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OPIC calls for $100m private equity fund for investment in Central and Eastern Europe

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has issued a call for proposals to manage a $100m private equity fund intended to increase investments in businesses in Central and Eastern Europe.

OPIC will contribute up to $65m or up to 45 per cent of the total capital of the fund, with the balance to be raised by the fund manager. The fund will target countries including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia and Slovenia.

‘In establishing this investment fund, OPIC is working to expand economic development by providing the kind of access to long-term capital that is a challenge for those looking to invest in the emerging a markets of Central and Eastern Europe,’ said Dr. Peter Watson, president and CEO of OPIC. ‘We hope to unlock some of the many opportunities the region presents to potential investors and to bring an infusion of equity capital to new and growing local businesses.’

OPIC was established as an agency of the US government in 1971. Its aim is to help US businesses invest overseas, to foster economic development in new and emerging markets, and to complement the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment.

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