VEB and Sber create equity fund with limit of 50 billion rubles

ST. PETERSBURG. June 7 (Interfax) - VEB and Sberbank have created an equity capital fund, the parties said in a joint statement.

The combined closed-end Fund of the First mutual fund with a limit of 50 billion rubles was created to participate in the capital of investment projects, including as part of VEB's Project Financing Factory.

Sberbank is ready to provide 33.4 billion rubles of the total amount, while VEB will put up 16.6 billion rubles. The planned life of the fund is 15 years with the possibility of extending it. The typical structure of transactions with the fund's participation involves investments of up to 10% of the investment project budget (but not more than 7.5 billion rubles). A mandatory condition for providing investments is the participation of VEB and Sberbank in the project financing structure as lenders and/or guarantors.

According to Nikolai Tsekhomsky, First Deputy Chairman of VEB, the first equity capital fund transactions created with the participation of the state corporation and commercial banks are planned for the second half of 2024. "Since April 2024, the mandate of equity capital funds has been expanded and now allows participation in all infrastructure and industrial projects as part of the memorandum on the financial policy of VEB.RF, while maintaining the same risk profile as the projects. In total, three equity funds have been created to date with a total limit of 150 billion rubles," he said.

The addition of the Factory being able to raise money from the First Fund simplifies the process of raising financing and reduces the burden on private investors, Anatoly Popov, deputy chairman of the board of Sberbank, said.