Author: Elina Härkönen

Intera Fund I, advised by Intera Equity Partners, invests in Orthex, the largest supplier of household plastic products in Finland. The previous owners of Orthex, Tiina and Kari Kallonen, will remain significant minority owners after the transaction.

The common goal of Intera and Tiina and Kari Kallonen is to grow and internationalize Orthex and thus create a leading North European supplier of affordable household products. Orthex’s CEO Kari Kallonen warmly welcomes Intera’s ownership.”Intera is a dynamic and growth-oriented partner who will help us develop and strengthen our position as a leading supplier of household products”, says Kallonen.

“Orthex is a well-managed company with a broad and well-known product portfolio. Orthex’s excellent customer relations are based on an efficient operational model and skillful employees. All in all, Orthex is in a great position to accelerate its growth”, says Martin Grotenfelt, Partner at Intera.

Oy Orthex Ab is a Finnish producer and marketer of household plastic products. Orthex’s products are versatile and affordable every-day household items. The family-owned company was established in 1956 in its current premises in Lohja, Finland. During the years, Orthex has grown from a small workshop to the largest producer of household plastic products in Finland. Orthex’s revenues in 2008 amounted to app. €12 million and it employed 90 persons.

Intera is a Finnish private equity firm that principally focuses on Finnish small and medium-sized companies that have not yet reached their full capacity and have excellent growth potential. Investors in Intera´s first fund, Intera Fund I, include leading Nordic institutional investors such as The Local Government Pensions Institution in Finland, Ilmarinen, The State Pension Fund in Finland and The Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund.

For additional information: Martin Grotenfelt, Intera Equity Partners, Partner, tel. +358 50 2145

Building renovation companies Raitayhtiöt, Consti Talotekniikka (formerly Koja Tekniikka), Mansen Putki and Espoon LVI-Sisustus combine forces. Consti Yhtiöt (formerly Domendo Holding) becomes one of the leading comprehensive building renovation companies in Finland with a total turnover of €67 million. Consti Yhtiöt is owned by the Finnish private equity firm Intera, management of the combined companies and Erkki Norvio.

The building renovation market is expected to grow steadily in Finland. The main drivers of building renovation growth are the age structure of the Finnish building stock as well as new requirements for environment and energy efficiency. Finnish government is also committed to supporting building renovation activity.

“Consti has strong future prospects and the building renovation market is less sensitive to economic cycles than the new building market,” says Consti’s Chairman Erkki Norvio.

Consti Talotekniikka (formerly Koja Tekniikka), Mansen Putki and Espoon LVI-Sisustus are specialised in building systems renovation while Raitayhtiöt is focused on facade renovations. The main customers of Consti Yhtiöt are commercial property owners, private housing cooperatives and construction companies. Consti Yhtiöt has approximately 300 employees with premises in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Tampere. The companies will continue to operate as separate entities from their existing premises. Combined turnover of the companies amounted to approximately €67 million in 2008.

The owners of Raitayhtiöt and Espoon LVI-Sisustus will continue as shareholders and managers in Consti Yhtiöt. Focusing and investing in growth will create interesting new opportunities for the employees in the future.

Intera has acquired building system contracting and renovation services business, Koja Tekniikka Oy and Mansen Putki Oy, from Koja Group

Intera Fund I, advised by Intera Equity Partners, and Intera’s Industrial Advisor Erkki Norvio have acquired the building system contracting and renovation services (HVAC & HPAC, electrical, automation and cooling contract services) business of Koja Group – consisting of Koja Tekniikka Oy and Mansen Putki Oy.

The building renovation market has grown steadily in Finland and the growth is expected to continue in the future. Koja Tekniikka Oy and Mansen Putki Oy have well established track record in executing demanding renovation and new building projects in public, commercial, office as well as residential buildings. The combined revenue of the two companies was approximately 29 million euros in 2007 and the companies employed a total of approximately 130 employees. Intera’s target is to continue development of the business together with the existing management and to particularly focus on growth.

Marko Holopainen, M. Sc. (eng.), will continue as managing director of Koja Tekniikka Oy and Janne Koivula, engineer, will continue as managing director of Mansen Putki Oy. Both will also become shareholders. The change in ownership will not cause changes in the organizations of the companies. Focusing and investing in growth will create new interesting opportunities for the employees in the future.

For more information:
Erkki Norvio, Intera Equity Partners Oy, Industrial Advisor, mobile: +358 400 410 977
Jokke Paananen, Intera Equity Partners Oy, Partner, mobile: +358 50 300 3737

Intera is a Finnish private equity firm that principally focuses on Finnish companies with sales of EUR 10 to 100 million that have not yet reached their full capacity and have the potential to become leading businesses in their fields. Investors in Intera´s first fund, Intera Fund I, include leading Nordic institutional investors. www.interapartners.fi

Intera Fund I, advised by Intera Equity Partners, invests in Mikeva, one of the leading private providers of care services in Finland. Intera acquires the shares of Mikeva from Ruukki Group Plc together with Mikeva’s current management.

