27.6.2024

Marius af Schultén and Kanerva Sunila to strengthen Castrén & Snellman’s Environment, Energy and Green Transition team

The green transition is gathering pace and creating significant new business and growth opportunities for businesses. To support its clients in seizing these opportunities, Castrén & Snellman is expanding its environmental, energy and project law service with two leading experts. Marius af Schultén has been appointed to this service as a partner and Kanerva Sunila as a counsel responsible for energy regulation.

‘Castrén & Snellman has long been a leading adviser in environmental and energy law and in project and tech industry law in Finland. The appointments of Marius and Kanerva will further strengthen our work on industrial and renewable energy projects and on green transition projects. I warmly welcome Marius to our firm,’ says Sakari Lukinmaa, Managing Partner of Castrén & Snellman.

‘Our Environment, Energy & Green Transition service brings together market leading experience in demanding permitting, industrial and energy projects. Our energy expertise is exceptionally strong. Our unique expertise in all the required areas of law make our team a strategic partner for our clients’ projects, which increasingly require novel solutions. This expertise is very well supported by our leading International Construction & Projects service,’ says Samuli Tarkiainen, partner specialising in energy, industry and infrastructure.

‘We are currently facing a decisive moment for attracting green transition investments to Finland, and Castrén & Snellman’s broad and impressive special expertise in all areas of business law supports this work. We assist clients from project planning, permitting and financing to project implementation, disposal and listing. It is a pleasure to get to work on interesting assignments with a superb team and to build an even stronger team,’ Marius af Schultén and Kanerva Sunila say.

Marius af Schultén is an experienced expert in environmental law. He has long and extensive experience as a strategic advisor to domestic and international energy and infrastructure project developers, investors, funds and financial institutions, in particular on renewable energy projects and their development. Prior to joining Castrén & Snellman, Marius was a partner at HPP and an attorney at Borenius.

Kanerva Sunila is a multiskilled energy lawyer who assists clients on energy law issues ranging from contracts to regulatory matters and disputes. She has been working as an energy lawyer at Castrén & Snellman since 2022 and before that at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland where she drafted energy market legislation and prepared renewable energy policies at the national and international level. Kanerva has previously also worked at the Energy Authority, the Finnish national regulatory authority. In 2023, Kanerva defended her doctoral thesis on EU electricity market law with a focus on the energy transition and regulation of innovations.

Following the appointment of the new experts, the Environment, Energy & Green Transition service will be comprised of more than 10 lawyers. Castrén & Snellman Attorneys Ltd is Finland’s leading law firm with a full-service offering that covers all areas of business law. In total, our firm has currently around 300 lawyers and other experts.

Latest references

We are acting as legal advisor to Piippo Plc in the sale of their bale netwrap and baler twine machines, related assets, and trademarks used in Piippo’s business to Portuguese Cotesi S.A. The sale of assets will be carried out in two phases and the final completion of the transaction is expected to occur during the first quarter of 2026. Piippo Oyj’s core business is baling nets and twine and it is one of the leading suppliers in the industry globally. The company’s global distribution network covers more than 40 countries. The company’s shares are listed on the First North Growth Market Finland operated by Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. Founded in 1967, Cotesi is one of the world’s leading producers of synthetic and natural twines, nets and ropes, with operations in Europe, North America and South America and its main production plant in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
Case published 17.4.2025
We acted as Finnish legal adviser to KKR in connection with its acquisition of the entire share capital of Karo Healthcare from EQT. The transaction follows Karo’s significant strategic transformation from a Nordic specialty pharma business into a leading pan-European consumer healthcare platform, with an attractive product portfolio spanning core categories such as Skin Health, Foot Health, and Intimate Health, as well as Digestive Health and Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements. KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds.  Completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in the coming months.
Case published 17.4.2025
We advised the Savings Banks Group on an arrangement whereby the shares in Sp-Henkivakuutus Oy were sold to Henki-Fennia and at the same time the parties agreed on a long-term distribution cooperation for insurance savings and loan protection products. The closing of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals. Sb Life Insurance is a domestic life insurance company, established in 2007, offering insurance savings and risk insurance products to private customers and companies. The Savings Banks and Oma Säästöpankki Oyj act as agents for Sp-Life Insurance. Henki-Fennia is a subsidiary of Keskinäinen Vakuutusyhtiö Fennia, specialising in voluntary life, pension and savings insurance.
Case published 11.4.2025
We advised Readpeak in an arrangement where Finnish growth fund Voland Partners made an investment in Readpeak. Readpeak is a service platform specialising in native advertising for purchasing, designing, and targeting the distribution of advertising space. Readpeak has quickly risen to a leading position with its platform solution, which enables an easy way to target and schedule communications as part of the news feed on media sites. Readpeak is a company founded in Helsinki in 2014, which has since expanded to nine European market areas and collaborates with over a thousand publishers. Readpeak redefines content-driven advertising using advanced machine learning models, creating added value for both quality media and journalism. Voland Partners is a minority investor specialising in the development of technology companies, with a mission to work together with entrepreneurs to build successful companies responsibly, creating success stories that benefit the entire society. Readpeak is Voland Partners’ sixth investment target, into which the fund company is investing from its first growth fund of 57 million euros.
Case published 10.4.2025