The EIF underwrites a €70 million investment in Anthilia BIT IV, the fourth Anthilia Capital Partners fund dedicated to Italian SMEs.
The new subscription increases available fund commitments to approximately €171 million with a target fund size of €250 million in 2022.
The agreement is backed by the European Guarantee Fund, part of the European Union's €540 billion package to address the economic impact of COVID-19.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has signed a €70 million commitment in the Anthilia BIT IV fund, a co-investment fund of Anthilia BIT III established in 2019 and focused on Italian SMEs. The EIF’s commitment of €70m consolidates the cooperation with Anthilia Capital Partners to support Italian SMEs.

This agreement between Anthilia BIT IV and the EIF is backed by the European Guarantee Fund, part of the European Union's €540 billion package to address the economic impact of COVID-19. In this context, Anthilia’s financing supports, inter alia, SMEs most affected by supply chain restrictions in the pandemic context. In Italy, decreased demand and liquidity displacement due to supply chains restrictions have been particularly registered in the food, fashion and distribution chains linked to intermediate productions.

With the new subscription by the EIF, Anthilia BIT IV reaches total available commitments of around €171 million with a funding target of €250 million by the end of 2022. The Fund’s strategy is a continuation of the three predecessor funds, focused on providing alternative long-term financing to Italian SMEs. In 2021 alone, Anthilia Sgr has carried out private debt transactions for a total value of approximately €110 million, supporting 12 Italian SMEs in various sectors.

In detail, Anthilia BIT IV is a closed-end private debt co-investment fund reserved for qualified investors; the fund participates in the operations of the Anthilia BIT III fund according to a pre-established co- investment ratio but can also allocate up to 20% of its portfolio to independent operations.

Alain Godard, Chief Executive of the EIF, added: “SMEs and entrepreneurs are key drivers of innovation, growth and employment. Thanks to this agreement with Anthilia BIT IV, backed by the European Guarantee Fund, we will contribute to supporting the economic recovery of Italian SMEs, the engine of the Italian economy.”

EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti added: “Access to finance at advantageous conditions represents the greatest challenge for the survival and growth of small and medium-sized companies, especially innovative ones. The European Guarantee Fund was set up with exactly this purpose in mind: providing the liquidity needed by businesses to cope with the economic crisis generated by the pandemic. ”

"We welcome with great enthusiasm this new and important agreement with the European Investment Fund in our fourth fund dedicated to Italian SMEs - said Giovanni Landi, Chairman of Anthilia Holding - The

success that Anthilia BIT IV has garnered over the past 2 years is the result of a work focused on a key segment for our country, where we have invested around 110 million this year alone, focusing on Italian entrepreneurial excellence that constitutes the backbone of the country's real economy."

Background Information:

The European Investment Fund is part of the European Investment Bank Group. The EIF designs and develops both venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. The EIF is also active in supporting Climate and Infrastructure fund investments with a strong focus on climate action & environmental sustainability. Through its activities, the EIF fosters EU objectives in support of countering climate change as well as fostering innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment.

The European Guarantee Fund (EGF) was created by the EIB Group with contributions from EU Member States to protect companies that are struggling in the crisis caused by COVID-19. With almost €25 billion in guarantees, the EGF allows the EIB and EIF to swiftly offer companies, mostly SMEs and mid-caps, access to loans, guarantees, asset-backed securities, capital and other financial instruments. The EGF forms part of the package of recovery measures put in place by the European Union, with the objective of providing a total of €540 billion to support the hardest hit sectors of the EU economy.

Anthilia Capital Partners SGR is an independent Italian company dedicated to private capital and asset management, on behalf of institutional and private clients. Thanks to the specific expertise of its Partners - all with significant experience in the asset management sector - the company has been able to establish itself in the industry since 2008, focusing distinctively on the values required by investors. With assets under management of over € 1.7 billion as at December 2021, including over € 700 million in private debt - for total investments of over € 1 billion - and leadership in the Italian small cap segment, its main investors include the European Investment Fund, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the Italian Investment Fund and numerous European insurance and banking groups. Anthilia is active in the management of open and closed-ended investment funds, individual absolute return mandates, Eltif and Pir alternatives and investment advice. In 2018, Anthilia won the first edition of the Private Debt Award, promoted by Aifi and Deloitte, for the "Development" category, dedicated to Italian SME growth projects, and in 2021 the "Saccomanni" Award for its contribution to the growth of Italian SMEs. Since 2018, it has been recognised as an "Innovative SME".

Press Contacts:

EIF:

Lorenzo Squintani, tel.: +352 691 285 772, l.squintani@eib.org Website: www.eif.org – Press office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org Follow us on Twitter @eif_eu

Press Office Anthilia Capital Partners:

Barabino &Partners

Emma Ascani, e.ascani@barabino.it Giuseppe Fresa, g.fresa@barabino.it tel.: +39 02 72023535