Following a comprehensive strategic review, Nordhaven Corporate Finance firms in Finland and Norway have chosen separate strategic paths.

Nordhaven Norway will continue under the Nordhaven brand as an independent M&A boutique, maintaining its current service offerings.

Effective October 1, 2024, Nordhaven Finland will merger with Clearwater, a mid-market corporate finance firm. As a result, Nordhaven Corporate Finance Oy in Helsinki will be rebranded as Clearwater Corporate Finance Oy.

 

Nordhaven Finland and Norway will continue to co-operate on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, both Nordhaven Finland and Nordhaven Norway have exited the international partnership of Clairfield International.

All emails sent to former Nordhaven Finland addresses will be automatically forwarded to the new Clearwater addresses. There are no changes to Nordhaven Norway email addresses.

For further information, please contact:
Anders Strand, anders.strand@nordhaven.com, +47 9013 8832
Juha Raunio, juha.raunio@clearwatercf.com, +358 40 570 5260

Nordhaven acted as financial advisor for Teleste Corporation on its debt refinancing with a new secured EUR 53 million syndicated loan.

Teleste offers an integrated product and service portfolio that makes it possible to build and run a better networked society. The company's solutions bring television and broadband services to its customers, secure their safety in public places and guide their use of public transport. Teleste is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.

The new syndicated loan facilities agreement includes a EUR 26 million term loan and a EUR 19 million revolving credit facility for refinancing the group’s existing indebtedness, as well as commercial guarantee limits totalling EUR 8 million. The agreement has 2-year maturity with two 1-year extension options subject to lenders’ approvals.

“We are pleased on the terms and diversified lender base of the syndicated agreement, which supports our strategy execution. With Nordhaven, the transaction was planned and executed rapidly. We thank Nordhaven for their excellent work”, says Esa Harju, CEO of Teleste.

"It was an honour to support Teleste in this transaction, where the company moved from bilateral debt funding into a syndicated facilities agreement. We are grateful for Teleste's trust in Nordhaven", says Martti Purhonen, Partner at Nordhaven.

Nordhaven Finland continued as financial advisor to Sweden-based Confirma Software in its acquisitions of Nordic enterprise software companies serving the SME-market or the public sector.

The latest acquisition - of NetBaron - considerably strengthens Confirma's offering in cloud-based ERP solutions targeted at SME companies in Finland. Netbaron has 19 employees and about 1000 customers.

Confirma Software was founded in 2019 by Abry Partners, a US-based private equity fund. With the acquisition of NetBaron, Confirma Software has proforma LTM revenue of more than €80 million and more than 500 employees.

"Nordhaven's effort was once again of the highest quality and enabled us to complete the transaction efficiently. Their contacts and knowledge of the Nordic software sector has proved instrumental for us in realizing our growth strategy," says Jarle Mørk, CEO of Confirma Software.

"We have been honoured to serve as financial advisor for Confirma since the platform was established five years ago, and are truly impressed by the success of both Confirma as a group and each company that Confirma has acquired," says Juha Raunio, Managing Partner of Nordhaven Finland.

Deal-volume in line with last 24 months, with positive trend in valuation

Nordhaven identified 26 software deals in the Nordic region during Q2 2024, down from 32 deals in Q2 2023, which was a strong quarter following weaker prior periods. We continue to observe robust interest from Nordic buyers in high-quality software companies, with activity levels close to previous quarters.

Nordhaven acted as financial advisor for Pihlajalinna Plc on its debt refinancing with a new unsecured EUR 170 million sustainability-linked loan.

Pihlajalinna Plc is one of the largest private social and healthcare services providers in Finland with EUR 720 million revenue in 2023. The Company's customers include private individuals, businesses, insurance companies and public sector entities such as wellbeing services counties. Pihlajalinna's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. For more company information, please visit www.pihlajalinna.fi.

The new syndicated loan facilities agreement Pihlajalinna signed on 18 June 2024 includes a EUR 110 million term loan for refinancing the Group’s existing indebtedness, and a revolving credit facility of EUR 60 million for general corporate purposes. The 3-year agreement with two one-year extension options includes the following sustainability targets: patient satisfaction, access to surgical treatment, and employee satisfaction.

"We are satisfied with the achieved loan terms. Nordhaven’s work from project planning to final execution was valuable, and it significantly reduced our own workload. Nordhaven demonstrated high level of reliability, professionalism and proactivity – we are grateful for their support", says Tarja Rantala, CFO of Pihlajalinna.

"It was an honour to support Pihlajalinna in this transaction. We are grateful for Pihlajalinna's continuing trust in Nordhaven. The transaction is yet another proof of our Debt & Capital Advisory and healthcare sector capabilities", says Martti Purhonen, Partner at Nordhaven.

 

For more information, please contact:

Martti Purhonen, martti.purhonen@nordhaven.com, +358 45 616 1551

Ville Vaskonen, ville.vaskonen@nordhaven.com, +358 50 356 9390

Nordhaven advised Inspirit365, the #1 Microsoft Dynamics partner in Norway, and its shareholders in the majority sale to Standout Capital. Designed as a winning platform in 2021, Inspirit365 has since inception delivered strong revenue growth and best-in-class financial metrics. Moving forward, Standout Capital will act as a strategic partner and support Inspirit365’s next growth journey. The founders will continue to own 40% of the company and remain instrumental in the future growth.

Nordhaven advised Inspirit365, the #1 Microsoft Dynamics partner in Norway, and its shareholders in the majority sale to Standout Capital. Designed as a winning platform in 2021, Inspirit365 has since inception delivered strong revenue growth and best-in-class financial metrics. Moving forward, Standout Capital will act as a strategic partner and support Inspirit365’s next growth journey. The founders will continue to own 40% of the company and remain instrumental in the future growth.

