The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a EUR 40 million loan to the Sill Group that will trigger EUR 180 million in investment for an agribusiness production plant in Brittany, France, that will create 53 permanent jobs. The loan agreement concluded on 25 March is backed by a guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe – the Juncker Plan. The EIB is also providing a EUR 50 million loan to Ensinger GmbH, a privately-held mid-cap company in Germany, focusing on the manufacture of high-performance engineering plastics products. Ensinger will use the fresh financing for investments in research, development and innovation in the field of high-tech engineering plastics manufacturing and applications, in manufacturing equipment and machinery and in buildings to support the company´s growth. Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, the EIB signed two new operations on 15 March: a EUR 18 million loan to Software Group supported by the Juncker Plan – the EIB’s first venture debt operation in Bulgaria, and a EUR 20 million loan to Raiffeisen Leasing, for investments in SMEs. In 2018 EIB Group support in Bulgaria amounted to EUR 217 million, including EUR 103 million in loans signed by the EIB, and EUR 114 million committed by the EIF for eight operations, mobilising EUR 228 million in investments. In France, the Acofi Predirec ABL-2 (Asset Based Lending 2) Fund announced finalization of a new closing with the European Investment Fund (EIF) on 26 March. With the new financing, the investment capacity of the Predirec ABL-2 Fund has reached EUR 160 million. The Fund focuses at least half on companies with less than 500 employees and for at least 60% on French companies.