FONDIA ACQUIRES A SWEDISH FORERUNNER IN THE LEGAL SECTOR
The largest non-bar law firm in the Nordic region, Fondia Plc, will acquire the entire share capital of the Swedish law firm Jansson & Norin AB (J&N) in order to boost its growth and strengthen its position on the Swedish market. With operations started in 2012, J&N is a successful growth company and like Fondia, is renowned for its innovative business models and business culture. According to preliminary data, J&N's turnover for the year 2017 was EUR 1.4 million and operating profit EUR -0.1 million. The negative result is caused by a one-off adjustment in the accounting for personnel expenses. Audited revenue for 2016 was EUR 1.1 million and operating profit EUR 0.1 million. On 31 December 2017, J&N had 21 employees in the Gothenburg and Stockholm offices. The transaction will be finalized on 31 January 2018 and the company's business will be reported as part of Fondia from 1 February 2018.
"Fondia is growing and internationalizing in line with our strategy. The continuous service model, Legal Department as a Service or LDaaS, that we have developed has also attracted much interest in Sweden, where we currently employ 5 own lawyers. We respond to the demand by increasing our growth rate in the substantially larger Swedish business law market and I am very glad that we will join forces with Jansson & Norin just now. J&N is a perfect companion for us, because our values and corporate culture are very similar and the aim of both companies is to renew the industry and make the purchase of legal services easy for our customers. We can immediately make use of our larger size to meet the demand for new types of services on the Swedish market. The processes and tools which we have developed, such as MyFondia, bring efficiency to our united Swedish teams. I wish all of J&N's employees warmly welcome to Fondia", comments Salla Vainio, CEO of Fondia.
"In the last five years, Jansson & Norin's turnover has grown by an average of 33% per annum and our operating profit averaged 9% of the turnover. I am excited about the fact that J&N will become an important part of our role model Fondia’s operations. Both our customers and our staff will be in good hands", says J&N's major shareholder Johan Norin.
With the acquisition, J&N's entire share capital will be transferred to Fondia's ownership and the businesses will be merged in 2018 under the Fondia brand. The agreed purchase price is approximately EUR 1.6 million. Approximately EUR 1.3 million will be paid in cash and approximately EUR 0.3 million in shares in Fondia Plc when the transaction is completed. The terms of the transaction include an earn-out scheme with a maximum additional payment of approxinmately EUR 0.7 million, tied to the development of Fondia's merged Swedish unit’s turnover for the next two years. The amount will be paid in installments after the financial close for 2018 and 2019 and any earn-out will be paid as a combination of shares and cash. The cash contributions related to the purchase price are funded from Fondia's cash assets. The acquisition supports Fondia's turnover growth goals and it is estimated that Fondia’s Swedish operations will have a positive impact on Fondia’s earnings per share in 2019 and onwards. The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on the company's medium-term relative profitability and dividend policy.
Press and analyst meeting
Fondia is organizing a press conference for media representatives and analysts regarding the acquisition today, 22 January 2018 at 13:00 in the Fondia Headquarters at Lönnrotinkatu 5, Helsinki.
In Helsinki 22.1.2018
The Board of Directors of Fondia Oyj
For more information:
CEO Salla Vainio
tel. 020 7205 429
Approved Adviser Alexander Corporate Finance Oy
tel. 050 520 4098
Fondia in brief
Fondia is a full-service business law firm that provides new types of service models and takes advantage of digital technologies. Fondia operates in Finland, Sweden and Estonia and the Group's turnover in 2016 was approximately EUR 14.9 million. Fondia employs over 100 people.
Jansson & Norin in brief
Jansson & Norin is a business law adviser in Gothenburg and Stockholm, a leading player in startup and growth companies and a well-known innovative player in the small and medium-sized business. J&N's preliminary turnover in 2017 was EUR 1.4 million and it employed 21 people at the end of the 2017.
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
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