Sakari Lukinmaa

Managing Partner, Member of the Finnish Bar

I am Castrén & Snellman’s managing partner. I specialise in finance, private equity and venture capital and truly enjoy working with clients and helping them to resolve their challenges. I pride myself on being a client guy who makes things happen.

During my career, I have advised our clients in a number of complex cross-border and domestic projects, including syndicated corporate lending, acquisition finance deals, real estate finance and restructurings as well as venture capital.

I have worked for Castrén & Snellman for over 20 years, first as a legal trainee and then in various positions, including serving on the board of directors and management group, and overseeing our firm’s transaction services.

During my time at Castrén & Snellman, the firm has developed from a mere collection of attorneys working under same roof and practicing in different fields of law into a united firm of first-tier legal professionals seamlessly helping our clients in their most challenging legal matters. It has been my privilege to experience and contribute to this development.

The world is changing rapidly. We lawyers must also strive to develop both as individuals and as professionals. I believe that no man is an island and any success is ultimately a team effort. This is what we focus on in Castrén & Snellman and what we will continue to focus on in the future.

Chambers Europe, Chambers Global and IFLR1000 rank me among Finland’s leading experts.

Latest references

We advised OP Corporate Bank plc in a real estate financing arrangement relating to DHL Express logistics centre under construction near Helsinki Airport. In the arrangement Nrep (acting on behalf of NSF III Fund) and Pontos Group acquired Finavia’s stake of DHL Express logistics centre under construction. LEED Platinum certification will be applied for the project, and as a result of the certification, the facility is contemplated to qualify as a green loan after the construction completion date.
Case published 12.3.2025
We advised a financier consortium including OP Corporate Bank plc, Nordea Bank Abp, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB in a leveraged financing arrangement for Vexve, a company owned by DevCo Partners Oy. The financing included EUR 143 million acquisition, refinancing and other facilities for, among other things, the financing of Vexve’s acquisition of Denmark-based Frese A/S, a leading manufacturer of dynamic balancing valves for hydronic networks. Vexve’s combined turnover after the completion of the transaction will be ca. EUR 200 million. Vexve is the leading European provider of valve solutions for the energy sector and selected energy-intensive industries.
Case published 7.2.2025
We advised Tokmanni Group Corporation, one of Finland’s largest retail trade companies, as the borrower in a EUR 325 million financing arrangement it entered into with a syndicate of Nordic banks. The financing arrangement includes a EUR 250 million bank loan and EUR 75 million revolving credit facility, which will be used for the purposes of refinancing existing debt and general corporate purposes. The financing arrangement has a maturity of three years with two one-year extension options.
Case published 22.1.2025
We acted as the Finnish law legal advisor to Commerzbank AG, which served as the coordinator, bookrunner, documentation agent, facility agent and security agent of an international banking syndicate. This syndicate provided an ECA-covered construction financing facility of more than EUR 1 billion for the Finnish shipyard company Meyer Turku Oy. The loan facility will be used on the construction of one new passenger cruise ship. The newbuilding is the third of the ICON class. According to Meyer Turku Oy the ICON-class ships are the world’s most advanced and the most environmentally friendly cruise ships of their owner, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
Case published 30.12.2024
We assisted Armada Credit Partners in a sustainability-linked private debt investment in Smartvatten Oy, a company majority owned by Norvestor. Smartvatten is a hardware-enabled software as a service company providing its customers with a complete solution for real-time monitoring and reporting of water consumption in buildings. Smartvatten’s customers reduce their water costs and the risk of water-related damage while improving their sustainability performance. The cooperation between Armada and Norvestor will promote Smartvatten in its objective of helping a greater number of customers with water costs, leaks and sustainability agenda.
Case published 26.1.2024
We assisted OP Corporate Bank as the lender in a financing agreement in which Sponsor Capital, together with management and two other institutional investors, acquired Fonecta Group.
Case published 17.1.2024
We advised Triton Smaller Mid-Cap Fund II in a new platform investment, the formation of Habeo Group, through its acquisition and financing of eight Finnish companies. After the acquisition, Habeo Group has approximately MEUR 120 in net sales with over 600 experts providing a variety of technical building services, such as heating, plumbing and sewerage, ventilation and air conditioning, electrical works, cooling and refrigeration, fire safety and automation. In line with Habeo Group’s strategy, it has acquired successful, locally operating Finnish group companies and is now Finland’s fifth largest player in the industry. Habeo Group continues to implement its strategy through acquisitions that suit its service portfolio in Finland. The eight Habeo Group companies are the following: Afire Oy – A company that provides its clients with the best fire suppression solutions for different purposes in the market. ESP Group – A group of companies specialised in new building and repair construction, offering all HVAC, electricity and automation services reliably and skilfully. HSK Sähkö Oy – A versatile and flexible full-service electrical contractor operating in all of Finland. Neloset Group – A full-service technical building service and construction company providing housing cooperatives with construction and renovation services from a one-stop shop. Respect Group – A group that serves its clients seamlessly in all their repair construction needs. SFT Finntekniikka Oy – A refrigeration expert that provides comprehensive, high-quality service in refrigeration equipment and cooling systems. Sähkö Oy Turku and Helsinki – A group of electrical engineering companies with a large range of services including design, installation, on-site project supervision and subcontracting. Vaasan Kylmäkone Oy – A company that plans, sells, installs and maintains refrigeration equipment and systems for professional use. Since its establishment in 1997, Triton has sponsored ten funds, focusing on businesses in the industrial tech, services, consumer and healthcare sectors. The companies currently in Triton’s portfolio have combined sales of around EUR 18 billion and employ around 105,000 employees. Triton Smaller Mid-Cap Fund II applies Triton’s proven investment strategy to lower mid-market companies in the same core sectors of Services, Healthcare, Industrial Tech and Consumer, using Triton’s in-house operational capabilities and resources to help management teams to sustainably expand their companies’ market position and to implement their growth strategies.
Case published 21.4.2023
We acted as the Finnish law legal advisor to Commerzbank AG as the security agent and one of the financiers and Commerzbank Finance & Covered Bond S.A as the facility agent in a construction financing facility of more than EUR 1 billion for the Finnish shipyard company Meyer Turku Oy. The loan facility will be used on the construction of two new passenger cruise vessels.
Case published 23.8.2022