Yesterday evening, the Baltic M&A and Private Equity Awards 2021 were presented for the most significant deals closed in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia last year. The virtual awards ceremony closed the eleventh Baltic M&A and Private Equity Forum.
The winning deals
Baltic M&A Deal of the Year – Boku’s acquisition of Fortumo
Boku, a leading global mobile payment and mobile identity company, acquired Estonian fintech Fortumo for a maximum consideration of USD 41 million. The acquisition brings together the two most profitable platforms in the DCB market.
Baltic Private Equity/Venture Capital Deal of the Year – Skeleton Technologies completes a EUR 41.3 million Series D financing round
Skeleton Technologies, the largest European manufacturer of ultracapacitor-based energy storage, which is based in Estonia, raised EUR 41.3 million in a Series D financing round. This was possibly the most important investment round in the clean technology market in Europe last year.
Outbound Deal from the Baltics – Nortal’s acquisition of Schütze in Germany
Estonia-based Nortal acquired Schütze, a Germany-based company providing strategic consulting and software development solutions. The merger strengthens Nortal’s expansion strategy in Europe, creating a transatlantic digital transformation powerhouse with 1,000 experts.
Special Award: Baltic Public Offering of the Year – Ignitis Group IPO
State-owned energy company Ignitis Group was listed on the Nasdaq Vilnius and London Stock Exchange, after implementing the largest ever IPO in the Baltic States – the process raised EUR 450 million.
Awards Committee
The winners were selected by an independent pan-Baltic committee:
- Jūratė Majauskienė, Association of Financial Analysts (Lithuania), Summa Advisers
- Jūratė Aželionytė, European Investment Fund
- Kadri Lindpere, Managing Director at the Estonian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association
- Prof. Enn Listra, TalTech School of Business and Governance
- Mārtiņš Bičevskis, Board Member at the Latvian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association
- Lauris Balga, Superia Corporate Finance
Awards criteria
The deals of the year are selected by a committee consisting of market professionals and experts. The committee selects the winning deals according to criteria such as the value of the deals and their strategic importance to the Baltic region; their level of complexity and innovation; their financing structure; and the involvement of professionals from the region.
About the Baltic M&A and Private Equity Forum 2021
The annual Baltic M&A and Private Equity Forum was organised by Sorainen, in cooperation with the leading business publications in three countries – Verslo žinios (Lithuania), Dienas Bizness (Latvia) and Äripäev (Estonia) – and Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian venture capital associations. Every year, the forum gathers over 200 participants from private equity, venture capital funds and investment banking, consultants, lawyers, and business executives and owners from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. This year, the forum was held virtually on 26 May.
