vergeben werden

06:18 Jul 3, 2015 

I have completed and delivered the doc to TWB. The best I can do is point out errors and ambiguities to the client, she/he will have to take it from there. As this is volunteer work, and there is seldom someone available for questions, it's doubly important for the translation to be precise - even if it does turn out to be occasionally wordy.

21:37 Jul 2, 2015 

I had to go make dinner - but did want to respond to this, even though it has nothing to do with your actual question.

I am so glad you said what you said! I agree with you 100% and feel that it's one of the great value-adds of a good translator to iron out the inconsistencies and ambiguities of the source. I hope that you managed to contact your client and that the ST also gets edited to be clearer.

Glad you finally got your answer! I certainly learned a lot.
Good luck!

10:50 Jul 2, 2015 

Now back to work...THANKS!!

10:44 Jul 2, 2015 

your suggestion dated Jul 2th, 11:24.

10:41 Jul 2, 2015 

I'd say your interpretation of 11:24 is correct.
The money comes from the BMWI which can grant up to €50,000 out of the Mikromezzaninfonds Deutschland to the Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft in the corresponding state and the Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft uses this money to enter into a silent partnership with the applicant.

10:37 Jul 2, 2015 

or so

10:35 Jul 2, 2015 

they are effectively stemming the flood of frustration! could you give me a thumbs up (or down) on my simplified interpretation of 11:24?

10:31 Jul 2, 2015 

Didn't know where the emphasis on social business came from.

BTW I hope the contributions of the colleagues (and mine) are a real "motivation booster" :-)

http://www.proz.com/kudoz/german_to_english/tourism_travel/5...

10:29 Jul 2, 2015 

Business incubator is wonderful! Too bad I can't use it! the doc is a TWB project stating spheres of activity to boost Social businesses in Germany. Mayn financial resources do not expressely exclude SBs, but they#re not exactly welcoming, either.

10:26 Jul 2, 2015 

Therefore the exclusion of companies in restructuring.

In Germany there is a vast array of means for financing new companies.

After a look on the volume/restrictions and so on this seems to be something like the "larger brother" of the "Existenzgründergeld". Which is not a mezzanine capital but a direct subsidy for small companies founded out of unemployment.

The government has to be comparatively tricky not to open gates for a lood of subsidies, therefore the hope for the mezzanine capital being paid back in the "8th", "9th" and "10th" year.

10:24 Jul 2, 2015 

The main idea of the Mikromezzaninfonds can only be understood if you have a closer look on the banking environment in Germany: Despite the Geldschwemme (flood of money) of the ECB to the traditional banking sector many of the refrain from supporting/financing entrepreneurs.

Therefore there should be an instrument/investment vehicle which is not a state subsidy and not a loan of the usual type.

This mezzanine capital seems to be available for all business sectors - but depending on the "age" of the company. As it is stated here:
"Anträge können kleine und junge Unternehmen stellen sowie Existenzgründer. Spezielle Zielgruppen sind Unternehmen, die ausbilden, die aus der Arbeitslosigkeit gegründet werden, oder von Frauen oder Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund geführt werden. Auch gewerblich orientierte Sozialunternehmen und umweltorientierte Unternehmen sollen besonders angesprochen werden. Sanierungsfälle und Unternehmen in Schwierigkeiten sind ausgeschlossen."
http://www.mikromezzaninfonds-deutschland.de/
-> Wer kann Anträge stellen

Therefore definitely not a restriction to social business activities or the health sector. It's a kind of business incubator

Hope this helps,Gerd

09:37 Jul 2, 2015 

I HOPE SO! I have tried to contact the client, without success. there are several such abbreviated sentences in the ST, and I'm getting rather annoyed with the guesswork. However, if I translate it as it stands, no one - aside from insiders in the know - is going to understand diddlysquat. My plight is the desire to render a clear translation for anyone reading the text - particularly for those interested in founding a Social Business.

