IK2000 Fund to sell Suomen Lähikauppa Oy to Triton III

The IK2000 Fund managed by IK Investment Partners (“IK”), Wihuri Oy and Osuuskunta Tradeka-yhtymä have signed an agreement to sell Suomen Lähikauppa, Finland’s leading neighbourhood store chain and the third largest daily goods retailer in the country, to Triton III. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Suomen Lähikauppa Oy operates Siwa and Valintatalo branded neighbourhood store chains. In 2011, the net sales of Suomen Lähikauppa were EUR 1 billion and it had a 7.8 % share of the of the Finnish grocery retail market. The current shareholder structure was established in August 2005 when the store chains of Tradeka Oy and Wihuri’s Ruokamarkkinat Oy were merged.

“The involvement of a new owner is a real acknowledgement of the achievements of Suomen Lähikauppa Oy. With the new owner, we will be able to further strengthen the role of the neighbourhood store segment and offer an even stronger alternative to consumers in the concentrated Finnish daily goods market. Most importantly, the Finnish consumers will benefit from increased competition”, says Ralf Holmlund, CEO of Suomen Lähikauppa Oy.

”We would like to thank the entire personnel of Suomen Lähikauppa for the cooperation during the last seven and a half years and in particular for the great development achieved in the last couple of years. The achieved results form a strong basis for the future development of the company and hence this is also a natural point in time for an ownership change. We wish the company and its personnel the very best for the future.” says Kristian Kemppinen, Partner at IK.

This transaction is subject to customary conditions including anti-trust approval.

For questions contact:

Suomen Lähikappa Oy
Ralf Holmlund, CEO
Phone: + 358 207 003200

IK Investment Partners
Kristian Kemppinen, Partner
Charlotte Laveson, Communications Manager
Phone: + 46 8 678 95 00