Madrid, August 1, 2019.- COFIDES supports the commercial establishment of the technology company BMAT LICENSING S.L.U. (BMAT) in Argentina and the United States (USA).  

The company will grant to co-investment loans to BMAT to support its installation in Argentina and the USA for 165,000 and 325,000 euros, respectively. COFIDES is making the first investment from its own funds (50%) and from those of the FONPYME fund (50%), while the second will come entirely from the FONPYME fund. The total investment of both projects, together with the contribution by the promoter, amounts to 700,000 euros.

BMAT is a technology company based in Barcelona, created in 2006 and specialising in identifying and monitoring music so that its creators can receive fair recognition. Its main activity focuses on the detection of music through different audiovisual channels (radios, televisions, nightclubs and digital services), to report the obtained information to its customers. It has developed its own monitoring platform of more than 7,000 channels called VERICAST, which allows any public communication of music to be tracked.  Based on their reports, more than 1.4 billion euros are distributed per year. It has a staff of 126 employees.

The company's portfolio is diversified both geographically and by customers. 77% comes from international markets. The USA and Latin American countries represent 20% and 18% of its current turnover, respectively.

The USA is a favourable market for BMAT. This country provides the second largest source of revenue behind Spain, and the business prospects are favourable, given the fact that the music sector has been growing continuously for several years and legislation has been modified regarding the distribution of rights on digital music platforms.

BMAT hopes that its implementation in Argentina will strengthen its position in the region. The Catalan company is already present in the markets of Chile, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Panama, Bolivia and Argentina, and believes that the new headquarters will become the centre of the business generated in Latin America.

The COFIDES chairman, José Luis Curbelo, has assessed "the technological component of this SME as one of the main features of both projects." Along these lines, Curbelo has highlighted "the importance of reconciling support for the internationalisation of Spanish SMEs and betting on innovative technology sectors, two of the commitments we acquired in the 2019-2021 Strategic Plan.”

For his part, the Financial Director of BMAT, Salvador Gurrera, has stressed that "having the support of COFIDES for the project involving the opening of these subsidiaries gives us an additional boost in the international expansion process”. Along these same lines, Gurrera has pointed out that "its current 3 subsidiaries in Brazil, Argentina and the USA, together with the upcoming openings in other countries like Japan and Colombia, will allow BMAT to consolidate its international presence and increase the volume of business." He also added that "the advice provided by the consulting firm Financiera Altria Corpo has been essential in the process of finding new funds to finance the growth and international expansion of BMAT."

COFIDES is a public-private company which has been offering financial support to Spanish companies investing abroad since 1988. It is accredited with the EU to manage Community budgets, allowing it to structure transactions with a high impact on development. It is also accredited with the UN’s Green Climate Fund and can structure operations on climate change mitigation and adaptation with the GCF. It is the exclusive manager of FIEX and FONPYME funds on behalf of the Secretariat of State for Trade attached to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism and supports AECID in managing FONPRODE funds. Shareholders include Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Banco Sabadell and CAF-Development Bank of Latin America.