Our procurement team regularly encounters situations in which a tenderer’s offer has been rejected, the tenderer excluded from the tender process or the filing of the tender is late even in significant procurements. Winning a contract can sometimes be down to simply managing to make an offer that complies with the invitation to tender. Many companies find public procurement difficult, because the formal requirements and rules differ from competitive tendering in the private sector. We have put together a few pieces of advice that should help you avoid the worst pitfalls and bring home the win.
14.3.2019
Avoid Public Procurement Pitfalls and Grow Your Business
Anna Kuusniemi-Laine & Johanna Lähde
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Focus on Responsibility Requirements
Responsibility issues are particularly important in public procurement. The use of ‘discretionary exclusion grounds’ has become very common, and an increasing number of contracting entities require that companies have an impeccable record. A company can be excluded from public tendering processes, for example, due to a serious error in professional activities or due to a violation of employment or competition law. You can avoid exclusion by presenting the contracting entity with persuasive evidence that any past omissions have been effectively rectified.
Get to Know the Electronic Procurement System in Advance
Electronic procurement systems give many companies headaches during their first tenders. Starting to fill out the tender in the electronic system too late can often be fatal. Sometimes a completed tender fails to be sent on time due to a technical issue—not a situation anyone wants to find themselves in.
Seize the Opportunities Provided by Market Consultations
You should seize opportunities to engage contracting entities in a dialogue. A market consultation carried out by a contracting entity is a chance for you to bring what you can offer to their attention and describe how you think a tender process should be organised to make best use of developments on the market. This makes it possible for tender processes to take the latest innovations into account and benefit from the market’s true potential. In practice, this always leads to higher quality procurements and, thus, benefits society as a whole.
Precision Advice is the Key to Success
We want to help our clients build new success stories. In public procurements, this is a particularly pleasant task, as we get to help companies win many tender processes and grow their business. In addition to advice in individual tender processes, a tailored workshop for your sales team could be the right tool to make sure you win your next tender. Contact us if you’d like us to plan a training session for your company.
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Latest references
Merger of Oomi and Lumme Energia
We are acting as the joint legal advisor to Oomi Oy and Lumme Energia Oy in a transaction whereby Lumme Energia will merge with Oomi. As from the completion of the merger, the combined entity will be the largest electricity retail and service company in the Finnish market. In 2024, Oomi reported a turnover of EUR 373.9 million and had approximately 110 employees. Lumme Energia’s turnover for the same year was approximately EUR 314.6 million and it had approximately 50 employees. The transaction is primarily driven by the recent developments in the electricity market and the strategic goal to develop competitive products and services. Another key objective is to further enhance the customer experience, which is a shared value between the two companies. As a result of the merger, Lumme Energia’s customers will transfer to Oomi, and Lumme Energia will become one of Oomi’s shareholders. The completion of the transaction is subject to an approval by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority.
Case published 29.8.2025
Oomi – Expansion into mobile telecommunications
We assisted Oomi Oy in its expansion into the mobile telecommunications market with the launch of Oomi Mobiili, a new MVNO brand. Our work covered the preceding due diligence process as well as structuring and negotiating key partner agreements, laying a solid foundation for Oomi’s entry into the new market. Oomi Mobiili will operate as a virtual mobile network operator, offering customers the option to purchase a mobile subscription together with their electricity contract. The phased launch is set to begin in autumn 2025, with nationwide availability targeted for early 2026.
Case published 15.8.2025
WithSecure – Diana BidCo’s public tender offer on WithSecure
We are acting as the legal advisor to WithSecure Corporation in Diana BidCo Oy’s voluntary public cash tender offer for all the issued and outstanding shares in WithSecure. The tender offer values WithSecure’s total equity at approximately EUR 299 million. Diana BidCo is a private limited company incorporated and existing under the laws of Finland that will be indirectly owned by a consortium formed for purposes of the tender offer by certain affiliated funds of CVC Capital Partners Plc and Risto Siilasmaa. The consortium believes that the partnership strengthens and accelerates the road to WithSecure’s long-standing goal of becoming Europe’s most trusted cybersecurity partner by positioning the company to lead the next era of business cybersecurity. WithSecure’s shares are listed on the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki. WithSecure is a Europe-based cybersecurity company that helps protect businesses and is committed to strong partnerships with customers and collaborators. WithSecure’s customers trust WithSecure with outcome-based cybersecurity that protects and enables their operations. The completion of the tender offer is subject to the satisfaction or waiver by the offeror of certain customary conditions on or prior to the offeror’s announcement of the final results of the tender offer. The tender offer is currently expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2025. The Takeover Board of the Securities Markets Association issued on 4 August 2025 a new recommendation (1/2025) on good securities market practice that deals with the target company’s board of directors’ obligations in case of a consortium offer in which a major shareholder of the company participates in the consortium.
Case published 8.8.2025
HANZA – Acquisition of Milectria
We acted as Finnish legal advisor to HANZA AB in connection with its acquisition of the contract manufacturing division of Milectria, a group of companies specialising in electrical systems for the defence industry. The transaction comprises 100% of the shares in Milectria Oy (Finland), Milectria OÜ (Estonia), and the real estate company Kiinteistö Oy Kanungin Karhu. The transaction is expected to close in September 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Founded in 2008, HANZA is a Swedish mechanical engineering and electronics contract manufacturing company listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm main list. The company operating in seven countries currently has annual sales of approximately SEK 6 billion and approximately 3,100 employees. Milectria is a Finnish contract manufacturer of electrical systems for the defence industry.
Case published 21.7.2025