A new Paris-based multimillion euro equity fund, dedicated to helping European independent production companies scale-up, has launched.

Bannered the Together Fund, the fund has an initial capitalization of €58M ($66M), with ambitions to grow to €100M ($113M), and is described as the first equity fund focused purely on Europe’s independent film and TV production companies.

Today’s official kick-off follows the signing of an accord by representatives of the European Union’s European Investment Fund (EIF) in Paris on Friday committing €25M ($28.5M) to the fund.  Details of the other investors are due to be announced in May.

EIF is investing in the Together Fund under its MediaInvest instrument which was created in 2022 as part of the European Union’s post-pandemic €400M Media and Audiovisual Action Plan.

“It’s not only the 25 million, it’s the stamp of the EIF,” said Vincent van Steensel, EIF’s Head of Portfolio Guarantees, adding its involvement will secure and trigger further investment. “We are the biggest equity investor in Europe. We have a 30% market share, and we know that certain investors do not invest if EIF is not on board.”

The new fund has been designed to help independent production companies scale and strengthen their market presence while maintaining their independence, in the face of the growing dominance of integrated audiovisual groups.

Together aims to change this dynamic by acting as a capital growth fund, supporting companies that have already demonstrated their ability to deliver high-quality content.

Focusing primarily on companies producing scripted content, the average investment is expected to be around €4M ($4.5M), meaning at least 25 companies should be able to tap into the fund.

Running under the auspices of private equity firm Axio Capital, the fund is the brainchild of co-directors Alexandra Lebret and Antoine Bodet.

Lebret was managing director of the European Producers Club (EPC) for 23 years, representing the interests of around 185 prominent producers from across Europe, before stepping down earlier this year. Her time at the EPC means she has an extensive network in the European production scene and knowledge of its inner and outer workings.

Bodet is a partner at Axio Capital. He has advised and invested in a number of French film and TV companies across his career including MakingProd, Federation Entertainment and Echo Studio, and is currently a board member at Anton.

Prior to joining Axio Capital, he was executive director at Natixis investment bank-backed private equity management firm Alliance Entreprendre, where his media and entertainment sector investments included Federation and Paris-based international sales company Playtime.

The duo is already examining some 40 applications and expect to unveil Together Fund’s first investments as early as May.

Lebret said investment decisions would be based on a company’s overall vision and business plan for the future, rather than individual projects or acquisitions.

“The particularity of the fund is that it’s companies on a minority basis,” said Lebret.  “We are the independent solution for independent producers for independent growth. That’s our baseline,” she said.

Bodet said cash the fund injected into companies by taking a minority stake could be used for a variety of things from hiring new staff, to developing IPs, and related costs such as buying book rights or paying writers to develop new ideas.

Both co-directors emphasized the fact that while the fund is based in Paris, its focus will be pan-European, with Lebret noting her strong ties with producers in territories such as Eastern Europe and the Baltics as well as France.

Lebret said the fund had been sparked by the fact that while the independent European production sector is stabilizing in the wake of the disruption caused by the pandemic and the end of the peak TV era, it remained highly fragmented, at a time when the pool of content buyers was becoming increasingly concentrated.

Another specificity of the fund is that unlike traditional equity funds, Together will offers hands-on strategic support from a dedicated team, led by Lebret and Bodet, to provide market insights and financial guidance.

The long-term mission is to create a more structured and resilient independent production sector in Europe, capable of competing on a global scale. The fund has a 10-year lifespan, with a five-year investment period followed by a five-year exit strategy.

“The idea is to try to develop the ecosystem because as you know… compared to other markets like the U.S., we are lagging behind a lot,” said EIF’s van Steensel.

“The importance of keeping some sort of sovereignty in Europe, cultural sovereignty is more and more important,” he continued. “If you put this in the context of today with what is happening, sovereignty is not only a matter of defense, it’s also a cultural matter.”