We acted as the legal advisor to NoHo Partners Plc and Smile Henkilöstöpalvelut Oyj in a transaction in which VMP Plc is purchasing the share capital of Smile from NoHo Partners and the minority shareholders. The transaction will be executed as a share exchange, in which Smile’s shareholders will receive 0.8087 new shares in VMP as share consideration for each share in Smile owned by them, corresponding to a debt-free purchase price of approximately EUR 82 million (based on the closing price EUR 4.92 of VMP as at 4 July, 2019). NoHo Partners will become the largest shareholder in the combined VMP and Smile with a 30.27% stake.
VMP employed approximately 19,400 leased employees in 2018 either directly or through chain companies and Smile, in turn, approximately 10,000 leased employees, so the combined company has a significant pool of employees at its disposal. The combination of VMP and Smile is expected to strengthen the combined company’s market position considerably and to create added value both for NoHo Partner’s and the combined company’s shareholders through synergies arising from unifying operations and the increasing amount of business opportunities.
‘We have been building the exceptional Smile growth story on this market since 2014, when the company became a part of our group. Back then, Smile’s turnover was under MEUR 7, whereas it had grown to MEUR 127 in 2018. The new company to be formed with one of the other top companies in the business, VMP, will reshape the labour market and personnel services business in general. As the company’s largest shareholder, we are privileged to be in pole position in building the future of the entire business’, said NoHo Partners’ Chairman of the Board Timo Laine.
