Fast-growing Finnish company strengthens its shareholder base - EAB Private Equity, part of Evli, and co-investors make over EUR 20 million equity investment in Elcoline

Founded in Varkaus in 2002, Elcoline is a leading Nordic entrepreneur-driven company providing industrial maintenance services and the implementation of demanding technical projects. Elcoline employs more than 600 industrial service professionals in Finland and Sweden and had a pro forma revenue of EUR 67 million in 2022. Majority of its revenue is from continuous services, which creates a solid foundation for profitable growth. Elcoline's customer base includes well-known international industrial companies such as ABB, Andritz, Meyer, Outokumpu, Parmaco and SSAB.

"In recent years, Elcoline has grown at a compound annual growth rate of more than 40%, and strong growth is expected to continue also in the future. Our growth is based on long-term customer relationships with market leaders in various industries, a broad range of services and experienced personnel. We want to be close to our customers and thus have a solid presence in important industrial locations in Finland and, with the acquisition we made last year, also increasingly in Sweden," says Leif Backman, CEO of Elcoline.

Investment will accelerate the company's growth to a size of over EUR 200 million

The total investment in Elcoline is more than EUR 20 million, which will be used to continue the company's acquisition-driven growth story and reorganise the current ownership structure. The founders of Elcoline, Jere Räisänen and Jouko Juvonen, as well as the company's management and other key personnel, will remain significant shareholders after the investment.

"Since the company was founded, Elcoline has developed its operations with entrepreneurial agility and service culture in mind. Alongside strong organic growth, we have determinedly implemented a growth strategy focused on acquisitions, which will be further accelerated through the capital injection we will now receive. We are pleased that the company's ownership base will be
strengthened by the addition of major domestic investors and we will have experienced professionals as partners to help us achieve our ambitious goals," says Jere Räisänen, Chairman of the Board at Elcoline.

International expansion opens up new growth opportunities for the company. The market for industrial maintenance services, worth more than EUR 10 billion, offers good growth prospects for an operator like Elcoline in Finland and Sweden. Due to its extensive customer portfolio, the company operates in a market that’s significantly broader than this.

"As a new active owner, we will support Elcoline’s plans for growth in the Nordic region. The company is well positioned to benefit from the prevailing market trends, such as industrial companies' accelerating investments in more sustainable production, the focus on larger service offerings and the outsourcing of maintenance operations. Customer demands and the fragmentation of the industry are driving consolidation, which we want to be part of," says Kalle Kekkonen, managing partner at EAB Private Equity.

Green transition increases the attractiveness of the target company

EAB Private Equity aims to make significant minority investments in growth companies with excellent return potential and whose businesses promote responsibility and sustainable development. In the past, the EAB Private Equity team has made similar investments in Proventia, Solnet Green Energy and Bladefence.

A large part of Elcoline's revenue comes from the energy and infrastructure sectors. The company is helping to ensure the security of energy supply and a smooth transition to new low-carbon energy systems and production. In addition, Elcoline has a strong position in energy-intensive sectors such as mining and steel.

"The planned investments in sustainable development for the coming years are large. We see significant potential for Elcoline to support its customers towards lower emissions and more energy efficient production," Kekkonen adds.

"Customers need competent external partners to enable the implementation and maintenance of large-scale change processes. Even early on during the design phase of plants and the introduction of new technologies, we can show how to reduce material and energy waste and cut emissions by optimising production and using proactive maintenance measures," Backman concludes.

The investment is subject to the approval of the competition authority and the aim is to complete the transaction as soon as possible. 

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Elcoline Group

Elcoline is a Nordic growth company that specializes in industrial maintenance and service. Our services include total and partial maintenance outsourcing, maintenance service contracts and demanding installation projects. Our wide range of services covers mechanical installations, electrical, automation and instrumentation work, as well as pipeline installations and welding, as well as machine shop manufacturing of parts for the energy industry. Our customers operate e.g. in the steel, marine, energy, defense, chemical, industrial construction and mining industries. By producing high-quality and safe services, we ensure the reliability of our customers' production.

Elcoline was founded in 2002 and employs around 600 industry professionals. The company operates in Finland and Sweden as well as in service contract locations around the world. Our goal is to grow profitably and be the most valued partner in our industry for our customers and the most desired employer for our employees. More information at www.elcoline.fi.

Evli Plc

We see wealth as an engine to drive progress. We draw on our heritage, broad expertise and Nordic values to grow and manage wealth for institutions, corporations and private persons in a responsible way.

We are the best fund house in the Nordics1 and the leading asset manager in Finland2 offering a broad range of services including mutual funds, asset management and capital markets services, alternative investment products, equity research, share plan design and administration as well as Corporate Finance services. Responsible investing is integrated in every investment decision and our expertise is widely acknowledged by our clients. Evli has Finland's best expertise in responsible investment3.

Evli Group employs around 300 professionals and Evli has a total of EUR 16.7 billion in client assets under management (net 3/2023). Evli Plc’s B shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd.

1 Lipper Fund Awards 2023.
2 Morningstar Awards 2023 (c). Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Awarded to Evli for the Best Fund House in Finland. Kantar Prospera External Asset Management Finland 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021. Kantar Prospera Private Banking 2019, 2020 Finland.
3 SFR Scandinavian Financial Research Institutional Investment Services Finland 2021, 2022.

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company

Elo is a Finnish pension insurance company. We manage our customers’ pension funds profitably, securely and responsibly. The pension funds are carefully diversified – internationally and into different asset classes. They secure pensions and set a foundation for sustainable profits decades into the future. Elo’s investment assets were EUR 28 billion at the end of 2022. www.elo.fi

Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd)
Tesi wants to raise Finland to the forefront of transformative economic growth. We develop the market, and work for the success of Finnish growth companies. We invest in private equity and venture capital funds, and also directly in growth companies. We provide long-running support, market insights, patient capital, and skilled ownership. tesi.fi | Twitter | LinkedIn | Newsletter

Arvo Sijoitusosuuskunta

Arvo Sijoitusosuuskunta is a regional investment cooperative that creates added value and business opportunities for its stakeholders. Arvo contributes to regional well-being in two ways: by allocating substantial part of its investments in the Northern and Central Ostrobothnia, and by returning most of the profits to the owners.

Arvo is a long-term investor investing from its own balance sheet. The target of the investment operations is to achieve an annual return in accordance with the investment strategy and to steadily increase ownership value. Arvo Sijoitusosuuskunta is owned by its approximately 24,000 members, who have a total of 820,530 shares. The cooperative was founded in 1914.