IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

The Finnish market saw a number of large banking transactions, either domestically from regional banks to local companies, or as part of large European or regional deals with Finnish involvement.

Among the large financings were a €550 million loan to Sponda, a €700 million revolving loan for Stora Enso and a €500 million revolving facility to Metso. A number of large deals were handled by the leading local firms, such as the €1 billion of financing for Pandox's acquisition of the Norgani Hotels chain and a €2 billion debt-for-equity transaction as part of the Europe-wide restructuring of European Directories Group.

The real estate sector was also relatively active as was the mining sector, with players such as the Talvivaara Mining Company which needed €320 million in project financing for a new nickel mine.

"There was some lack of international financing a couple of years back, but they are back and you do see them on the syndicates, but not quite in the number that there were before," says one partner. "Looking at the market it has stabilised since last autumn and pricing has increased substantially, corporates are back in the market and banks are competing on the deals with an increased interest in leveraged deals. Banks are quite hungry and interested in doing deals; start of 2011 was more active than 2010," says another.

There has, on the other hand, been quite a few refinancings and restructurings, more than were expected for some partners and there are still market jitters. "The market is very touchy," says a lawyer, "sometimes deals move on, sometimes they come to a halt, sometimes they are suspended for six months... very unpredictable. Everyone is super cautious on the lender and borrower side, people go cold very easily".

Castrén is now the biggest firm in Finland and its size is a big draw for clients. "We are very pleased with their expertise, they have so many different lawyers with expertise on different matters and the services they provide are excellent," says one client. As well as size, clients also appreciate the firm's network. One in particular praised its ability to handle cross-border projects involving Finland and Russia.

The firm is especially strong on the lenders' side and has a number of respected banking partners and, says a peer, "some very good young associates". The firm also recently hired a London-based associate from Clyde & Co, Maria Landtman, and a new partner to its Moscow office.

There is some patchy feedback from competitors, who argue the firm is slightly less visible than it used to be and at times "less smooth" in transactions. Nevertheless, the firm landed the lead role advising regional banks Nordea, Phojola, Sampo, Skandinaviska Enskilda, Swedbank and DnB NOR, on a €550 million loan to Sponda; one of the market's largest loans.

Elsewhere, the firm represented Nordea Bank Finland on a €200 million acquisition of real estate loans from Eurohypo and acted for Pohjola, Nordea and Sampo Bank on the €75 million financial restructuring for Glaston Corporation. Complicating the deal was the company's networks in various countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

On a borrower deal, the firm advised Technopolis on a €31.6 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the development of a technology centre in St Petersburg.

Hannes has been diverting considerable resources into new offices in Stockholm and Copenhagen recently and its Helsinki team is now smaller in numbers relative to rivals than it used be. Added to this, some competitors comment that within banking the firm is not as prominent on the lender side (or as counsel to the banks) as some others.

However, it continues to be a very large and well established firm and its new offices give it regional, rather than just national, clout. Volume may have gone down (a tough call considering the market), but clients do not see any change in quality.

"It is our top firm for finance," says a regular client of a number of firms: "We are very comfortable with them and our cooperation has been going for many years." Markus Bemer, Henrik Mattson and Matti Engelberg are well recognised leaders in the field, with Bremer, the newest of the three partners, being described by peers as "a very bright individual and good to work with". Engelberg continues to be one of the market's key individuals for all types of lending and syndicated lending.

Mattson recently advised the lenders on a €700 million revolving facility agreement to Stora Enso and Bremer acted for ING Real Estate Nordics on a €62 million refinancing agreement for Merikortteli and Brondankulma properties.

On the borrower side, Engelberg advised Metso Corporation, one of Finland's top blue-chips, on a €500 million multicurrency revolving facility from a large group of banks including Commerzbank, Citibank, Danske Bank, Nordea Bank and Pohjola Bank. The firm also advised Eiendomsspar on the purchase and refinancing of the Norgani Hotels hotel chain, Lemminkäinen on a €385 million refinancing and BlackRock on financing and regulatory matters.