Inspirit365 offers Microsoft Dynamics 365 services to large and medium sized companies and employs more than 100 individuals with expertise within the ERP, CRM, Data Platform and Power Platform services connected to Microsoft Dynamics.

Inspirit365 deliver a broad spectrum of services, including consulting, project management, and technical development, providing comprehensive support for digital transformation. By focusing on client needs and ensuring close collaboration throughout projects, Inspirit365 aims to deliver tailored solutions that drive real business value.

Inspirit365 is a 100% Microsoft focused partner and have been awarded Microsoft Business Application Partner in Norway. Focus on strong culture with high employee retention has been instrumental since inception, this will serve as a strong foundation to further scale the organisation going forward.

As part of the new partnership, Inspirit365 will offer employees the opportunity to invest in the company. Establishing an attractive investment program, with the opportunity to participate in the future value creation, has been one of the key rationales behind this transaction.

Morten Sælemyr, CEO of Inspirit365, comments: “We welcome Standout Capital as a partner to Inspirit365. Inspirit365 has in three years grown from 0 to 100 employees and become the leading Microsoft Dynamics player in Norway. We will continue to build upon what has made Inspirit365 so successful to date. We believe that Standout through its experience in supporting management teams building high-growth, profitable companies combined with experience from ownership in Microsoft focused companies such as Engage and Redeploy make them an excellent partner for Inspirit365 in the years to come. With the additional backing we are now in a position to accelerate our ambitions without compromising on the quality of operations and our cultural values based on transparency, curiosity and loyalty.”

Carl Johan Kask, Standout Capital, comments: “The founders of Inspirit365 have since 2021 built a leading Dynamics player in Norway. We are truly impressed by what they have achieved. Already from the outset, Morten and his team have invested in an organisation that can support rapid profitable growth. The quality and competence of the people, the customer driven growth and expansion of services are all very impressive. Standout has a history of investing in leading players in the Microsoft ecosystem and we are excited and honored to partner with Norway’s leading Microsoft Dynamics partner. We look forward to working together with the company in their continued growth journey and share their ambition in growing the organisation, customer engagements and service offering over time.“

About Inspirit365
Inspirit365 is an agile specialist company that guides clients through demanding digital transformation journeys using Microsoft technology. Inspirit365's professional environment consists of leading experts in the field, boasting the highest proportion of certified employees in the country with interdisciplinary competence ranging from advisors, project managers, and consultants, to developers and technical specialists. The company has over 100 employees and has its headquarters in Oslo, along with offices in Bergen and Stavanger.

About Standout Capital
Standout Capital is a Stockholm-based private equity firm investing in growing Nordic tech companies. As an active owner, the mission is to partner with outstanding companies to help them grow and succeed. Standout Capital’s investment strategy is to support the digital transformation in business and society. The founders and investment team build on experience in entrepreneurship, investments, and finance.

Robust deal volume, especially supported by Nordic buyers.

Nordhaven has identified 28 software deals in the Nordic region in Q1 2024, slightly below Q4 2023 and +27% compared with Q1 2023. By numbers of deals, Denmark was the most active country followed by Sweden and Finland, respectively.

Nordhaven advised Møller Mobility Group in the acquisition of three Porsche dealers in Norway

Møller Bil strengthens its position in Norway by entering into an agreement to acquire three Porsche car dealers from Autozentrum Holding. The acquisition marks a significant milestone for Møller Bil and Møller Mobility Group and signals their ambition for significant presence in the sports- and luxury car segment in Norway. In 2022, the total sales were almost 1,600 NOKm for the three dealers.

Møller Bil becomes the owner of Porsche Center Asker & Bærum, Porsche Center Oslo and Porsche Center Gardermoen. These are central positions in Greater Oslo and represent an exciting opportunity for Møller Bil to expand the customer offering in the region. Møller Bil already owns and operates two Porsche dealers in Sweden.

‘We have great faith in Porsche as a brand and the acquisition strengthens our position in Greater Oslo,' says CEO Petter Hellman in Møller Mobility Group. He emphasizes the importance of cooperation and close relationships with the brands in the Volkswagen Group and looks forward to getting started with Porsche also in Norway.

‘This is a very exciting acquisition, and we see great potential in Porsche's brand and model program, which has a very special position in Norway. We are impressed by what today's owners have achieved together with the dealers and look forward to being part of the journey ahead. Møller Bil will build on the good work that has been done, while at the same time adding expertise where we are complementary,' says CEO Håvard Andersen in Møller Bil, adding: 'This gives us the opportunity to explore new target groups and further develop the business in a new segment - and not least contribute to creating more fantastic experiences for new and existing customers.’

From Porsche Norway's perspective, they look forward to cooperating with Møller Bil and Møller Mobility Group and benefiting from their large and professional organization. 'We look forward to continuing the dialogue with Møller Bil and Møller Mobility Group in the time to come, and we are positive about the opportunities we will now go on to discuss together with Møller and our well-established dealer network,' says Michael Hiller, CEO of Porsche Norway.

About Møller Mobility Group (MMG)

MMG is a family-owned group involved in the import, sale, servicing and financing of Volkswagen, Audi, ŠKODA and SEAT cars. The company is represented in Norway, Sweden and the Baltic States. Through the Hyre company, the Group is represented in a leading-edge environment that is actively working to shape the sustainable mobility solutions of the future. The company was founded by Harald Aars Møller in 1936. In 2022, the sales were 39.2 NOKb, the result was 2.649 NOKb before tax. MMG has approximately 4,100 employees.