Sale of Foreship Group to Vaaka Partners Buyout Fund III
Private equity investor Vaaka Partners Buyout Fund III has become the majority shareholder of Foreship Group. Employee share ownership of Foreship after the transaction will be 40%.
Foreship Group, which has offices in Finland (4), Estonia (1) and the USA (2), specializes in ship design and engineering and has more than 100 full-time naval architects and marine engineering experts.
The Company is a market leader in cruise ship concept design, refit and ship life-cycle projects. The Company offers a comprehensive range of engineering solutions to cruise ship owners such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival Corporation, Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line.
Carner advised the shareholders of Foreship throughout the sale process. Vaaka Partners was selected as the best buyer candidate due to best valuation, reasonable SPA & SHA terms as well as common view on future expansion strategy.
Our main value creation components were:
- Creation of business plan together with the Deal Team
- Global buyer search using IMAP organization
- Organizing a competitive bidding phase
- Term sheet, including transaction SPA & SHA key terms, negotiations with multiple parties
- Due Diligence and execution support
The transaction is Carner’s fourth marine industry transaction during 2018-2019. Foreship transaction showcases our capabilities within the business services segment and Private Equity buyout structures involving multi-level re-investment to double holding company structure.
Vaaka Partners
Vaaka Partners is a Finnish Private Equity company specializing in mid-sized companies. Vaaka aims to build significant growth in its portfolio companies through internationalization, accelerated with acquisitive growth. Vaaka has a fund capital base of c. 500 M€ and its portfolio companies employ a total of 4,000 employees. Leading European pension funds are the principal investors in Vaaka funds.