09:29 Jul 2, 2015 

I've been following this discussion with interest and learning a bit about the finance sector. I think it's fantastic that so many people are chipping in to help here.

I have a question though:

The German sentence after the colon does not state who is granting the 50k EUR. It says what can be done, how much and by what means. We might be able to infer that it's the MFG, but that's all that is - an inference.

So is it the translator's job to improve the text in the translation? What if the inference is wrong? Wouldn't it be better to just translate it as it stands? (I'm guessing it's not possible to just go and ask the author, or is it?) - sorry, that ended up being more than one question.

Anyway, I am curious as to what the consensus is on how to handle this, as I come across these situations sometimes as well.

09:24 Jul 2, 2015 

can tap into MMF funds? The business applies to the local development banks/investment companies. Then the banks/companies tap into/draw from MMF funds to grant the applicant up 50 thousand euros in silent contribution.
Have I got it?
The whole doc deals with making such funding options available to Social Businesses.

09:15 Jul 2, 2015 

Looking at the way this is set up, in my view, the MMF Deutschland is simply a pot of money that the Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaften etc. can use to provide equity (silent participation) of up to TEUR 50 to firms.

09:07 Jul 2, 2015 

Die Mikromezzaninfinanzierung erfolgt als typisch stille Beteiligung der in dem jeweiligen Bundesland ansässigen Beteiligungsgesellschaft.

The Mikromezzaninfonds Deutschland can grant up to €50,000 to the Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft which uses this money to enter into a silent partnership in the company having applied for the micro mezzanine financing.

09:06 Jul 2, 2015 

The MFG may grant to businesses silent contributions of up to 50 thousand euros via regional, mid-sized investment companies or development banks.

09:01 Jul 2, 2015 

I've just researched these a little more. Contrary to my previous suggestion they are not strictly public sector investors, but are institutions created e.g. by chambers of commerces. They define themselves:

"Die Mittelständischen Beteiligungsgesellschaften (MBGen) sind privatwirtschaftlich
organisierte Selbsthilfeeinrichtungen der gewerblichen Wirtschaft.
Ihre Gesellschafter sind insbesondere Kammern und Wirtschaftsverbände vor
Ort, Kreditinstitute und Versicherer.
In jedem Bundesland ist eine MBG tätig. Die Kompetenzen einer MBG als regionale
Beteiligungsgesellschaft liegen in den Markt- und Branchenkenntnissen
vor Ort. MBGen bieten ein Netzwerk von Partnern für die Finanzierung
erfolgversprechender Vorhaben."

These are not hedge funds but long-term investors.

09:00 Jul 2, 2015 

That is definitely your good deed for the day! The money comes from the MFG to businesses VIA the public sector investment banks and is ALWAYS a silent contribution (can I say that? The MFG or their 'middlemen' banks have absolutely no say in grantees business affairs, so the are not 'partners' per se.)

08:49 Jul 2, 2015 

Hi Ramey. This document explains the Mikromezzaninfond Deutschland in non-technical language http://www.bmwi.de/Dateien/BMWi/PDF/kapital-fuer-kleine-und-...

My understanding is that small companies are being offered "micro mezzanine funding" i.e. a mixture of loans and equity. These injections of capital will be provided either via public sector investment companies (Beteiligungsgesellschaften) or development banks.

08:47 Jul 2, 2015 

by the banks or the MFG? See my difficulty? Somewhere along the way, the MFG ist involved, otherwise it would be say ....banks can grant silent contributions... but it says VIA/THROUGH - which is what I missed int he first place. So, someone has to stake the funds.

08:36 Jul 2, 2015 

Wouldn't it be more clear to say:
... can enter into silent partnerships with up to €50,000 through ...

08:35 Jul 2, 2015 

My understanding:
Silent partnerships in companies can be brokered by ........ up to a value of 50 TEUR.

08:08 Jul 2, 2015 

Viele Dank!

