Sorainen in cooperation with Brandl & Talos Attorneys at law (Vienna, Austria) advised investment company Novalpina, whose subsidiary made a public offer to acquire all the shares in listed Estonian gaming group Olympic Entertainment Group (OEG).
Sorainen advice was related to regulatory and compliance matters relevant to OEG’s gaming operations in the Baltic States.
The buyer, Odyssey Europe, has entered into an agreement with OEG agreeing to delist OEG from Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange following the offer, subject to a shareholder resolution, and intends subsequently to merge both companies.
The two founders and major shareholders of OEG, Armin Karu and Jaan Korpusov, have committed to tender their shares, representing 64 per cent of total OEG shares outstanding, in the voluntary takeover offer. The offer will be for 1.90 euros in cash per share. The cash offer is expected to be published on 4 April 2018 and values OEG at some 288 million euros.
Armin Karu, founder and chairman of the OEG supervisory board, was quoted on the company website, saying that Novalpina Capital’s vision for the business is impressive and he is convinced they are the right shareholder to take OEG forward.
OEG with its subsidiaries is the leading provider of gaming services in the Baltic States and also operates casinos in Slovakia, Italy and Malta. As of September 2017, the group had a total of 117 casinos and 28 betting points.
Novalpina Capital is a European private equity firm that focuses on making control equity investments in middle market companies operating throughout Europe. The firm was established in 2017 by three former senior executives of the European operations of leading global private equity investment firms.
The Sorainen team consisted of partner Pekka Puolakka and senior associate Cathriin Torop from Estonia, senior associate Valts Nerets from Latvia, senior associate Jurgita Nikita and associates Sidas Sokolovas and Urtė Armonaitė from Lithuania.
