6.5.2025

Castrén & Snellman invites Wille Järvelä and Valentin Golovanov as new Partners in the Firm’s M&A and Private Equity service

Castrén & Snellman continues its strategic growth in M&A and private equity by welcoming new partners Wille Järvelä and Valentin Golovanov to the firm’s M&A and Private Equity service.

With Wille’s and Valentin’s exceptional expertise and strong track record in high-profile cross-border transactions, the firm further strengthens its position as a leading transaction practice in the market.

‘Wille’s and Valentin’s arrival reflects our commitment to responding to our clients’ growing demand for strategic advice to boards, private equity sponsors and executive teams, and underscores our long-term dedication to supporting our clients in their most important projects. Known for our unparalleled client and employee experience rooted in true partnership, I’m proud to welcome Wille and Valentin – trusted advisors who share our straightforward business mindset – to our team,’ said Jarno Tanhuanpää, Managing Partner of Castrén & Snellman.

Wille Järvelä moves to his new role from the position of Vice President M&A Legal and Projects at Huhtamaki Group, where his broad responsibilities included oversight of all legal matters for the Group’s M&A projects, negotiating key commercial contracts, as well as managing and developing the Group’s global external legal counsel network. Before Huhtamaki, Wille worked as an attorney at Roschier. He has over 15 years of versatile experience in providing hands-on high quality executive level legal support to Finnish and international blue-chip companies in cross-functional roles and multi-jurisdictional environments especially within the manufacturing and fast moving consumer goods industries, as well as for industry-specific R&D projects and technology developers.

Valentin Golovanov has extensive experience in advising Finnish and international industrial companies and private equity sponsors on complex large-scale domestic and cross-border transactions, including strategic investments, buyouts and public takeovers. He has been involved in several landmark transactions and has in-depth experience and knowledge in the forest and telecommunications industries as well as the technology and infrastructure sectors. Valentin has over 12 years of M&A experience with the leading law firms in the Nordics. He moves to Castrén & Snellman from Roschier, where he worked for nearly 8 years.

‘Wille’s experience as a key contributor in facilitating strategic decision-making by senior executives and boards, as well as in executing growth plans and transformational projects, will be a great asset to our clients and to our ability to offer even stronger transaction advisory services. Having previously worked across the table, Valentin is known for his pragmatic approach, exceptional ability to grasp what is genuinely important for the client and unwavering commitment to going the extra mile for the client. Both new colleagues are highly experienced negotiators who consistently deliver transactions with the highest levels of client satisfaction. Their capabilities will undoubtedly help our clients succeed and shift our transaction power team into an even higher gear,’ says Benjamin Bade, Head of M&A and transactions services at Castrén & Snellman.

Latest references

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
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.
Case published 15.4.2026
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
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.
Case published 10.4.2026