CapMan acquires €33.5m minority stake in Norvestia

As a result of the transaction, Norvestia will become an associated company of CapMan. The company's new owner cited growth opportunities within Norvestia's private equity and minority investment activities as a driver for the acquisition.

The deal saw CapMan immediately buy 21.7% of Norvestia's shares, in addition to the rights to acquire a further 7% in October at a predetermined price. The GP would be obliged to purchase these shares if requested to do so by Kaupthing.

Norvestia's shares were purchased at €10.09 apiece, and CapMan's current stake gives the GP 14.2% of the voting rights.

Kaupthing's divestment is part of an asset realisation programme for the Icelandic bank, which is currently under management by a governmental winding-up committee after the bank went under as a result of the global financial crisis.

CapMan and Kaupthing have said they plan to request for Norvestia's A and B share structure to be combined, in order to form a single share class carrying the same number of votes per share, at an extraordinary general meeting. Currently, A shares count for 10 votes per share compared to one vote per B share.

In addition, CapMan will nominate five of its staff to become board members, with CEO Heikki Westerlund to be nominated as new chairman.

The deal will be financed by €45m in long-term bank debt, and transaction fees amounted to around €1m in total.

Norvestia is CapMan's second investment of 2015, after its February acquisition of Russian education business Maximum Education.

Norvestia is a listed Finnish investment company, founded in 1984, which listed on the Helsinki stock exchange the following year.

Kaupthing acquired a third of Norvestia's shares in 2003 and was the largest shareholder until CapMan's acquisition.

The company invests mainly in Nordic stocks, equity and hedge funds, bonds, currency and unlisted assets.

Based in Helsinki, Norvestia employs six people and posted a result before tax of €5.7m in 2014, with an earnings per share figure of €0.35.

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• Topics
• Nordics
• GPs
• CapMan
• Finland
• Iceland