Photo: Talenom Group Oy
Through acquisitions made on 4 July 2013, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd and Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company became new minority shareholders in Finnish accounting company Talenom. In the transaction private equity funds managed by Teknoventure Oy, previously a minority shareholder, relinquished their stake in Talenom. Key personnel in Talenom Group will continue to be majority shareholders, and Harri Tahkola, MSc (Econ), will continue as CEO.
Talenom is growing rapidly throughout Finland and currently has offices in over 10 cities, including Helsinki, Tampere, Jyväskylä, Oulu and Rovaniemi. The company employs some 380 people and has over 4,000 customers.
“The accounting business is changing fundamentally, and this will continue over the next few years. SMEs are demanding more from accounting firms, in particular the electronic provision of financial administration, reporting and consultancy services. Our clear focus on this approach has fuelled our strong growth in recent years, and we anticipate growing demand for our services,” comments Talenom’s CEO Harri Tahkola. “This acquisition will strengthen our ability to enhance services for existing customers and to boost growth. Our path to expansion will be primarily through organic growth,” adds Harri Tahkola.
“Finnish Industry Investment wants to contribute to developing this strongly-growing service company and to financing investments in growth. Talenom is a pioneer in its field,” comments Antti Kummu, Director, Finnish Industry Investment.
“Teknoventure funds bought a stake in Talenom Group in 2009. The Group has now grown into a formidable and strongly competitive player in Finland. Talenom has highly skilled management and personnel plus a service concept and products that customers value. The business model has good growth potential, which the new ownership structure also supports,” points out Teknoventure Management Oy’s Managing Director Mauri Visuri.
Further information:
Harri Tahkola, Managing Director, Talenom Oy, tel: +358 40 058 5400, email: harri.tahkola@talenom.fi
Antti Kummu, Director, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd, tel: +358 50 432 4486, email: antti.kummu@industryinvestment.com
Elina Tourunen, Head of Private Equity and Debt, Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company, tel: +358 44 534 3047, email: elina.tourunen@etera.fi
Mauri Visuri, Managing Director, Teknoventure Management Oy, tel: +358 40 865 7946 email: mauri.visuri@noweco.fi
Talenom is a leading player in the Finnish market for accounting services. Talenom Group’s budgeted net sales for 2013 are MEUR 26. Talenom was founded in 1972. The company offers its customers innovative services covering scheduled and efficient financial administration routines, informative results monitoring, a centralised unit specialising in the taxation and finances of SMEs, and an electronic financial administration service, Talenom Online, that is extremely easy to use.
Finnish Industry Investment Ltd is a government-owned investment company that promotes Finnish business, employment and economic growth through venture capital and private equity investments. Finnish Industry Investment invests in private equity funds and also directly in growth companies together with private investors and on the same terms as them. The investments of Finnish Industry Investment amount to MEUR 720. Directly and through funds our portfolio currently comprises 510 companies employing some 50,000 people. For more information: www.industryinvestment.com
Etera is a mutual pension insurance company operating in the private sector. Its primary mission is to provide pension cover and secure well-being at work. Etera’s customers include companies, organisations, small business owners and private households. In 2012, Etera was responsible for safeguarding the pension funds of 206,000 employees and 6,400 entrepreneurs. Etera paid out roughly one billion euros to 147,000 pensioners in the same year. Etera manages pension funds totalling 5.7 billion euros. More about Etera at: www.etera.fi