12.12.2025

GCR 100: C&S Competition & Procurement service ranked in the highest Elite category

Related services

Castrén & Snellman’s Competition & Procurement team has been ranked in the highest Elite category in Global Competition Review’s GCR 100 2026 in Finland.

GCR 100 is a comprehensive listing of the world’s best competition practices, offering a global picture of the best law firms doing the most important antitrust work.

Rankings are based on independent research conducted through our annual questionnaire and call for submissions, as well as interviews with lawyers. In most of the 61 jurisdictions, including Finland, firms are ranked into “elite”, “highly recommended” and “recommended” categories.

The full ranking results for Finland are available on Global Competition Review’s website

Latest references

We advised S-Bank Plc in its issuance of a EUR 150 million Senior Non-Preferred Notes and on the tender offer of its EUR 150 million Senior Preferred MREL Eligible Notes maturing in 2026. The tender offer required prior approval from the Finnish Financial Stability Authority based on the Commission’s regulatory technical standards (EU) 2023/827. The Stability Authority granted S-Bank a permission for repurchases of the notes. Based on the permission, S-Bank replaced the notes with own funds or eligible liabilities instruments of equal or higher quality at terms that are sustainable for the income capacity of S-Bank. According to the final tender offer results published on 10 December 2025, S-Bank repurchased a total of EUR 97.9 million of the notes. The new notes will pay a floating interest rate, which is determined based on 3-month Euribor added with a margin of 1.35 per cent. The notes were issued on 11 December 2025 and listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. The maturity date of the notes is 11 December 2029. The purpose of the issue was to meet the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) and to finance the bank’s activities.
Case published 18.12.2025
We are assisting eQ Community Properties Fund in the sale of seven social infrastructure properties to Kinland AS. The value of the transaction is approximately EUR 29 million, and the portfolio comprises three preschool facilities and four child protection units from different parts of Finland. The portfolio consists of modern and energy-efficient properties that are long-term leased to leading operators in the industry. The Weighted Average Unexpired Lease Term (WAULT) is approximately 11 years. The transaction is expected to close on 17 December 2025.
Case published 10.12.2025
We advised Ålandsbanken Abp in the consent solicitation process regarding its SEK 150,000,000 Tier 2 notes due December 2041 and SEK 200,000,000 Tier 2 notes due March 2043. The terms and conditions of the aforementioned instruments were amended by removing the write-down mechanisms in the consent solicitation process. In addition, we advised Ålandsbanken Abp on the issue of SEK 350 million Additional Tier 1 notes. The notes bear floating interest at the rate of STIBOR three months plus a margin of 3.35 per cent per annum. The AT1 notes were issued on 20 November 2025, and admitted to trading on the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. The instrument has no maturity date and qualifies as Additional Tier 1 capital in accordance with the EU Capital Requirements Regulation. The issue strengthens Ålandsbanken’s capital structure by taking advantage of favourable market conditions.
Case published 10.12.2025
We acted as Finnish counsel to SuperOffice AS, backed by Axcel, in its acquisition of Lyyti Oy from Finnish private equity firm Vaaka Partners and other sellers. Lyyti is a leading event management software company for physical, digital and hybrid events with a strong customer base in Finland, Sweden and France. SuperOffice is a leading provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software for small and medium-sized businesses across Northern Europe. Axcel is a Nordic private equity firm with a focus on technology, business services and industrials, healthcare, and consumer sectors.
Case published 9.12.2025