Author: laurasarvi

Intera Fund III closes at €250 million

Intera Partners, a leading private equity group in Finland, has successfully closed their latest fund, Intera Fund III (“the Fund”) with capital commitments of €250 million.

Intera Partners had strong support from its existing investors and a select number of new investors to reach the Fund’s target size of €250 million. The Fund received commitments from a well-balanced mix of leading European institutions, including pension funds, fund of funds and family offices.

Tuomas Lang, Chairman of Intera Partners, said “We are excited by the positive response that the Fund has received and are very grateful for the support and trust we have been granted by our investors. The Finnish lower mid-market remains an attractive investment space with excellent opportunities for Intera’s approach to value creation built on origination of proprietary deal flow and portfolio company growth.”

Jokke Paananen, Chief Executive Officer of Intera Partners, said “We are very pleased to begin the next chapter in our story. Intera was established in 2007 with a vision to create an active and determined Finnish private equity firm with a team combining locality and international experience. Intera Fund III will continue the successful investment strategy of its predecessor funds.”

The Fund will target mainly Finnish companies in the €20-80 million enterprise value range that possess substantial growth potential in their domestic markets and/or potential to expand internationally. Intera also selectively targets Swedish companies of similar size and growth potential in cases where there is a strategic Finnish angle to the investment.

Intera Partners would like to thank the existing investors for their strong support and is grateful for the vote of confidence from its new investors.

MVision Private Equity Advisers acted as strategic fundraising adviser. Borenius Attorneys Ltd acted as legal counsel.

 

Intera invests in Wise Group

Wise Group Finland Oy continues its growth with the support of the Finnish private equity firm Intera Partners. The current majority owner of Wise Group, private equity firm Helmet Business Mentors, exits its investment in the transaction. Wise Group’s personnel continue to own a substantial share of the company.

”We are excited about the opportunities that Intera’s support offers us. Intera specializes in accelerating the growth of its target companies, which will help us execute our growth strategy. Our long term plan is to grow Wise Group into the leading Finnish building consultancy and design firm and get listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange”, says Wise Group CEO Aki Puska.

”Wise Group is an excellent company with strong customer relationships, committed personnel and a broad nationwide service portfolio”, comments Tomi Terho, partner at Intera Partners.

”As technical complexity in construction and customer requirements increase, the importance of highly qualified engineering and consulting work is further highlighted. We believe that Wise Group can continue to attract the best experts to its team and constantly develop its offering to its customers”, he continues.

The transaction does not impact the current activities or personnel of Wise Group, and the personnel shareholders continue to own a substantial share of the company. During its six years of operations, Wise Group has grown rapidly with the support from Helmet; by the end of 2016 its revenues are expected to exceed EUR 40 million and its headcount to reach above 450 employees.

The completion of the transaction is subject to approval by the competition authorities, and it is expected to take place by the end of August 2016.

 

For more information, please contact:

Aki Puska, CEO, Wise Group Finland Oy
tel. 040 568 3490 or aki.puska@wisegroup.fi

Tomi Terho, partner, Intera Partners Oy
tel. 0400 811 027 or tomi.terho@interapartners.fi

 

Wise Group is a Finnish company providing construction-related consulting, engineering and building development services for building and renovation projects. We have completed over 30,000 construction and renovation projects over the past 40 years. We employ 450 experts in the fields of construction project management, structural design, HPAC design, renovation consulting and acoustics. Our geographical footprint extends to over 15 locations in Finland.

Intera has sold its shares in Consti Group Plc

Intera Fund I Ky has sold its shares in Consti Group Plc in an accelerated book-building to a limited number of institutional investors. Intera sold 939,436 shares in the Company, corresponding to approximately 12 percent of all shares and votes in Consti. The gross sales proceeds of the Share Sale amounted to approximately EUR 10 million. The lock-up undertaking Intera entered into in connection with the listing of Consti ended on 8 June 2016. After the Share Sale, Intera does not own shares in the Company.

Danske Bank A/S, Helsinki Branch acted as Sole Lead Manager in the Share Sale.

 

Completion release 14 JUNE 2016

Renta Group – a new Finnish machinery rental company

Renta’s development and growth is supported by many individuals with long experience in the industry and a private equity investor with significant experience from the construction sector.

Renta Group offers a wide range of construction machinery and equipment rental services. The company serves both corporate and retail customers through its local sites. Through acquisitions, the company already has a strong foothold in scaffolding, weather protection and construction site hut rental markets in the metropolitan area. Going forward, the target is to expand operations in other regions in Finland and to create a nationwide presence.

Renta benefits from strong industry knowledge and experience. CEO Kari Aulasmaa did a long career at Ramirent Group before his latest position as CEO of Inspecta Group. The company’s Board of Directors includes internationally recognized pioneers of equipment rental services, Erkki Norvio and Kari Kallio, both former CEOs of Ramirent Group. Board member Juhani Kattilakoski is one of the leading experts within scaffolding and weather protection.

“We believe that there will be demand for an entrepreneurial and innovative rental services provider with strong local presence. The aim is to create a new and interesting alternative for our customers. We look forward to developing the new company together with our customers”, says Kari Aulasmaa.

