The EIF backs Opyn’s Magellano fund

The new Magellano fund, managed by ART SGR, will be supported by the European Investment Fund (EIF). The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) will invest EUR 30 million in the fund with funding from the Private Credit Tailored for SMEs Program of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which is part of the European Union’s Investment Plan for Europe.

Magellano is a new closed-end alternative investment vehicle geared toward institutions. The initial close brought in EUR 75 million, with a total goal of EUR 200 million. The Fund is managed by ART SGR, a subsidiary of Opyn, an Italian fintech firm specializing in corporate lending.

The Magellano fund demonstrates that fintech can be a viable alternative financing instrument for businesses, especially in light of the COVID-19 problem and its impact on small and medium-sized businesses’ liquidity.

The Bank of Italy projected that the stock of bank loans to enterprises had declined by roughly 250 billion euros, or more than 25%, between the end of 2011 and March 2019.