Lotta Manu

Swiss Life Asset Managers Nordic – Acquisition of a prime logistics property from a fund managed by Savills Investment Management

We advised a fund managed by Swiss Life Asset Managers Nordic in its acquisition of a logistics property in Hyvinkää from a fund managed by Savills Investment Management. In addition to advising on the transactional aspects, we also advised on the financing of the acquisition as well as in designing an appropriate international acquisition structure and addressing relevant tax implications. The property serves as the central warehouse in Finland for Ahlsell, a leading Nordic technical wholesaler, which has been leasing the property since its construction. The state-of-the-art logistics centre was originally built in 2002 and has undergone several improvement projects over the years. The latest extension, completed in 2024, added around 11,000 square meters of new storage area to the property, bringing the total lettable area to 47,000 square meters. The property has been developed with a strong emphasis on energy efficiency with on-site solar power and renewable district heating. The sustainability features of the property were also further optimised and the asset just received BREEAM Excellent certifications in both BREEAM New Construction and BREEAM In-Use.

20.1.2025

CapMan Buyout – Divestment of Renoa Group

We advised CapMan Buyout in the exit of Renoa Group. Renoa Group management together with Korpi Capital and other investors have acquired the group. Renoa Group is a Finnish established expert in the building technology sector specializing in detached houses in Finland and Sweden. Renoa is a major provider of turnkey domestic water & heating, sewer system and electricity network renovations, with significant operations also in Sweden. The Group reported sales of €35 million and employed c. 300 personnel across its 10 offices in Finland and 6 in Sweden. Korpi Capital is a Finnish investment company with holdings in 29 companies.

14.1.2025

Pernod Ricard – Sale of local Nordic beverage brands to Hartwall

We acted as Finnish counsel to Pernod Ricard in the sale of a portfolio of local Nordic brands to Oy Hartwall Ab, an affiliate of the Danish group Royal Unibrew. Pernod Ricard is a worldwide leader in the spirits and wine industry. The local portfolio of brands includes spirits, liqueurs and Finnish wine brands, the best-known being the liqueur Minttu, along with their related production assets based in Turku, Finland.

21.10.2024

Tesi – Investment in Sisu Auto

We advised Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) in its investment in the heavy duty vehicles company Oy Sisu Auto Ab. With this investment, Tesi became an owner in the company with a share of 24.4 per cent. Sisu Auto is a pioneer in the Nordic market in the development of heavy duty vehicles. Sisu’s core competences are in the product development and production of trucks and military vehicles. Tesi is a state-owned, market-driven investment company that invests in venture capital and private equity funds and directly in Finnish startups and growth companies. The investments managed by Tesi total 2.1 billion euros.

19.8.2024

Andritz – Acquisition of Procemex

We advised Andritz Oy, a part of ANDRITZ group, with their acquisition of all the shares in Procemex Oy. The acquisition further strengthens ANDRITZ’s automation and digitalisation portfolio. Procemex is a global leader in integrated web monitoring and web inspection solutions for the pulp and paper industry. It has a team of more than 100 vision systems experts and has subsidiaries in Germany, Japan and the US. ANDRITZ offers a broad portfolio of innovative plants, equipment, systems, services and digital solutions for a wide range of industries and end markets. ANDRITZ is a global market leader in all four of its business areas – Pulp & Paper, Metals, Hydropower and Environment & Energy. The publicly listed group has around 30,000 employees and over 280 locations in more than 80 countries.

18.7.2024

Avesco – Acquisition of Vatupassi Törmälä

We advised Avesco AG in a transaction whereby it acquired all the shares in Vatupassi Törmälä Oy. We also advised Avesco AG in the corporate structuring following the transaction. Vatupassi Törmälä Oy is a Finnish equipment rental company specialising in the rental of construction equipment. It has offices in five locations in Central Finland. Avesco AG is a family owned, leading machinery rental company in Switzerland. The company employs over 1,100 employees in Switzerland, Austria, Finland and the Baltics. Avesco AG is also the official partner of machinery manufacturer Caterpillar. After the transaction Avesco Rent Oy and Vatupassi Törmälä Oy will be merged and the operations are continued under the Vatupassi brand.

