EQT buys Musti ja Mirri from Vaaka

Vaaka's exit comes four years after it acquired Musti ja Mirri in a management buyout, and will see ownership transferred to EQT's €1.1bn EQT Mid Market Fund. In addition to the Finnish GP, sellers included Musti ja Mirri's management team and private owners.

Investments made through EQT Mid Market Fund are generally in the €80-150m bracket, though none have exceeded around €100m so far, according to unquote" data.

Musti ja Mirri CEO Mika Sutinen said the new backers would help lead the company's growth and expansion in the Nordic region, where it operates in Finland and Sweden.

Previous funding
Vaaka acquired Musti ja Mirri in a management buy-in in June 2010, which saw the GP buy out owner Matti Varpula, and Mika Sutinen take over as CEO.

Company
Musti ja Mirri is a Finnish pet speciality retailer with 127 shops across Finland and Sweden selling pet supplies, accessories and food. It trades as Musti ja Mirri in Finland and Grizzly Zoo in Sweden, having acquired the latter chain of shops in 2012.

Founded in 1988 in Tammerfors, Finland, the company had revenues of €81m in the year to September 2014.

Headquartered in Vantaa, Musti ja Mirri employs 500 people.

People
Juha Peltola is the managing partner at Vaaka, working with partner Panu Vuorela. Mika Sutinen is the CEO of Musti ja Mirri.

Advisors
Company – Rothschild (Corporate finance); Hannes Snellman (Legal); Roland Berger Strategy Consultants (Commercial due diligence); KPMG (Financial due diligence).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Nordics
• Consumer
• Finland
• EQT
• Vaaka Partners Ltd (Formerly Pohjola)
• buy-in