We acted as the legal and ESG advisor to Mérieux Equity Partners on the acquisition of a majority stake in Labquality through a leveraged buyout by its buyout fund, Mérieux Participations 4. Existing shareholders of Labquality, including Cor Group and the management, will reinvest a portion of their proceeds into the company in connection with the transaction.

Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Labquality is a Nordic player specialized in EQA, CRO activities and regulatory affairs, with a strong local presence in Central and Eastern Europe. The company provides a comprehensive array of services for the healthcare, medical technology, and pharmaceutical industries. The company, employing over 120 professionals and supported by a network of more than 150 external experts and consultants across its offices in Finland, Germany, and Poland, serves a diverse clientele of over 8,000 customers, including major pharmaceutical companies in over 60 countries.

Mérieux Equity Partners (MxEP) is an AMF-accredited management company dedicated to equity investments in the Healthcare and Nutrition sectors. MxEP actively supports entrepreneurs and companies with differentiated products and services, giving them privileged access to its sector expertise and international network.

The transaction will enable Labquality to pursue its buy & build strategy in Europe to accelerate its CRO activities while continuing strong and recurring growth in the EQA segment. Labquality will benefit from MxEP’s sector expertise and financial resources to achieve its ambition of becoming a leading European CRO and EQA platform, with fully integrated regulatory consulting capabilities to serve major customers across Europe.

Latest references

We advised WithSecure Oyj in the sale of its open source data collection product and business to Patria Oyj. The divested business combining software and services falls outside WithSecure’s current strategy. Through the sale, WithSecure sharpens its focus on the Elements portfolio. WithSecure is a global cyber security company (listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki) with more than 35 years of industry experience. WithSecure offers partners flexible commercial models, ensuring mutual success across the dynamic cyber security landscape. Patria is an international company in the defence and security industry offering defence, security and aviation life cycle support services and technology solutions. As a result of the transaction, Patria will open a new office in Oulu and 10 WithSecure experts currently working in the business area will join Patria. 
Case published 30.9.2024
We advised Triton Smaller Mid-Cap Fund II in a new platform investment, the formation of Habeo Group, through its acquisition and financing of eight Finnish companies. After the acquisition, Habeo Group has approximately MEUR 120 in net sales with over 600 experts providing a variety of technical building services, such as heating, plumbing and sewerage, ventilation and air conditioning, electrical works, cooling and refrigeration, fire safety and automation. In line with Habeo Group’s strategy, it has acquired successful, locally operating Finnish group companies and is now Finland’s fifth largest player in the industry. Habeo Group continues to implement its strategy through acquisitions that suit its service portfolio in Finland. The eight Habeo Group companies are the following: Afire Oy – A company that provides its clients with the best fire suppression solutions for different purposes in the market. ESP Group – A group of companies specialised in new building and repair construction, offering all HVAC, electricity and automation services reliably and skilfully. HSK Sähkö Oy – A versatile and flexible full-service electrical contractor operating in all of Finland. Neloset Group – A full-service technical building service and construction company providing housing cooperatives with construction and renovation services from a one-stop shop. Respect Group – A group that serves its clients seamlessly in all their repair construction needs. SFT Finntekniikka Oy – A refrigeration expert that provides comprehensive, high-quality service in refrigeration equipment and cooling systems. Sähkö Oy Turku and Helsinki – A group of electrical engineering companies with a large range of services including design, installation, on-site project supervision and subcontracting. Vaasan Kylmäkone Oy – A company that plans, sells, installs and maintains refrigeration equipment and systems for professional use. Since its establishment in 1997, Triton has sponsored ten funds, focusing on businesses in the industrial tech, services, consumer and healthcare sectors. The companies currently in Triton’s portfolio have combined sales of around EUR 18 billion and employ around 105,000 employees. Triton Smaller Mid-Cap Fund II applies Triton’s proven investment strategy to lower mid-market companies in the same core sectors of Services, Healthcare, Industrial Tech and Consumer, using Triton’s in-house operational capabilities and resources to help management teams to sustainably expand their companies’ market position and to implement their growth strategies.
Case published 21.4.2023
We acted as the legal advisor to Caverion Corporation in the voluntary public tender offer for all issued and outstanding shares in Caverion made by Crayfish BidCo Oy, which is controlled by private equity investor Triton Partners. We also advised Caverion in the preceding public tender offer for all shares in Caverion made by North Holdings 3 , a consortium of purchasers comprising private equity investor Bain Capital and the main shareholders. The two bidders competed aggressively each other in the beginning of 2023 and eventually valued the issued and outstanding shares in Caverion at well over one billion euros. In May 2023, North Holdings 3 Oy announced that it would not complete its tender offer. Crayfish BidCo Oy obtained all necessary authority permits in October 2023 and completed the tender offer at the end of 2023. Due to the competitive bidding between the purchasers, we focused in particular on providing strategic legal advice for the board and the management of Caverion and advice on competition law issues. In the competing tender offers on Caverion’s shares two new elements were introduced into the Finnish market practice: an offer consideration including an interest component that takes into account the time value of money and an offer consideration that allows the receiver to choose between a debt instrument or cash.
Case published 10.1.2023
We advised Neste as it signed a EUR 150 million bilateral green term loan agreement with Danske Bank A/S, Finland Branch. The proceeds of the loan will be used to finance eligible assets and projects in accordance with Neste’s Green Finance Framework. The loan has a tenor of 24 months with one 12-months extension option of 12 months. Neste published a renewed Green Finance Framework in February 2024 to align future financing activities with market best practices and standards. In addition to renewable and circular solutions, Neste’s renewed framework includes renewable energy as an investment category. Longer term actions on ourNeste’s climate roadmap include scaling up new technologies and innovations, with focus on renewable hydrogen. Renewable hydrogen and other new technologies are estimated to have a reduction potential of 20% or more of the 2019 scope 1 &and 2 emission baseline by 2030. 
Case published 4.11.2024