13.6.2024

Zendesk – Acquisition of Ultimate Enterprises

We acted as Zendesk, Inc.’s Finnish legal counsel in its acquisition of Ultimate Enterprises Oy, an industry leading provider of service automation using AI technology. The cross-border acquisition was completed in cooperation with the transaction’s lead counsel Allen & Overy. Zendesk is a leading global technology company that provides software-as-a-service and customer experience (CX) products based in the US. The acquisition of Ultimate expands Zendesk’s AI-powered CX offerings.

26.3.2024

Oomi – Partial demerger

We advised Oomi Oy in a partial demerger where Oomi’s solar power business for corporate customers demerged and formed a new independent company, Oomi Solar Oy. As part of the partial demerger process, we assisted Oomi in pre-emptive discussions with the tax authorities where the tax treatment of the restructuring was confirmed. Oomi Solar, the demerged company, focuses on implementing solar power plants for real estate properties, ground-level solar power plants and industrial solar power parks and supports companies and entities in their transition towards renewable energy. Oomi Solar started operations on 1 January 2024.

12.2.2024

Mérieux Equity Partners – Acquisition of Labquality

We acted as the legal and ESG advisor to Mérieux Equity Partners on the acquisition of a majority stake in Labquality through a leveraged buyout by its buyout fund, Mérieux Participations 4. Existing shareholders of Labquality, including Cor Group and the management, will reinvest a portion of their proceeds into the company in connection with the transaction. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Labquality is a Nordic player specialized in EQA, CRO activities and regulatory affairs, with a strong local presence in Central and Eastern Europe. The company provides a comprehensive array of services for the healthcare, medical technology, and pharmaceutical industries. The company, employing over 120 professionals and supported by a network of more than 150 external experts and consultants across its offices in Finland, Germany, and Poland, serves a diverse clientele of over 8,000 customers, including major pharmaceutical companies in over 60 countries. Mérieux Equity Partners (MxEP) is an AMF-accredited management company dedicated to equity investments in the Healthcare and Nutrition sectors. MxEP actively supports entrepreneurs and companies with differentiated products and services, giving them privileged access to its sector expertise and international network. The transaction will enable Labquality to pursue its buy & build strategy in Europe to accelerate its CRO activities while continuing strong and recurring growth in the EQA segment. Labquality will benefit from MxEP’s sector expertise and financial resources to achieve its ambition of becoming a leading European CRO and EQA platform, with fully integrated regulatory consulting capabilities to serve major customers across Europe.

4.12.2023

Speechly – Sale of Speechly to Roblox

We advised the sellers on the sale of Speechly, a Helsinki-based AI voice technology startup, to Roblox Corporation. Speechly, founded in 2016, provides accurate real-time automatic speech recognition and natural language understanding tools and APIs. In 2021, the Finnish news media Talouselämä selected the company as one of the ten most promising Finnish startups. Speechly was admitted to Y Combinator in 2022 and its investors include Cherry Ventures, SNÖ Ventures, TQ Ventures, Seedcamp, Quantum Angels, Joyance Partners, Social Starts and Tiny.vc.

21.9.2023

Excelerate Energy – Chartering an FSRU to Finland

We advised Excelerate Energy on the conclusion of a lease agreement with Gasgrid Finland Oy for the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) Exemplar. The Inkoo LNG terminal project will have a significant impact on securing the supply of gas to Finland and Estonia as imports of pipeline gas from Russia cease. The Exemplar is the first FSRU in Finland and the Inkoo LNG terminal project is legally unique. Moreover, the project, which is critical for Finland’s and the Baltics’ gas supply, was completed in an exceptionally short timeframe. Our experts assisted the company in a wide range of areas including contracts, energy legislation, licensing, labour law, taxation and structuring.

