FICC services

Clientele

Fonds d'investissement de la culture et des communications (FICC) provides support to cultural enterprises with share capital as well as enterprises in the social economy, namely non-profit organizations (NPOs) and cooperatives (co-ops), having a place of business in Quebec.

These companies are dedicated to the creation, production, dissemination of cultural content and technical or technological support services offered to content businesses.

These companies typically operate in areas of the performing arts, publishing, audiovisual, recording, radio, television, multimedia and digital.

Financial products

FICC uses quasi-equity financial products to support companies. FICC may occasionally use banking financial products.

Corporate loan

Unsecured loan bearing interest at a rate based on the risk.

A participation premium relative to the company’s growth can take various forms:

Stock option plans or subscription warrants or a negotiated amount

Royalty payments on sales or EBITDA or other formulas

The maximum loan term is eight (8) years.

Interest is payable the first day of the month, as of the first month following the disbursement.

The principal repayment is adapted to the company’s cash flow, with a moratorium on reimbursement at the beginning of the term, determined based on needs.

Equity

FICC may hold shares in the compagny; it may also hold preferred shares.

Shareholder agreements between FICC and other shareholders of the company will include, among others, clauses that allow FICC to protect its investment and clauses that guarantee the buyback of shares held by FICC.

Short-term financing

Secured financing, reaching up to 70% of tax credits and receivables;
- From broadcasters and institutions (Canada Media fund and Certified Independent Production Funds);
- In accordance with programs such as Scientific Research and Experimental Development and the Knowledge Economy programs.
Available for companies with financing needs that SODEC cannot address;
Maximum term of 24 months;
Minimum financing of $50,000.

Bank guarantee

Financing through a bank guarantee granted by FICC, on the project’s expected revenues
Commitment Fees and Guarantee Fees are set at a minimum of 2% each
At maturity, any payment to FICC, pursuant to the bank guarantee, will be converted to a corporate loan

Project financing

Investment in a specific project, without corporate recourse to the parent company;
Pledge of securities, to be determined on a case-by-case basis;
Recover of of capital, as well as a participation premium paid as royalties on income or operating profits from the project, to generate a higher return than the corporate loan;
Maximum investment term of eight (8) years;

Other clauses

Companies must comply with the agreements with Union des Artistes (UDA), Quebec Musician’s Guild, Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois, and Société de développement des entrepirses culturelles (SODEC).

The commitment fees are set at 2.5% of the total amount of the investment.

Financial product mix and terms customized to meet the companies' needs

FICC may invest up to $ 3 million in a single company, including $ 1.5 million in a first round. The minimum investment in a for-profit company is $250,000, $150,000 in a social-economy company, and $50,000 for short-term financing..

FICC may invite other financial partners to co-invest in the company. The reason for this approach is that cultural companies often have difficulty selling their projects to traditional financial backers. FICC feels that inviting these financial backers to take part in joint ventures is an effective way to eliminate prejudices in the cultural industry.

as much as

3 000 000$

Investment criteria

For companies seeking financing, the FICC investment criteria are based on the company’s product, management team, financial performance and market, and the objectives and qualities of the company’s business project

FICC will foster business projects that target:

Company growth.
Marketing a product and/or market expansion.
Development of new business models.
Technological innovation.
M&A for businesses to consolidate an industry sector in Quebec or internationally.
A company’s succession, so the company can keep contributing to the cultural industry’s prosperity and development.

Quality and innovation of product and services

FICC favours companies that have developed products or services of outstanding quality or originality. Companies must demonstrate how they stand out from the competition, the innovative aspects of their products and how those products will be able to evolve over time.

Quality of the team

The success of any cultural company is largely dependent on the creativity of its team. Equally important is the quality of management, industry knowledge and leaderhip expertise. The management team must demonstrate rigorous professionalism in addition to skill and know-how.

Current and future profitability

The business strategy should indicate how, over a period of three to five years, it will be able to generate sufficient profitability to achieve the business plan.

A solid business plan

To thrive, a company must not only create and produce but it must also sell its products. The business plan should highlight the shape and size of the target market, identify the promotional approach and broadcast and/or distribution channels that the company intends to use to reach and influence the market.