The European Investment Fund (EIF) is investing €25 million ($26 million) in a Finnish fund aimed at bolstering movies and TV series “made predominantly in Europe.” The capital injection is going into film and TV investor IPR.VC’s alternative investment fund IPR.VC Fund III which now exceeds €100 million ($105 million) for content production.
Headquartered in Helsinki and with an office in London, investment fund manager IPR.VC has invested in “high-quality film and television content” since 2015. It has so far raised €200 million ($210 million) from mainly Nordic professional investors across its three funds and financed more than 50 productions across Europe and beyond. IPR.VC has backed such projects as Alex Garland’s Civil War and Matt Johnson’s BlackBerry.
The new investment by the EIF, part of the European Investment Bank Group, comes under a European Commission initiative known as the InvestEU MediaInvest equity investment instrument that aims to mobilize private investors and support total investments in Europe’s audiovisual sector of €400 million ($420 million) over the 2022-2027 period.
The financial commitment is designed to help IPR.VC Fund III “attract other financial backers and reach its target size of €120 million ($126 million)” by its closing on March 31, the partners said. “The goal is to boost investments in a sector that has traditionally faced market obstacles to financing, enabling IPR.VC to offer institutional investors access to media content asset investments.”
IPR.VC, which says it is the largest independent film and TV investment fund manager operating in Europe, has long-term collaborations with such global production companies as independent studio A24 and XYZ Films and such European studios as France’s mk2 Films.
“Rather than the outdated cliché of investing in ‘passion projects’, this major commitment from the EIF underlines the growing and enduring value of premium film and TV content in Europe and globally,” said Tanu-Matti Tuominen, co-founder of IPR.VC. “Further, it illustrates the fast returns that portfolio diversification … can bring to an investor’s alternative investments portfolio.”
“Our investment in IPR.VC Fund III underscores our commitment to fostering innovation and creativity within the European audiovisual sector,” said EIB vp Thomas Östros. “By supporting this fund, we are enabling European producers to retain intellectual property rights and bring high-quality content to global audiences, strengthening Europe’s cultural and creative industries.”
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