Livonia Partners, the pan-Baltic private equity firm, has agreed to acquire Hortes, the leading retail brand for home and gardening products in Estonia. Livonia will support the company in realising its strong regional growth potential.
“Retail is one of the strongest industries in Estonia, consistently outperforming GDP, and Hortes is one of Estonia’s most successful retail brands. Its concept is unique and profitability is growing,” says Rain Lõhmus, a founding partner at Livonia. “We’re proud to team up with an experienced management team to further expand the business.”
The Hortes investment is the second for Livonia Partners Fund I, whose strategy is to invest in medium-sized companies in the Baltics that are well-managed and growing. With its first investment, in February this year, the fund acquired the sauna and thermo-treated wood products manufacturer Ha Serv in Estonia.
Hortes, established in 2004 by Trigon Capital and Finnish investors, runs the largest modern home and garden centre in Estonia. It successfully delivers an inspirational shopping experience in spacious glass-structure premises with a broad and unique selection of products. Recognition of the brand is high nationwide.
“The concept has proven itself and we are ready to scale,” says CEO Kristian Kalgan, who has led Hortes since 2007. “Livonia Partners’ investment and professional growth know-how will help us expand the business faster.”
Livonia will own 100 percent of the company, according to Kristîne Bçrziòa, another founding partner. “Hortes plans to expand regionally in Estonia and potentially to other countries. It’s one of the best retail concepts to come out of Estonia,” she says.
SORAINEN team consisting of partner Toomas Prangli, senior associates Piret Lappert and Piibe Lehtsaar, and associates Kai Vainola and Britta Pärk assisted the client throughout all the stages of the complex transaction, including in carrying out legal due diligence of the target, drafting transaction documents, assisting in negotiations and support in preparing the merger notice.