Mikeva is one of the largest private providers of care services in Finland. It provides care, rehabilitation and residential care services for the mentally and physically disabled and the elderly as well as welfare services for children and adolescents. Mikeva’s care centres are located in Northern, Western and Eastern Finland and in the Tampere region. The company is headquartered in Oulunsalo. The estimated turnover for 2008 is approximately EUR 20 million. Mikeva employs over 320 care service professionals.

The transaction aims at growing and further developing the company which has excellent growth prospects and high-quality services.

– Partnering with Intera gives us new opportunities to grow and develop our services. We have already developed our service network actively during the past couple of years. Now, with Intera’s support, we have even better opportunities to expand and provide high-quality services, says Mr Samuli Mäenpää, CEO of Mikeva.
Mikeva is known for the high quality of its services and that will remain the focus also in the future. The company has significant potential for growth as well as for becoming the market leader and number one brand in the Finnish care service sector, describes Mr Tuomas Lang, Managing Partner of Intera Equity Partners.

Intera will make substantial investments to develop Mikeva and targets at significant growth during the coming years. The growth will be mainly generated by expanding the service provision for the municipal sector and through industry consolidation.

The new board of Mikeva will be chaired by Mr Tuomas Lang, Intera’s Managing Partner. Mr Lang acted as the Chairman of the Board of Mehiläinen, the leading private health care company in Finland, in 2003-2006 when the company was in the portfolio of CapMan. In addition to Mr Lang, the Board includes Mr Harri Hollmén from Intera, Ms Inkeri Kerola, Member of Parliament, Ms Minna Laakkonen, owner of Norris Cosmetics, and Mr Jouko Oja, regional manager of Mikeva Western Finland, as representative of the management and personnel.

For further information, please contact:
CEO Samuli Mäenpää, Mikeva Oy, Tel: +358 40 5652717
Managing Partner Tuomas Lang, Intera Equity Partners Oy, Tel: +358 40 5451240

Intera is a new Finnish private equity firm that principally focuses on Finnish companies with sales of EUR 10 to 100 million that have not yet reached their full capacity and have the potential to become leading businesses in their fields. Investors in Intera´s first fund, Intera Fund I, include leading Nordic institutional investors. www.interapartners.fi

Intera Fund I, advised by Intera Equity Partners, invests in Normek, one of the leading Nordic suppliers of steel structure frames and glass facades. Intera’s Industrial Advisor and board member of Normek, Erkki Norvio, as well as members of the management will also become new shareholders in Normek.

Expansion of the ownership base is targeted to support Normek’s continued growth and international expansion. Klaus Saarikallio, Pekka Kankaanpää and Jukka Vuori will retain a significant ownership in Normek and continue in their current management positions. The targeted growth is expected to offer interesting new opportunities for Normek’s employees, as well as create new jobs.

”Normek has grown significantly over the last 10 years. We believe that Intera as a shareholder will provide us with strong support in pursuing continued growth and international expansion”, says Klaus Saarikallio, CEO of Normek.
”Normek and its employees have done an excellent job in developing Normek into one of the leading Nordic companies in its field. We believe that the evolution of the steel structure frame industry together with Normek’s strong market position will form a solid platform for the company’s growth in the Nordic region and the neighbouring markets”, comments Jokke Paananen, Partner at Intera.
Normek is a leading manufacturer and supplier of steel structure frames for non-residential buildings, steel bridges, and facade systems for commercial and office buildings. The main markets are Finland, Sweden and Russia. Normek had sales of €81.3 million in 2007. Exports accounted for 48% of sales. The company has 285 employees in Finland and Sweden. ( http://www.normek.fi )

Intera Equity Partners, is a private equity firm focusing on majority investments in Finnish companies with strong growth potential. Typical investment situations are management buy-outs, ownership restructurings in family owned companies, and privatizations. Investors in Intera´s first fund, Intera Fund I, include leading Nordic institutional investors.

Contacs:
Klaus Saarikallio, Normek, CEO, tel: +358 40 556 7678
Jokke Paananen, Intera Equity Partners, Partner, tel: +358 50 300 3737

Intera Equity Partners has today held the final closing of €125 million of its first fund, Intera Fund I Ky.

“The substantial demand from investors reflects the confidence in the strategy and team of Intera. We are very pleased with our investor base that includes leading institutional investors from the Nordic countries. Almost half of the committed capital in Intera Fund I comes from investors outside of Finland. Strong investors provide a solid foundation for our operations in Finland and the Baltic region. Our goal is to develop long-term partnership with our investors in making successful investments from our first fund, Intera Fund I, and beyond. Now that our first fund is fully operational we can focus all our efforts on investment activities”, says Tuomas Lang, Managing Director of Intera Equity Partners.

For further information please contact:
Tuomas Lang, Managing Director, tel: +358 40 545 1240

Intera Equity Partners has today held its first closing of €85 million of its first fund Intera Fund I Ky. The Fund will make majority investments in Finnish lower middle market companies that possess substantial growth potential in their domestic market and/or potential to expand internationally. Investors in Intera Fund I include leading Nordic institutional investors.

Fund raising of Intera Fund I continues. Target size of the Fund is €100 million.

For further information please contact:
Tuomas Lang, Managing Director, tel: +358 40 545 1240