Berlin/Frankfurt/Düsseldorf/Munich—Dentons advised Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB Group) on the establishment of the EU Malaria Fund. Combining funding from the European Union, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the IBB, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other public and private donors, the EU Malaria Fund provides venture loans to companies that carry out innovative research and development projects to combat malaria. The fund will also likely be used to fund projects related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EU Malaria Fund was initiated by the kENUP Foundation, a not-for-profit organization promoting research-based innovation with public and societal benefit.  The fund is managed by the IBB Group. The target volume of the fund amounts to €280 million, with a first closing of €70 million on June 3, 2020.

A Dentons team from Berlin, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Munich provided comprehensive advice to IBB Group on the establishment of the EU Malaria Fund. This included the development of the legal and tax conception of the fund, regulatory advice, corporate law support on the setup of the fund, and the negotiation of the financing agreements with the EIB, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other investors.

Berlin-based partner Dirk-Reiner Voss and Frankfurt-based partner Arne Klüwer jointly led the Dentons team, with support from partners Stephan Busch, Matthias Santelmann and senior associates Holger Hölkemeier and Bernd Düsterbeck in Berlin; counsel Verena Etzel and Oda Elmoutaouakil in Frankfurt; partner Axel Schlieter in Dusseldorf, and partner Richard Fagerer in Munich.

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