Krogerus has been growing its team perhaps more than any other firm in the country and this has begun to reap rewards first and foremost among banks and other clients. "They have grown a lot and done a good job of it," notes a competitor....
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Krogerus has been growing its team perhaps more than any other firm in the country and this has begun to reap rewards first and foremost among banks and other clients. "They have grown a lot and done a good job of it," notes a competitor. Recent additions have seen senior associates and associates join from Nokia Siemens Networks, Waselius & Wist and Borenius.
Päivi Toivari is the key name at the firm and has become a go-to for many of the region's lenders, while Kimmo Mettälä, who joined in March 2011, has brought his more cross-border practice to the firm. The team is also specifically well reputed for its real estate expertise.
"They have been expanding a lot and have acquired many good lawyers," says a client, while a bank client adds that Toivari "knows very well the expectations, she is very pragmatic and it is very easy to work with her… we are very satisfied with Krogerus".
Deals
Päivi Toivari led on all the firm's major financing transactions. Among them, she and senior associate Teija Lius worked on the restructuring of Lamor Corporation's debt. The deal saw the pair advise Lamor opposite the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Finnfund, NEFCO, Aktia Bank and Finnvera as lenders, advised by Baker Botts. The case is highly significant considering the context of pressurised lending.
Similarly, Toivari acted for the lenders Nordea Bank, Citigroup, Danske Bank, Pohjola Bank and SEB on a €300 million refinancing of a credit facility to Kemira, again significant for the size of the refinancing, which was closed in June 2011.
The pair also acted for Polarica Holding (a portfolio company of Intera Equity Partners) on the acquisition financing to acquire Lapin Liha in July 2011, which deepened Lamor's commitment to the berry and game meat production market. Cederquist provided the Swedish law advice to Polarica while the firm faced Roschier and Hannes Snellman on the lender side.
Along with senior associate Ilkka Liljeroos, Toivari advised UBS Asset Management on a real estate acquisition financing.
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As in other practice areas Krogerus has been working hard to boost its capabilities and its presence in the market. In recent developments, the firm hired senior associate Tom Fagernäs from Waselius & Wist....
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As in other practice areas Krogerus has been working hard to boost its capabilities and its presence in the market. In recent developments, the firm hired senior associate Tom Fagernäs from Waselius & Wist.
Mårten Knuts gets good reviews from clients for his expertise in securities markets trading laws, insider trading knowledge and regulatory practice. "He is also very knowledgeable on legislation throughout the region especially in Sweden and Denmark, so he can help on the non-Finnish perspective," says a client, adding that "he knows the rules and follows incidences closely so he can describe everything through examples and is great for our dealing room guys as he knows their language".
Deals
The firm was very active on public M&A transactions, where it advised Aldata Solution and its board of directors on the public tender offer by Symphony Technology Group, one of only two public tender offers in 2011, and Peab on its acquisition of a minority stake in Nasdaq OMX Helsinki-listed Lemminkäinen Corporation. The former deal was significant as the transaction carried significant importance in the Finnish equity markets, while the latter transaction also contained various derivative structures. Both deals were valued around €40 million.
Mårten Knuts and Tom Fagernäs were also busy through the year advising the Republic of Iceland and the Special Prosecutor's Office on alleged market abuses relating to certain banks. The role is a high profile one and revolves around issues of propriety trading of shares in regulated markets from 2005-08.
Knuts was leasing another team to advise Handelsbanken on a reorganisation of its Nordic operations, which involves capital markets regulatory advice, and has also been providing capital markets regulatory advice to Brummer & Partners.
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Krogerus is challenging the top firms in M&A. The firm has two key weapons, one being its capacity and the other being the profile of leading partner Mika Ståhlberg....
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Krogerus is challenging the top firms in M&A. The firm has two key weapons, one being its capacity and the other being the profile of leading partner Mika Ståhlberg.
"Ståhlberg is one of the best M&A lawyers in Finland and apart from him they are one of the firms that have the most depth, so they can provide the rest of the team like partner Marcus Mueller, who is good to work with," says one client. A buy-side client says: "we are very pleased, we've done many of deals with them so that's a good sign, Ståhlberg is a good lawyer and has a good sense of business issues, very pragmatic". The client also recommends Mueller. A number of clients also praise real estate partner Samuli Palin.
The market generally considers that the firm is still in the consolidation phase: "we see them on a lot of real estate transactions but… they still have a way to go," says a competitor.
Deals
Ville Hailikari led a team to advise the Finnish state in its €650 million acquisition of a majority stake in Finngrid from Fortum and Pohjolan Voima in early 2011, the second largest M&A of 2011.
Kimmo Mettälä led a large team assisting Murate Manufacturing in the Finnish law aspects of its €195 million acquisition of VTI Technologies from EQT and also led the firm advising Helmet Business Mentors and the funds under its management on the sale of outstanding shares in Sisu Axles to Berkshire Hathaway company Marmon Group in December 2011.
Mika Ståhlberg was the most active partner leading deals. In mid-2012 he was leading a large team, which included Priha Pohjanpalo and counsel Kai Erlund, to advise Smartrac on the Finnish law aspects of its acquisition of UPM Kymmene Corporation's RFID business; a multi-jurisdictional transaction led by global counsel Freshfields.
Ståhlberg also advised Polarica and its majority shareholders Intera Partners on the acquisition of Lapin Liha and DNA and its majority shareholders on the €182 million exit by Sanoma, marking the largest domestic M&A deal in 2012. Other deals saw the firm act for Aldata Solution on the public tender offer by Symphony Technology Group, completed in September 2011, and Sponsor Capital on its sale of Lujapalvelut to Coor Service Management.
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