Castrén & Snellman Appoints Thomas Landell as Partner With Focus on Mergers and Acquisitions and Capital Markets

Thomas has versatile experience as strategic advisor to Finnish and international listed companies, private equity investors and family-owned companies. In the early stages of his career, he worked as an attorney at Castrén & Snellman. Since 2017, Thomas has been gaining experience as in-house counsel and member of the management team at Rettig Group where he has had broad responsibilities in developing Rettig Group’s investment company operations that focus on creating value as an active owner in both public listed companies and private market investments.

At Rettig Group, Thomas was involved as a board member in developing Purmo Group and Nordkalk for almost five years. During this time, both companies carried out numerous projects, development initiatives and acquisitions, which substantially moulded their strategic direction and improved financial performance. Thomas also actively participated in the milestone transactions that were enabled by said decisively pursued actions whereby Nordkalk was divested to SigmaRoc Plc in a reverse takeover under the AIM rules of the London Stock Exchange and Purmo Group merged with Virala Acquisition Company, the first SPAC company listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. The merger of Purmo Group and Virala Acquisition Company was the first business combination (de-SPAC) in the Nordic countries of a SPAC company and its target.

‘It is great to have such an outstanding lawyer and skilled team builder with strong roots at the firm join the partnership. C&S has been growing considerably faster than the market in recent years, and Thomas’s appointment further strengthens our growth. We are known for our unparalleled client and employee experience, which stems from our true partnership model. A solution-oriented expert with business insight, Thomas is known as a trusted partner of boards of directors and upper management in strategic initiatives and demanding situations of change. This capability, if anything, helps our clients succeed. Thomas is highly respected both as an advisor and colleague and I wish him a warm welcome on becoming part of our team’, says Managing Partner Sakari Lukinmaa.

‘Activity in the capital and M&A markets has hit record levels over the past few years, and our firm has had the pleasure of participating in the most significant transactions and many IPOs in Finland. I am glad to have a well-liked colleague back in our growing team to further develop cooperation with our clients’, says Partner Merja Kivelä, Head of Capital Markets & Financial Regulation.

Before Rettig Group Thomas worked seven years at Castrén & Snellman with a focus on capital markets transactions and mergers and acquisitions. During his career, he has also worked as a visiting lawyer with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York and as a visiting legal counsel with Nordea.

‘It feels great to return to Castrén & Snellman for another chance to work with the firm’s clients. The years spent in-house offered thorough insight into risks and opportunities relating to the implementation of various strategic initiatives as well as general management of business operations in an environment targeting M&A activity. What I find particularly valuable is having gained this perspective through the lens of both a shareholder and its portfolio companies. Having seen the market through clients’ eyes, I am convinced that the capabilities of Castrén & Snellman’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets teams to service clients are excellent. Projects are handled by top-notch experts backed up by Finland’s most extensive and highest-quality service offering in business law. The best colleagues, exciting clients and our firm’s strong workplace atmosphere brought me back to C&S. I am really excited to be here again contributing to the development of our clients’ business and our firm’s strong culture’, Thomas Landell says.