As with Hannes, Roschier has poured resources into its Swedish office and somewhat cut numbers in Helsinki relative to its previous stature. However there is no doubt over its position. "Personally I hold Roschier in great esteem and would very much prefer to use them than any of the others. They are professional, well organised, pragmatic and always want to reach a viable solution," says a peer.

Gunnar Westerlund is widely recognised as the top finance lawyer. "Westerlund is known as the sort of top guy for banking in Finland and he also has a very good team of associates," says a client.

The firm won roles on most of the big market transactions. It advised Terveystalo Healthcare on €210 million of undistressed refinancing and new financing from Nordea Bank Finland, having a few days earlier in January 2011 helped the Nordea close a deal for €250 million loan (term loan and revolving facility) with a five year maturity to Karl Fazer.

Senior associate Sini Soini assisted the Stockholm office to advise 3i Group on financing for its acquisition of OneMed Group from private equity firm CapMan. Six months earlier the firm had helped CapMan on the financing of its acquisition of the Finland based Esperi Care.

In the fourth quarter of 2010 Westerlund and team acted as local counsel on DnB NOR Bank's €1 billion financing for the acquisition by Pandox, a Swedish-based hotel company, of Norgani Hotels. The purchase included a conference centre in Helsinki and 73 hotels through Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Borenius grew by two associates from 2010-11 and has been one of the main beneficiaries of Roschier's and Hannes' launches in Stockholm according to commentators, receiving referrals from Swedish firms who used to refer to the top two players.

The firm's leading partner is Andrei Aganimov, while Jari Vikiö, Ari Kaarakainen and Berndt Pettersson appear regularly on banking deals. It has a good reputation among fund managers and private equity houses and has of late acted on some large real estate financings for banks.

According to a peer: "Aganimov was at Nordea Bank from 1993 and is very good, pragmatic, knows what banks expect in terms of details and doesn't negotiate matters that are irrelevant." Another peer also rates Aganimov and says the team as a whole produces "very good quality".

The firm advised Nordea on a secured multicurrency revolving facility for Talvivaara Mining Company and on a term loan, credit and acquisition financing for Terveystalo Healthcare.

It acted alongside Clifford Chance for the coordinating committee representing the lenders on a large refinancing and restructuring process for Myllykoski, which ended in the acquisition of Myllykoski and Rhein Papier by UPM Kymmene. The firm was also engaged by Merchant Banking and Skandinaviska Enskilda Bank on a revolving facility to Cargotec Corporation.

On the borrower side, the firm advised Eltel Group and its owner 3i Group on a refinancing and mezzanine facility from BNP Paribas and private equity house CapMan on acquisition financing for is purchase of Pohjolan Design-Talo (plus subsidiaries) from Rautaruukki.

White & Case moves up a tier in response to consistently high feedback from clients and competitors. The firm scores not on volume but on the high end nature of the deals it handles. Much of the financing the firm does is related either to transactions or restructuring work.

Timo Airisto comes well recommended. "He is very good and very competent," says a peer, while one client was impressed by Tanja Törnkvist. "The firm has an integrated structure, with breadth and depth and good lawyers," says a peer.

Most of Waselius & Wist's banking work is done for lenders in large multi-jurisdictional financings. It is known as a "very high quality" boutique firm, say peers and listed by Linklaters as the regulatory contact in Finland under its Blue Flag system, giving it possibly the largest market share in regulatory. The team is well versed in meeting international standards, most notably former London-based lawyer Lauri Peltola.

"We do banking stuff with them, they are always our first choice for anything with a Finnish element - very responsive, very commercial, fees were sensible, they don't upset anyone," says one client. According to another: "Peltola was hands on, responsive [and] turned things around quickly; she doesn't make points for the sake of it." The client adds that the firm is their "first choice, we've done a run of things with them they have a good range in profile".

