15.12.2017

Mergermarket Awards Castrén & Snellman’s Expertise in Complex M&A Work

Mergermarket has chosen Castrén & Snellman as the M&A Legal Adviser of the Year 2017 in Finland. This has been yet another strong year for our M&A team with – among many other highlights – three landmark deals that paved the way for this award.

We advised Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company in the merger with Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company, which is recognised as one of the most significant and complex transactions on the Finnish market this year.  

We were also the only law firm to be involved in both public takeovers on the Finnish market, advising Comptel in the takeover by Nokia and Sponda in the takeover by Blackstone, which was the largest ever real estate transaction in Finland. 

–All three deals are great examples of the combined transaction and specialty expertise often required in demanding mergers and acquisitions. The Ilmarinen-Etera merger was carried out in an extremely complex regulatory landscape. Nokia introduced new developments to the Finnish market by announcing its bid unconditional before securing the 90% ownership threshold for a squeeze-out process, Partner and Head of M&A  Jan Örndahl says.

The Mergermarket European Awards winners are chosen by an independent panel of judges from a wide variety of industry backgrounds. The judges analyse Mergermarket deal data and look for evidence that firms added value to deal processes, supported clients and offered creative solutions to complex situations. 

–We are thrilled to receive this award and recognition. There has been a remarkable upswing in M&A activity in Western Europe, and our M&A team has had the privilege of working on the most complex deals this year. Currently, we are leading Mergermarket’s comparison tables for Finland in both the volume and the value of deals, Managing Partner Sakari Lukinmaa cheers.

Latest references

We advised Gasum Oy in its acquisition of 100% of the shares in Hærup Biogas ApS, which owns and operates a biogas plant in the northern part of mainland Denmark. This acquisition marks Gasum’s first biogas plant in Denmark, expanding its biogas production portfolio. Gasum’s strategic goal is to bring seven terawatt hours of renewable gas to the Nordic market yearly by 2027. The acquisition is one step towards achieving the strategic goal. Gasum is a Nordic gas sector and energy market expert. Gasum offers cleaner energy and energy market expert services for industry and for combined heat and power production as well as cleaner fuel solutions for road and maritime transport. The company helps its customers to reduce their own carbon footprint as well as that of their customers. 
Case published 3.12.2024
We are advising Helkama-Autokauppa Oy in the acquisition of the Škoda dealerships in Helsinki and Tampere from Hedin Automotive Finland. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Helkama-Autokauppa Oy operates as an independent dealer in the dealer network of Helkama-Auto Oy, the Finnish importer of Škoda cars, spare parts and accessories.
Case published 3.12.2024
We advised Huhtamaki Oyj in relation to a EUR 450 million sustainability-linked syndicated multi-currency revolving credit facility loan agreement (“RCF”) with a maturity of five years. The RCF refinances an existing EUR 400 million sustainability-linked syndicated revolving credit facility signed in January 2021 and will be used for general corporate purposes of the Group. The RCF has two one-year extension options at the discretion of the lenders. The Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners of the RCF are Citi, Nordea Bank Abp, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (publ), BNP Paribas, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Danske Bank A/S, DBS Bank Ltd., London Branch, J.P. Morgan SE, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale, OP Corporate Bank plc, Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Standard Chartered Bank AG.
Case published 28.11.2024
We represented a mutual real estate company belonging to a large Finnish group in arbitration proceedings against a construction company. The arbitral tribunal rejected the construction company’s claims in their entirety and ordered the construction company to reimburse our client for the costs of the arbitration proceedings in full. The dispute concerned the contract price under the construction contract, which was agreed to be determined on the basis of our client’s yield requirement and the rent under the lease agreement for the building in question. The parties disagreed on the indexation clause applicable to the rent adjustment and its impact on the contract price.
Case published 22.11.2024