OREANDA-NEWS. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided a EUR 25m loan to MAM Hungaria Kft, the Hungarian production subsidiary of BAMED MAM Group, a global leader in the manufacturing, development and distribution of baby care products. This is the first transaction in Hungary supported by “InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators”, a new generation of financial instruments backed by the European Union under Horizon 2020.

Founded in 1976 in Vienna, BAMED MAM Group is a family-owned company that manufactures and distributes MAM, a leading brand of baby care products. The Group has delivered strong and sustained revenue growth in the forty years since its establishment and now ranks among the top three players globally in the pacifier and baby bottle market. Eighty million MAM products are sold every year in 60 countries on five continents, with two MAM products being sold every second.

The EIB loan will support the company’s development of innovative infant and toddler accessories, with a particular focus on bringing improved and safer products to the market. It will support a major employer in Western Transdanubia in Hungary and back the company’s expansion plans, which are expected to result in significant job creation.

This long-term loan reflects the EIB’s commitment to promoting the development of fast-growing European midcap companies and supporting RDI investment. The activities are in line with the EU’s priority objectives under Horizon 2020.

BAMED MAM Group’s investment programme is supported by “InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators” MidCap Growth Finance. InnovFin is a new range of EIB Group products that receive financial support from the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and are designed to facilitate access to finance for innovative businesses. InnovFin MidCap Growth Finance offers long-term senior, subordinated or mezzanine loans from EUR 7.5m to EUR 25m for innovative SMEs and midcaps (up to 3 000 employees).

Background information

InnovFin financial products

Under Horizon 2020, the EU research programme for 2014-20, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (EIB and EIF) have launched a new generation of financial instruments and advisory services in 2014 to help innovative firms access finance more easily. Until 2020, "InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators" offers a range of tailored products which will make available more than EUR 24bn of financing support for research and innovation (R&I) by small, medium-sized and large companies and the promoters of research infrastructures. This finance is expected to support up to EUR 48bn of final R&I investments.

Backed by funds set aside under Horizon 2020 and by the EIB Group, InnovFin financial products support R&I activities, which by their nature are riskier and harder to assess than traditional investments, and therefore often face difficulties in accessing finance. All are demand-driven instruments, with no prior allocations between sectors, countries or regions. Firms and other entities located in EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries will be eligible as final beneficiaries.

InnovFin MidCap Growth Finance offers long-term senior, subordinated or mezzanine loans from EUR 7.5m to EUR 25m for innovative larger midcaps (up to 3 000 employees) but also SMEs and small midcaps, with the aim of financing up to 50% of these companies’ R&I investment programmes.