I look forward to seeing more deals to be concluded and achieving our target of crowding in up to €400 million in private investment to foster European audiovisual production and distribution, and to help companies better exploit their intellectual property assets.”
A total of 23 EU-backed films are in the line-up of this year’s San Sebastián Film Festival, including nine titles vying for the Golden Shell.
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