Last summer, we reported how the beginning of the year got off to a lively start on the M&A front. We also listed four key deal trends (14 July 2016: M&A World Is Waking up to Smell the Potential in Finland). As we have entered the final quarter of the year, the same fast transaction pace has continued after the summer as well. Private equity investors and venture capitalists have been involved in a significant portion of deals.
20.10.2016
Brisk M&A Pace Continues in the Autumn – Private Equity Investors on the Move
Carola Lindholm, Jan Örndahl & Jarno Tanhuanpää
For example, last week Thomson Reuters and Mergermarket, two companies compiling statistics of the number of transactions, published their latest tables for the first three quarters of the year.
Thomson Reuters’ statistics1 included a total of 108 transactions, and we advised our clients in 34 of them. In terms of the number of transactions, we are the only Finnish firm to reach top 3 at the Nordic level. On the Finnish scale, we are in joint first position in Mergermarket’s table2 during the first three quarters.
Private equity investors and venture capitalists have been involved in many of this year’s transactions—and these investors are increasingly from abroad. The number of newly raised private equity funds and funds that are currently being raised is exceptionally high in Finland and in the Nordic countries in general. Representing Intermediate Capital Group in the acquisition of Esperi Care Group, acquiring Luvata’s Special Products division from Nordic Capital and selling Touhula Varhaiskasvatus to EQT are good examples of private equity transactions in which we have advised our clients this year.
For further information, please contact:
Jarno Tanhuanpää
Jan Örndahl
Carola Lindholm
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We advised the NATO Innovation Fund as lead investor on Kelluu’s EUR 15 million Series A funding round, with participation from Keen Venture Partners, Gungnir Capital, and Tesi. Kelluu is a Finnish deep tech company operating the world’s largest autonomous airship fleet. We advised NIF on this transaction alongside global law firm Latham & Watkins.
Case published 17.4.2026
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Castrén & Snellman advised Nscale, a European AI infrastructure company, in connection with its planned data centre project in Harjavalta, Finland. The facility will be located in the Sievari industrial area. Castrén & Snellman’s advisory role encompassed the negotiation and execution of a site securing and development agreement (SSDA) with Fortum, as well as the preliminary land sale process for the Sievari site with the Town of Harjavalta. Under the SSDA, Fortum supports the advancement of Nscale’s project development, including grid connection design and permitting.
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Taaleri – Acquisition of a majority stake in Nordic Science Investments
We are acting as legal adviser to Taaleri Plc on its acquisition of a 51 per cent ownership stake in Nordic Science Investments Oy (NSI), marking Taaleri’s expansion into deeptech-driven venture capital. Through the transaction, Taaleri broadens its private equity offering into early-stage venture capital funds as well as the commercialisation and scaling of research-driven innovations. NSI is a Finnish venture capital fund manager operating across the Nordic and Baltic regions, focusing on early-stage investments in research- and science-based technologies. Its portfolio companies develop, among other things, health technologies, life sciences, advanced materials and AI-driven solutions. In addition to providing growth capital, NSI supports spin-out companies with strategic guidance, access to networks and assistance in building teams during the early phases of business development. NSI’s first fund, the EUR 45 million NSI Nordic Science I Ky, was established in 2024 and has to date invested in 22 early-stage companies in Finland, Sweden and the Baltic countries. Taaleri is a specialist in investments, private asset management and non-life insurance, with a strong position in renewable energy, bioindustry and housing investments as well as credit risk insurance. Taaleri has EUR 2.7 billion of assets under management in its private equity funds, co-investments and single-asset vehicles, employs approximately 130 people and is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. The founders of NSI will continue in their operational roles following the transaction. The completion of the transaction is subject to approval by the FIN-FSA.
Case published 13.4.2026
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We delivered two information design workshops for the legal department of the Finnish Centre for Pensions, with participants from both legal and other professional backgrounds. In the sessions, we applied the principles of legal design thinking to the Finnish Centre for Pensions’ field of operation and background materials, also utilising AI as a design tool. The participants found the tailored training highly useful and commended the trainers for their in-depth familiarisation with the Centre’s opinion drafting process and operating environment. As a result of the workshops, our experts proposed a new structural and linguistic model for the legal department of the Finnish Centre for Pensions for drafting opinions and guidelines. The proposal was well received as clear and applicable to the participants’ everyday work. In addition, we presented tailored AI use cases to support experts, allowing for a more efficient AI-assisted way of working. Our experts who delivered the workshops combined their legal expertise with their leading experience in legal design. The participants appreciated this versatile expertise, which enabled a knowledgeable, creative and applied approach to legal writing. ‘C&S created a well-structured training tailored to our needs, providing clear direction for our organisation and concrete takeaways for our experts in their day-to-day work,’ says Mari Kuunvalo, Head Of the Legal Department at the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
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