Romania extends nearly EUR 350 mln to venture and private equity funds under Resilience Facility-funded scheme

The Investment Committee appointed by the Romanian government for the Recovery Equity Fund of Funds (REF) has so far approved the financing of 20 new venture capital, private equity, and infrastructure funds, totalling EUR 347.5 million, or over 90% of the scheme’s budget, according to a statement from the Ministry of European Projects and Investments (MIPE). The most recent financing was granted to the Bulgarian investment fund BlackPeak II.

Recently, the first successful exit from a company financed by the PNRR was recorded, namely the sale of the Morphosis II fund's stake in supermarket La Cocoș, a transaction that generated a return of over three times the value of the initial investment. The resources thus recovered at the REF level can be reused for the development of new financial instruments.

Most of these funds financed under the instrument are in the early stages of the investment cycle, and estimates indicate that, by the end of the investment period, the total volume of capital directed to Romania will exceed at least 1.5 times the initial allocations, reaching approximately EUR 600 million.

Under the scheme, financing under the National Relaunch and Resilience Plan (PNRR) is extended to venture and private equity funds, which in turn invest it in supposedly innovative private companies that need capital for investment and development. The purpose of this PNRR scheme is to finance the private sector from funds other than bank loans.

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