08:07 Jul 2, 2015 

Mezzanine-Kapital oder Mezzanine-Finanzierungen (ital. mezzo ‚halb‘) beschreibt als Sammelbegriff Finanzierungsarten, die in ihren rechtlichen und wirtschaftlichen Ausgestaltungen eine Mischform zwischen Eigen- und Fremdkapital darstellen. [...]
Mezzanine Finanzierungsformen sind eine Mischung aus Eigenkapital- und Fremdkapitalfunktionen. Mezzanine-Kapital kann eigenkapitalähnlich (sog. Equity Mezzanine) in Form von Genussrechten, wertpapierverbrieften Genussscheinen oder stillen Beteiligungen gegeben werden. Möglich sind darüber hinaus Wandel- und Optionsanleihen. Mezzanine-Kapital, das in Form von nachrangigen, partiarischen Darlehen oder Gesellschafterdarlehen gewährt wird, besitzt hingegen Fremdkapitalcharakter und ist in der Regel bilanziell als Verbindlichkeit zu erfassen (sog. Debt Mezzanine).

07:34 Jul 2, 2015 

http://www.fa-se.eu/ Finanzierungsagentur für Social Entrepreneurship

Denglish nightmare

07:31 Jul 2, 2015 

who is that?

07:29 Jul 2, 2015 

The FASE proposal to BMWi involves the MFG, so I assumed they were the ones doing the funding or allocating grants VIA the regional banks. I'm clear on the colon bit, but would like be certain that the reader is able to make the connection as well. Once I have understood a text in a foreign field, I tend to over explicit.

07:20 Jul 2, 2015 

as there is the colon. MFG colon, and then a new sentence.

07:19 Jul 2, 2015 

there's a colon. So you have to start another sentence after the closing paranthesis.

07:17 Jul 2, 2015 

Yes, I believe here it must be passive. What I'm missing is the connection to MFG. Is this implied in the sentence as stated above?

@Sebastian - thanks for the correction on guarantor bank - found confirmation in the KOG

07:14 Jul 2, 2015 

1. Micro-mezzanine Funding Germany (MFG) as proposed by FASE to BMWi on Nov. 6, 2014, i.e., via regional, mid-sized holding companies or guarantor banks, MFG can allocate up to 50 thousand euros in silent partnerships to business
OR
2. • Micro-mezzanine Funding Germany (MFG) as proposed by FASE to BMWi on Nov. 6, 2014, i.e., up to 50 thousand euros in silent partnerships can be allocated to businesses via regional, mid-sized holding companies or guarantor banks

07:10 Jul 2, 2015 

Über regionale, mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaften oder
Bürgschaftsbanken können stille Beteiligungen an Unternehmen bis zu 50
TEUR vergeben werden.

Dormant interests/shares/shareholdings in businesses up to an aggregate value of € 50,000 per shareholding can be awarded/granted to businesses in need of capital through/via regional small and medium-sized investment companies or guarantor banks (deu.proz.com/kudoz/german_to_english/finance_general/1727312-bürgschaftsbank.html).

There might be an issue with talking about contributions as they suggest equity being put into the company in need of capital to the English-speaking reader when it is just that but then not really that (it is a hybrid form of capital combining elements from debt and equity).

07:06 Jul 2, 2015 

the verb is "vergeben". It is a passive structure with a "Hilfsverb", i.e. shareholdings can be granted ... können vergeben werden. Clear now?

07:00 Jul 2, 2015 

The fund assigns/allocates/grants silent shareholdings (or whatever) to companies. In doing so, the fund uses regional medium-sized holdings companies or bank guarantees. Does that explain the meaning of the sentence?

06:52 Jul 2, 2015 

I got the 'assigned ' from the KOG, but granted also sounds good. So the Micro-mezzanine Funding Germany grants the business up 50 thousande euros THROUGH a regional abnk or holding company?

06:47 Jul 2, 2015 

you did not see the "über". So it means that silent shareholdings are granted/assigned to these companies and, in return, they have to give a bank guarantee or they can use a holding company.
I'm not quite sure whether the proper verb is "granted/assigned" or another one.