Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises EIB on its first equity investment in the Czech Republic

Lawyers of Clifford Chance's Prague office have advised European Investment Bank (EIB) on its up to EUR 50m equity investment into Inven Capital, an internally managed, qualified-investor, Czech SICAV fund, fully-owned by the regional energy group ČEZ, to support the growth of clean energy and smart technology SMEs and midcaps.

EIB agreed to co-invest into Inven Capital on a 50:50 basis with ČEZ under a Joint Co-Investment Programme. 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 (EFSI), which is the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.

This EUR 100m co-investment initiative will provide additional liquidity to leading European venture capital-dependent SMEs and midcaps in the energy sector. These companies 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 in Prague advising on the transaction was led by managing partner Alex Cook, with senior associate Michal Jašek as executive lawyer. The team further comprised associate Ludvík Růžička and junior associate Zuzana Morávková.