Background
Ilkka-Yhtymä is a leading newspaper publisher in Western Finland. Over time Ilkka-Yhtymä has accumulated a significant investment portfolio, and Ilkka-Yhtymä’s board has decided it is time to sell some of the investments to strengthen the operating business and accelerate digitalization through acquisitions.
VALOR role and results
VALOR helped Ilkka-Yhtymä to ramp-up an acquisition program in which suitable targets are constantly monitored and prioritized. Additionally, VALOR advised Ilkka-Yhtymä in the acquisition of Liana Technologies, a B2C marketing technology SaaS company.
VALOR’s role was to manage the acquisition process, create valuations and a business plan for Liana and Ilkka-Yhtymä, arrange competitive bidding for the financial, juridical and technical due diligence, and ensure successful negotiations. As a result, Ilkka-Yhtymä’s digital business revenue share increased from around 10% to roughly 40%, transforming a traditional local newspaper business into a modern marketing technology company.