Norvestia - Company Announcement

NORVESTIA’S ASSOCIATED COMPANY SELLS RAPIDLY GROWING TOUHULA VARHAISKASVATUS TO EQT

Helsinki, Finland, 2016-03-10 08:30 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Norvestia Oyj      
          Stock Exchange Release            10 March 2016 at 9:30 

NORVESTIA’S ASSOCIATED COMPANY SELLS RAPIDLY GROWING TOUHULA VARHAISKASVATUS TO
EQT 

Coronaria Hoitoketju, the majority shareholder of Touhula Varhaiskasvatus, has
agreed on a transaction that upon closing will make EQT Mid Market fund the
majority shareholder of Touhula. Coronaria Hoitoketju is part of Norvestia’s
Growth Equity portfolio, and it has been an excellent investment for Norvestia.
Norvestia’s initial investment in the company was about EUR 3 million. With the
transaction Coronaria Hoitoketju’s Amended Net Asset Value for Norvestia will
grow from EUR 17.6 million to about EUR 23 million. The transaction is subject
to approval by competition regulators. The closing of the transaction is
expected to occur during April. 

On 31 January 2016 Norvestia’s Amended Net Asset Value was EUR 168.2 million,
so the increase in value corresponds to about a 3% return on Amended Net Asset
Value. After the sale of Touhula, Coronaria will continue developing its core
businesses in the areas of specialty health care and elderly care. 

Norvestia’s close and active cooperation with Coronaria Hoitoketju’s Oulu-based
main owner Cor Group as well as the other owners of Touhula Varhaiskasvatus has
brought significant new business to Finland. Within approximately five years,
Touhula has developed into a leader in the private day care business. Norvestia
will continue as a minority investor in Touhula together with Cor Group and
Finnish Industry Investment as well as key persons of Touhula. 

”We have had the honor of being involved in building the growth story of
Touhula Varhaiskasvatus Oy right from the beginning. The entrance of EQT will
make long-term expansion and development of the business possible. We are happy
to continue working together,” says Juha Mikkola, Chairman of the Board of
Coronaria Hoitoketju Oy and Head of Growth Equity of Norvestia Oyj. 

TOUHULA IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING DOMESTIC SERVICE BUSINESSES

Finnish Touhula Varhaiskasvatus, which began its business in 2011, is one of
the country’s fastest growing service businesses. Touhula has over 80 day care
centers with over 1,100 employees. In the year 2015 alone 700 new employees
were hired. During 2015, Touhula Varhaiskasvatus opened 24 new day care centers
around Finland. Behind this growth is Touhula’s unique service concept, the
development of which has been backed by domestic investors. 

”The operations model of Touhula Varhaiskasvatus, the new facilities, and high
quality early childhood education services have received a very enthusiastic
welcome in over 30 locations already. The satisfied customers and the entrance
of EQT as a responsible and solid owner will enable both the expansion of the
business to new locations as well as offering new services in the future to
families as well as municipalities,” says CEO Jari Mäki-Runsas from Touhula
Varhaiskasvatus. 

The customer and working relationships of Touhula Varhaiskasvatus Oy will
continue as before. The resources of Touhula Varhaiskasvatus to develop quality
early childhood education and offer attractive employment to professionals in
the field will further strengthen with the expansion of the ownership base. 

Touhula complements the day care services provided by municipalities and
increases the freedom of choice for families. The majority of the business of
Touhula Varhaiskasvatus is based on the service voucher model, which makes
private day care equally accessible with municipal day care to all families. 

Norvestia Oyj

Juha Kasanen
Managing Director

DISTRIBUTION
Nasdaq Helsinki
Main media

More information:
Juha Mikkola
Chairman of Board, Coronaria Hoitoketju Oy
Head of Growth Equity, Norvestia Oyj
p. +358 50 590 0522

Jari Mäki-Runsas
CEO, Touhula Varhaiskasvatus Oy
p. +358 40 355 9277

Norvestia Oyj is a Finnish publicly listed investment company. Norvestia’s
twofold investment strategy consists of market investments and Growth Equity.
Growth Equity investments are made in Nordic unlisted companies,
growth-oriented listed companies and private equity funds. The target of
Norvestia’s Growth Equity investment activities is to be an active investor
together with other main owners, and increase the value of the target company.
Investments are long-term and no strict time limits are set for exits. In
addition to Coronaria Hoitoketju, Norvestia’s Growth Equity portfolio consists
of Aste Helsinki, Fluido, Idean Enterprises and Polystar Instruments. In
addition, the company has investments in private equity funds. www.norvestia.fi 

Coronaria Hoitoketju Oy is one of the largest Finnish health and wellness
services providers with over 1,500 professionals. These services stretch from
various social services to basic and specialist health care. They also include
rehabilitation, domestic care services, and care homes for customers with
various different support needs. Coronaria generates health and promotes
wellness across Finland. www.coronaria.fi 

Touhula Varhaiskasvatus Oy is a Finnish day care service provider. At Touhula
Day Cares exercise is included in the daily life of the center, and not only as
separate periods of time. Touhula Day Care Centers offer high-quality and
stimulating early childhood and preschool education for active children in a
comfortable day care environment. The operations of Touhula Day Care Centers
have been issued the ISO 9001:2008 certificate. Aarresaari Kindergartens is an
alternative form of day care specialized in exercise, music education and
adventures. In each Aarresaari Kindergarten, a stimulating and nautical-themed
environment for the children’s adventures has been created. www.touhula.fi,
www.aarresaari.fi