A Finnish private equity firm Intera Partners is the majority owner and provider of growth financing. Intera has a considerable experience in growth and market consolidation in the construction sector through, for example, Consti, Kreate, Rototec, Normek and Delete. The foundation for the new company has been established through acquisitions of Telinekymppi (leading scaffolding and weather protection services provider in the metropolitan area) and Jasoca (construction site hut rental services). Acquisition of Kehä-Kone provided Renta with concept and processes that can be applied to new sites opened across Finland. The owners and professional staff of all acquired companies will remain active at Renta.

Renta Group aims at substantial growth of its activities already during the first year of operation. It has plans to open approximately 12 new sites in Finland. Similar pace of growth is expected to continue in the following years.

Renta Group’s sites combine a modern equipment fleet and know-how of the best professionals. Operating model is based on services close to customers and nationwide presence.

“Our goal is to take advantage of new technologies. Furthermore, we also want to meet our customers face- to-face at our sites and construction sites all over Finland”, says Kari Aulasmaa.

Kamux selected as the Growth Builder of the Year

Kamux Group was selected as the winner of the annual Growth Builder of the Year Award organized by the Finnish Venture Capital Association (FVCA). Growth Builder of the Year is a competition searching for the most interesting and inspiring growth story built together with a private equity investor. Kamux was chosen as the winner among 700 companies.

Kamux intends to continue strong growth in Finnish, Swedish and German markets. “It’s great to see international growth stories also in traditional industries. There are market opportunities also in established businesses,” commented the Chairman of the selection jury Teddie Wardi from Atomico. Karoliina Jarenko, Managing director of Filosofian Akatemia Oy and member of selection jury, was charmed by Kamux Group CEO Juha Kalliokoski’s strong passion for building and sustaining the growth. “Kamux has been very successful in inspiring its staff to superb performance,” commented Jarenko.

Private equity investor Intera Partners Oy invested in Kamux in 2011 to help the company grow in the European market. “We created a common vision for Kamux. In this vision international expansion had a key role and the plan has been realized brilliantly,” comments Jokke Paananen, CEO of Intera Partners and Member of the Board of Directors of Kamux.

“We are currently one of the largest used car sellers in the Nordic countries and want to grow further in Europe. A key success factor driving the growth is the fabulous Kamux staff and their commitment, “says the founder and CEO Juha Kalliokoski.

In addition to Kamux, the finalists were construction consulting, design and services provider Wise Group and global information, technology and consulting services company M-Brain.

“We want to highlight these spectacular growth stories to encourage other Finnish companies to explore ways to expand their operations. Private equity investors have an important role in supporting the growth and internationalization of companies. Growth is worth pursuing, and the Finnish economy benefits from these growth cases”, encourages the Finnish Venture Capital Association CEO Pia Santavirta.

Tuomas Kahri appointed as COO

Tuomas Kahri joined Intera as COO / Operating partner in March 2016. Tuomas has wide experience in business development, marketing and strategy. His latest role was the COO and business unit manager at Terveystalo. Previously Tuomas has been responsible of marketing and communications at Hartwall, and the global marketing and quality at KONE. In the earlier part of his career Tuomas spent 3 years with McKinsey & Company as well as with several other companies in marketing, strategy and business development roles.

“Tuomas brings us the knowhow to develop Intera. He will also be supporting our portfolio companies in recognizing and deploying the best operating models”, comments Intera’s CEO Jokke Paananen.

“Through Animagi and Royal Restaurants I have got to know several key persons at Intera and the way they work. My experiences were positive and we ended up in starting cooperation. I believe that with my experience I can bring new perspectives to Intera’s strong knowledge”, says Tuomas Kahri.

For more information, please contact Jokke Paananen, +358 9 2525 2200.

Brillo is now part of Silmäasema

 

Silmäasema and Pecce Oy, owned by Janne Järvenpää, signed a transaction that took effect on 29 February 2016, where Silmäasema acquired the shares in Oy Brillo Ab, Vaasan Laserklinikka Oy, and the cataract surgery operations of Pecce Oy. This means that Silmäasema now owns Brillo optical stores and Silmäsairaala Brillo eye hospital. The store in Vaasa and the eye hospital will continue under the Brillo brand, but the Brillo stores in Pietarsaari, Kristiinankaupunki and Maalahti will become part of the Silmäasema chain. The total of 13 employees at the locations will continue working for the Silmäasema chain as existing employees.

 

Silmäasema is clearly gaining more ground in Ostrobothnia, as it is expanding operations to include several new locations. “We consider the Ostrobothnia region to be very vital and firmly believe that Silmäasema will grow despite the generally difficult economic situation”, says Pasi Kohmo, managing director of Silmäasema.

Janne Järvenpää, eye specialist and founder of Brillo, will also continue working under Silmäasema. He will continue to offer cataract surgeries and surgeries correcting refractive errors, and his practice will be available as usual. “Brillo’s operations are in good hands with Silmäasema: we share the characteristic that all products and services related to eyesight and eye health are available from the same place”, says Janne Järvenpää.

All the other existing opticians and eye physicians will continue working at the future Silmäasema stores and the Brillo store in Vaasa as usual. You should also ask the expert staff for Silmäasema’s other services related to eye health and surgery. The stores are the pathway to Silmäsairaala Brillo eye hospital in Vaasa or, when necessary, one of the other 12 eye hospitals of Silmäasema.

 

Silmäasema Press release 26.2.2016