€100m European Investment Bank loan to fund Heidelberg’s R&D activities

Heidelberg said the EIB funding will help drive digitization in the print industry, and further expand its packaging, digital and services growth segments. One focal point in this respect is making print shops more competitive by integrating and automating the entire value chain of industrial customers. To that end systems, combined with appropriate services, will in future operate ever more autonomously. Another aim is to enable the company’s customers to expand their business models with new digital printing technologies.

Heidelberg recently restructured its digital portfolio, including introducing a new nomenclature for its digital presses.

Heidelberg CEO Gerold Linzbach said: ‘We see the digitized and industrially organized print shop as an essential element for successful business models in our sector in the future. Working with our partners, we want to develop futureproof products and services that will help our customers to be successful.’

To help finance its R&D program, which will span several years, the EIB is providing Heidelberg with a development loan that can be drawn down in tranches, each with a seven-year term. This is the first time a large German company has benefited from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) – the centerpiece of the Investment Plan for Europe.

EIB is the European Union’s bank, and its shareholders are the EU member states. The EIB makes long-term finance available for sound investment projects that tie in with EU policy goals, such as making European countries more competitive and supporting sustainable growth. EFSI is an initiative launched jointly by the EIB Group and the European Commission to help overcome the current investment gap in the EU. By mobilizing private finance, it aims to make Europe more competitive and create high-quality jobs. A 21 billion EUR (24 billion USD) EU/EIB guarantee is expected to unlock 315 billion EUR (359 billion USD) of additional investment in the real economy by mid-2108.

Ambroise Fayolle, EIB vice president responsible for lending in Germany, said: ‘I’m delighted that our first EFSI project for a German corporate customer allows us to support a company whose products and services have long enabled it to stand its ground in a challenging market. Heidelberg proves that it pays to invest in research and development, and EFSI is helping to keep this innovative spirit alive in Europe.’

The grant of the EIB loan follows Heidelberg’s refinancing activities in 2015 and rounds off the company’s financing mix, helping it to continue pursuing its strategy of innovation in the field of digitization.

‘Over the next seven years, the EIB development loan will help us finance our R&D projects for digitization on attractive terms,’ commented Heidelberg chief financial officer Dirk Kaliebe. ‘The financing framework is the basis for implementing the innovation strategy at Heidelberg and thus achieving the sustained profitable growth we are aiming for.’

*Currency conversions correct as of April 1, 2016 via xe.com/ucc