EVLI BANK PLC PRESS RELEASE DECEMBER 14, 2018 AT 11.00 AM
Evli Fund Management Company has agreed to acquire the entire business of Ab Kelonia Placering Oy. Kelonia Placering is an investment company specializing in private equity investment. The company is owned by Ab Kelonia Oy, which in turn is owned by nine major foundations. In the acquisition Kelonia Placering's assets under management of approximately EUR 210 million and the company's business operations are transferred to Evli.
With the acquisition, Evli's alternative investment products expertise and offering expands. Currently the offering of alternative investment products consists of three real estate funds, one fund investing in private equity funds and a fund investing in growth companies, which will be started in December 2018. Private equity funds are increasingly a part of both institutional and private investors' portfolios. With the private equity funds investors aim to improve the return potential of their investment portfolios and obtain new sources of return.
"I am very pleased that these nine leading foundations have chosen Evli as their partner in private equity investments. This acquisition complements our current offering and brings new expertise to Evli. We believe that with Kelonia Placering's strong know-how and skilled team we are able to grow and develop the private equity business to be an extensive part of Evli's comprehensive wealth management," says Evli Bank's CEO Maunu Lehtimäki.
"I'm excited to continue the development of the private equity business together with Evli. The aim is to increase the successful private equity investment activities Kelonia Placering has carried out since 2002. The investment operations are based on a globally well diversified private equity fund strategy. With the transaction, we will naturally continue to cooperate with Kelonia's owners, but we will also give new investors access to the growing equity fund market," says Kelonia Placering's CEO Ben Wärn.
The completion of the transaction requires the approval of the authorities and the fulfillment of the other terms of the transaction. The acquisition is expected to take place in the first half of 2019 and will be executed as a cash transaction.
For more information, please contact:
Maunu Lehtimäki, CEO, Evli Bank Plc, tel. +358 50 553 3000, maunu.lehtimaki@evli.com
Evli Fund Management Company Ltd is a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Evli Bank.
Evli Bank Plc
Evli is a bank specialized in investments that helps institutions, corporations and private persons increase their wealth. The product and service offering includes mutual funds, asset management and capital markets services, alternative investment products, equity research, administration of incentive programs and Corporate Finance services. The company also offers banking services that support clients' investment operations. Evli is the highest ranked and most used institutional asset manager in Finland*.
Evli has a total of EUR 12.3 billion in client assets under management (net 9/2018). The Evli Group's equity capital totals EUR 74.3 million and its BIS capital adequacy ratio is 15.3 percent (September 30, 2018). The company has more than 250 employees. Evli Bank Plc's B shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd.
*TNS Sifo Prospera External Asset Management Finland 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, SFR Scandinavian Financial Research Institutional Investment Services, Finland 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018.
Distribution: main media, www.evli.com