Finland: EIB boosts development of innovative technologies for mobile entertainment services with Rovio Entertainment
PRESS RELEASE
BEI/14/126
Espoo, 5 June 2014
Finland: EIB boosts development of innovative technologies for mobile entertainment services with Rovio Entertainment
Supporting job creation and growth through innovation by medium-sized companies (mid-caps) is one of the priorities of the European Investment Bank (EIB). Consequently, the EIB and Rovio have agreed on a EUR 25 million facility to support Rovio’s technological innovations in various entertainment sectors. This is the first transaction under a new generation of joint financial instruments providing support to innovative companies that the European Commission and the EIB Group will formally launch on 12 June.
The EIB financing will be used specifically for the development of Rovio’s innovative platform for mobile games and other entertainment services. Rovio is an entertainment media company that creatively combines digital with physical, breaking the boundaries of traditional content delivery, and is best known for its globally beloved Angry Birds brand. It has demonstrated strong growth, with growing revenues and staff number in the past few years, the number of employees expanding from 200 at the beginning of 2012 to over 800 at the end of 2013. The company has received several innovation awards, such as the Innovation of Innovations 2011 award in Finland.
Jonathan Taylor, EIB Vice-President responsible for the Bank’s operations in Finland, commented: “Mid-cap companies have a key role to play in competitiveness, job creation and growth in Europe. However, they often face difficulties accessing appropriate financial resources. The new generation of joint financial instruments aims to fill this market gap in the case of companies that consistently prove to be particularly strong on innovation. Rovio, with its strong focus on development of innovations, is an ideal candidate for this facility.”
Herkko Soininen, CFO of Rovio Entertainment Ltd. said: “We are delighted to work with such an established partner in the financing sector that genuinely understands the fresh way of thinking and growth-oriented attitude Rovio presents.”
Background information:
EIB
The EIB is the long-term lending institution of the European Union and is owned by the EU Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.
The EIB financing for Rovio is supported by MidCap Growth Finance, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments. MidCap Growth Finance is part of InnovFin, a new range of EIB Group products to facilitate access to finance for innovative businesses, which will be formally launched on 12 June.
A MidCap Growth Finance pilot project was jointly established by the EIB and the European Commission in 2013 to support highly-innovative companies with up to 3 000 employees. Due to rapid growth, these companies often face a shortage of debt and equity financing to support their investment needs. The new scheme enables the EIB to extend financing of between EUR 7.5 million and EUR 25 million to Europe’s mid-caps through a range of flexible financing solutions, from senior secured debt to mezzanine finance. The EIB can offer long tenors of up to seven years and attractive pricing thanks to the funding advantage based on its AAA rating. To ensure the Bank can react swiftly to companies’ requests, a streamlined application and approval process has been established, channelling much-needed funding into innovative, fast-growth companies in Europe.
Rovio Entertainment Ltd.
Rovio Entertainment Ltd., the creator of Angry Birds™, is a global industry-changing entertainment media company headquartered in Finland that creatively combines digital with physical, breaking the boundaries of traditional content delivery. What started as a casual game in 2009 became an international phenomenon within a few months of its release. Today Angry Birds is not only the most downloaded game of all time, it is a worldwide known entertainment brand reaching out into publishing, licensing, animations, books and location-based entertainment. Rovio's animated Angry Birds feature film is slated for a July 2016 release. www.rovio.com
Press contacts:
EIB
Alicja Chytla, a.chytla@eib.org, tel.: +352-4379-88233
EIB website: www.eib.org/press - Press Office: +352 4379 21000 - press@eib.org