Peltola often works with associate Timo Lehtimäki and the pair advised the senior lenders on the Finnish aspects of a €2 billion debt-for-equity swap in the restructuring of European Directories Group, and the senior lenders on the restructuring of Paroc Group's €750 million debt. In the latter case, the lenders took an 87.5% equity share in Paroc to reduce the debt.

The firm acted for a syndicate of banks on a €2.6 billion refinancing of Phoenix Pharmahandel (Tamro, in Finland) and advised a syndicate, including Handelsbanken, Nordea Bank Finland and Pohjola Bank, on a €200 million loan to Finnair. On a borrower deal, Waselius & Wist was engaged by Triton to advise on financing for its acquisition of Ovako's bar, tube and ring businesses.

Bird & Bird is best known in the corporate arena and technology sector, although it was also been active in 2011 on real estate financings. In 2010 the firm broadened its banking and finance expertise with the hire of Mikko Luukkonen, a senior associate from White & Case, who will support the current finance partners Jori Taipale and Jaakko Hietala.

In recent work, the firm advised on the restructuring of the financing of Finndomo, it acted for Nordic Real Estate Partners on a refinancing of real estate transactions and assisted Aberdeen Property Investors on the financing of a large real estate portfolio.

Dittmar & Indrenius scores highly for its project finance practice and presence on international deals. Peers note that the finance practice, led by Juha-Pekka Mutanen, has strong connections with Swedish clients. The team also relies on support from leading corporate lawyer Anders Carlberg.

The banking team was considerably strengthened in 2011, hiring associate Robin Nordblad from Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson (and before that Goldman Sachs), and in September 2011, former Hannes Snellman head of banking Kari Lautjärvi, who joins from his own boutique firm. The hires more than make up for the loss of senior associate Mika Lehtimäki to Swedish start-up Magnusson.

In highlight deals, the firm advised BNP Paribas, Standard Bank and others on the Finnish aspects of a project financing the construction of the Kevitsa nickel mine in Sodankylä by First Quantum Minerals, and Société Générale and others on a $320 million project financing to mining company Talvivaara. The latter deal is for the construction of one of the largest nickel mines in Europe.

The firm also assisted Rexel on the Finnish legal aspects of a refinancing related to a €750 million issuance of senior notes and €1.7 billion revolving credit facility. Other deals saw the firm advise Russian Railways on a €120 million financing for a high-speed train and private equity house Ratos on financing of its acquisition of Finnkino.

Krogerus has completed a shake-up in its banking department. Traditionally known as a national oriented practice (with offices all over Finland), the firm hired the very international banking partner Kimmo Mettälä from legacy LMR in March 2011. Mettälä is one of the foremost banking lawyers in Finland for high-end cross-border work.

The firm also hired Raimo Seppälä, another well-known banking lawyer from LMR who offers international and regional expertise. Meanwhile Päivi Toivari, who has a strong and growing reputation, has been at the forefront of the firm's current reputation. Commentators agree that if it can reconcile the national and cross-border it may well become a leading force.

But there are doubts. "The arrival of Mettälä will strengthen them, but I am not yet sure because [Krogerus] is much more of a national firm with offices around the country and Mettälä has good contacts in London," says a peer, "so maybe it is too early to [tell] if they will successfully integrate the new practitioners and international contacts".

Some peers contend that the firm deserves more recognition simply for the presence of Toivari: "Toivari is a good financing lawyer and the firm is stable, works very much with certain banks and is a much more consistent player in transactions".

On recent lender work, the firm advised Nordea Bank Finland, Svenska Handelsbanken, Pohjola Bank and Sampo Bank on a €100 million refinancing for Nokia Tyres and a syndicate of banks on the refinancing of Wihuri's €140 million credit line. On the other side, the firm assisted Intera Equity Partners for financing of its acquisition of Trafotek and Sveafastigheter on its financing for the acquisition of Pomiratum.