Finnish private equity investors’ have named potential listing candidates from their portfolios – included are interesting companies of all sizes

Finnish Private Equity and Venture Capital Investors’ (PE investors) have named 44 startups and growth companies from their portfolios, which can potentially be listed in the next five years. The list includes established, large companies as well as newer technology companies.

PE investors are involved in developing a company in all its stages of growth – funding and growth partners can be found for both early-stage seed-companies and more established companies with a revenue of more than one hundred million.

”What these companies have in common is the desire and ability to grow. This list includes, for example, domestic market leaders and international growth rockets”, says Pia Santavirta, managing director of the Finnish Venture Capital Association.

A total of 44 potential listing candidates rose to the list of PE investors. Majority of the named companies were ICT-companies or products and services targeted to businesses.

This year’s list of potential listing candidates has companies from all stages of growth. The revenue category of less than five million includes, among others, Happeo which offers digital work environments and raised a funding round of 25 million during summer. The over one hundred million category includes, for example, small house manufacturer Den Finland which exceeded its sales target last year.

Although the uncertainty of the world reflects on the economy, Juhana Kallio, partner and CEO of private equity company Intera Partners, consideres the stock market a relevant direction in the growth path of Finnish companies.

”The stock market is still interesting, and we keep developing our companies’ listing strategies as usual”, he comments.

PE investors are always temporary owners whose goal is to grow the value of the companies they own. The ownership comes to an end usually after 3–7 years. Exits can be done in different ways – common means are, among others, selling to another PE investor, an industrial acquisition or stock market listing.

Half of the companies listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange are backed up by a PE investor

Approximately half of the companies listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange between 2015–2021 have a PE investor behind them. 2021 was a record-breaking year for IPOs. Also, PE investors were visible in the listings since five out of the eight companies that entered the main list had a PE investor in the background.

“A good example on company growth is Puuilo, which was listed last year. The company started as a family business and with the help of two PE investors, Sentica and Adelis Equity Partners, it grew and was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange”, tells Santavirta.

The rise of Finnish material technology was apparent in last year’s listings. Spinnova, which is reforming the textile industry, and Betolar, which builds a more ecological alternative for concrete, were both listed on the Nasdaq First North list. Both companies are supported by a PE investor: Spinnova by Maki.vc and Betolar by Voima ventures.

This year’s listing pace is more moderate: four companies have entered the main list throughout different mergers and acquisitions and five new companies have been listed on the Nasdaq First North growth market. Among companies listed on the First North is Nordic Lights that is backed up by Sponsor Capital.

“Despite the challenging market situation, there are several active listing projects in Finland waiting for the suitable time. Companies, advisors and investors have found Nasdaq Nordic First North Growth Market, which is shown by its rise to the number one ranking in the statistics among European Growth Markets, overtaking London’s AIM, both in terms of amount of capital raised and the number of listings. It is especially pleasing to see the increased interest of retail investors in the new listed companies and their active participation on the trading on the platform,” says Henrik Husman, President of Nasdaq Helsinki.

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More information:

Finnish Venture Capital Association
Managing director Pia Santavirta
pia.santavirta@fvca.fi
+358 40 546 7749

Nasdaq Helsinki
President Henrik Husman
henrik.husman@nasdaq.com
09 6166 7208

Intera Partners
Managing partner Juhana Kallio
juhana.kallio@interapartners.fi
+358 40 526 6629

Finnish Venture Capital Association (FVCA) is the industry body and public policy advocate for the venture capital and private equity investors in Finland. We represent a diverse group of investors, that build sustainable growth and whose target companies employ more than 70 000 employees.

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Listed below is the potential listing candidate in the left column and the investor who announced the candidate in the right column. Members of the FVCA have themselves announced companies owned by them to the list, which they could see listed between 2022–2026.

Company                                                                  Investor