9.6.2023

OX2 – Sale of stake in Finnish offshore wind development portfolio to Ikea’s Ingka Investments

We acted as the local legal advisor to OX2 in an arrangement whereby OX2 agreed with Ingka Investments, an investment company of the Swedish IKEA retail business, on the sale of a 49% stake in its three offshore wind projects in Finland. The three offshore wind projects, Halla, Laine and Tyrsky, are located in the Finnish Exclusive Economic Zone. The projects’ total annual production could amount to up to 29 TWh once operational, corresponding to more than one third of the electricity consumed in Finland in 2022. The aim is that the offshore wind projects start generating electricity by the turn of the 2030s. OX2 started developing the Halla and Laine offshore wind projects four years ago and was the first company to obtain exploration permits from the Finnish Government for its offshore wind projects. We have advised OX2 in the development and permitting of the offshore wind farm projects .

16.5.2023

Speechly – Delaware flip and admission to Y Combinator

We advised Speechly, a Helsinki-based spoken language understanding company, on the company’s admission to Y Combinator’s accelerator program and the related corporate and tax matters. We advised Speechly on the rearranging of its existing capital structure into a US holding company by executing a so-called Delaware flip arrangement practically in a tax neutral manner. We also advised on tax and corporate structuring and agreements in relation to the rearrangement and Y Combinator’s investment process. Speechly, founded in 2016, provides accurate real-time Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) tools and APIs. In 2021, the Finnish news media Talouselämä selected the software company as one of the ten most promising Finnish startups. The company’s previous investors include international venture capital funds such as Cherry Ventures, Seedcamp, Quantum Angels, Joyance Partners, Social Starts and Tiny.vc. Based in Silicon Valley, Y Combinator is a startup fund and one of the world’s leading technology startup accelerator programs. Every six months Y Combinator invests in a group of promising international startups that are admitted to its accelerator program out of over 10,000 applicants. Y Combinator’s investment portfolio includes companies such as Stripe, Airbnb, Dropbox, Doordash and Reddit.

13.9.2022

Blackstone Growth – RELEX Solutions’ EUR 500 Million Funding Round

Castrén & Snellman, together with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Taylor Wessing, advised Blackstone Growth (BXG), Blackstone’s growth equity investing business, on the EUR 500 million funding round of Retail Logistics Excellence – RELEX Oy, a Finland-based provider of unified retail planning solutions. The funding round, led by funds managed by Blackstone Growth (BXG), values Relex Solutions at EUR 5 billion and is the largest funding round raised by a Finnish growth company to date. The funding raised allows the company to continue its growth path by hiring hundreds of developers and experts to grow its technical team that already stands at over 400 people strong. RELEX Solutions is a software company that automates and optimizes supply chain, merchandising, and operational decisions for retailers and consumer packaged goods companies. With the rise of both regulations and corporate initiatives to reduce waste and drive social, economic, and environmental benefits, RELEX Solutions is a key partner for companies to reach their sustainability goals without sacrificing customer experience. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, the company employs over 1,300 people globally. Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative investment firm with assets under management of USD 881 billion.

17.2.2022

RCL Holding – Acquisition of Helsingin Pantti-Osakeyhtiö and Sefina Svensk Pantbelåning Aktiebolag

We acted as Finnish counsel to RCL Holding AB in its acquisition of Helsingin Pantti-Osakeyhtiö and Sefina Svensk Pantbelåning Aktiebolag from Aurajoki Nordic Group Oy. The acquisition was carried out by RCL Holding AB’s fully owned subsidiary. Morris Law (Sweden) acted as lead counsel for RCL Holding AB. Helsingin Pantti was founded in 1882 and is specialised in pawnbroking, auctioning and sale of second-hand jewellery. Helsingin Pantti is the largest pawnshop in Finland, being active in seven cities and having 12 pawn shops around Finland. In 2020, Helsingin Pantti employed 50 employees and had a turnover of 15.7 million euros. Sefina Svensk Pantbelåning Aktiebolag was established around 1884 and is the largest pawnshop in the Nordics, having approximately 95 employees and 20 pawn shops around Sweden.

2.11.2021

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