December 15, 2021
Translink Corporate Finance advised Auntie Solutions Oy and its shareholders to close EUR 10 million growth financing from Verdane to support the company’s internationalisation and product development.
Auntie provides unique low-threshold preventive psychological support services to corporate employees. The services are offered through conceptualised, quick-to-start service packages based on online sessions with Auntie mental well-being professionals. Auntie’s services are used by over 300 pioneering organisations, ranging from small expert companies to major global corporations and public-sector customers in the Nordics and Europe. Today, Auntie’s network includes more than 120 mental well-being professionals who provide services in 20 different languages. The company was founded in 2015 and has grown rapidly over the last two years at an annual rate of about 200%. Currently, the company employs around 40 people and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.
Enabled by the growth capital and support from the new partner, Auntie will continue to strengthen its position in Europe and boost its technology and service development. Following the transaction, the management and the company’s key employees will continue as significant shareholders in Auntie.
“The Auntie team has already helped thousands of employees to feel better. Together with Verdane we want to create a working life where mind care is commonplace, so that we can better cope in our daily lives. The funding will enable Auntie to help more people across Europe and will create purposeful job opportunities for mental well-being professionals.
Our goal is to gain a significant foothold on the international market and to support this, we are developing a unique digital platform for mental well-being services. Being based out of our homeland is a great asset to us, because if mental well-being is to be exported from any one country, it must be Finland – ranked the happiest nation in the world”, says Mervi Lamminen, the founder and CEO of Auntie.
“Auntie is an international pioneer in its field that has succeeded in developing a proven solution to a key challenge of our time – maintaining the well-being of the mind. We were impressed by the strength of the Auntie team’s commitment and their ability to provide a tech-enabled approach that effectively supports the personal service element. We look forward to drawing on our experience from over 45 software and 40 digital consumer investments to support Auntie’s international growth, improving mental well-being for many people”, comments Janne Holmia, Partner at Verdane.
Translink acted as a lead financial adviser to Auntie and its shareholders in the transaction.
Mervi Lamminen was very pleased to engage Translink to lead the process: “We had already heard positive feedback from Translink before starting the process, yet the team exceeded our expectations from day one. In the preparation phase, Translink prepared analyses and materials that had a great impact in developing both the company and management. In terms of customer service and professionalism, the team’s execution was in a class of its own. Moreover, working with the team was genuinely pleasant – even at the most challenging moments. The funding round was closed on schedule and larger than initially planned. When the time for new funding rounds comes, it’s hard to see that we would use any other financial advisor than Translink. Even though the funding round is successfully closed now, I still have nightmares about what would have happened if we had started the process without Translink Corporate Finance.”
“Auntie has an important mission in our everyday well-being, and it has been a pleasure to witness the great work Auntie has done so far. The team has built a world-class service and has all the capabilities to exceed their growth ambitions with the new partner. Auntie has grown at a rate of 200% without external financing – we can only imagine how the growth will be accelerated with the funding and support from Verdane. I am extremely glad and delighted that Mervi and the team trusted us in executing this project, which again met our internal objectives for high-quality financial advisory. We are thankful for seamless cooperation with the amazing Auntie team”, comments Tero Nummenpää, partner at Translink Corporate Finance Finland.
The announced transaction is another great reference for Translink Corporate Finance and illustrates the firm’s strong proficiency in financing advisory services. Previous successful deals include Norrhydro Group’s IPO, Nitor’s ownership expansion with Finnish institutional investors, and Nordic ID’s voluntary cash offer in Nasdaq First North.
Contact our Team Members advising in this transaction:
Translink Corporate Finance Finland, based in Helsinki, is one of the leading M&A boutiques in the Finnish market. Since its foundation more than 15 years ago, their partners completed more than 100 M&A transactions in different industries, worked closely together with a number of business partners and industry players, both locally and internationally. In addition Translink Finland is a Certified Adviser on NASDAQ OMX First North.
Tero
Nummenpää
Chairman Translink International
tnummenpaa@translinkcf.com
