January 31, 2024

Kotera Group Oy and the owners of LVI Kurikka Oy, RKM Group Oy, and Bark Oy have decided to join forces and form a consortium named Kotera Group, under which companies specializing in industrial construction, damage restoration, repair construction, and HVAC technical contracting and maintenance will be centralized.

To implement the corporate acquisition strategy, Kotera Group Oy has negotiated a significant capital investment with a investment fund managed by a Swedish investment company Bragnum Invest. The invested funds will be used to implement Kotera Group Oy’s corporate acquisition strategy, which targets specifically high-profitability and cash flow-generating small and medium-sized companies with specialized expertise. Korpi Capital Oy continues as Kotera Group Oy’s largest individual owner.

Mr. Lars Österberg, founder and principal owner of Bragnum Invest, has been appointed as Kotera Group Oy’s board chairman. Österberg has extensive experience in Nordic service-focused companies, and he has served on the boards of companies such as Bravida, Layer Group, Alimak Group, Eitech, Netel, and Metrolit. Österberg’s colleague on the Kotera Group Oy board is Mikko Fischer, a partner at Korpi Capital, who has been involved in the boards of the companies integrated into the consortium from the start.

Kotera Group Oy’s CEO is Tuomas Forsberg, who has extensive experience in Finnish construction companies, including Skanska, Terrawise, SRV, and most recently Asfalttikallio, where Forsberg served as CFO and deputy CEO before moving to his current position.

‘The idea of a Finnish construction industry serial acquirer has been brewing for a long time. The industry has many good small and medium-sized companies with strong cash flows but no sensible investment targets for their cash flows. However, many companies have difficulty finding a buyer who will continue and respect the company’s way of operating. In Kotera, entrepreneurs can continue developing and growing their companies while also receiving support and resources for company development from other companies in the consortium.

Entrepreneurs selling their companies to Kotera invest part of the sale price back into Kotera shares. These shares generate significant additional returns for the entrepreneur, as we can effectively channel the cash flows of the companies within Kotera into new acquisitions and growth investments.

There are many examples from around the world where a lot of value has been destroyed by forcibly merging companies with very different cultures and operating methods. Kotera respects the processes and operating methods built by the companies being acquired. This is often also an attractive starting point for the companies’ owners and management, says Tuomas Forsberg, CEO of Kotera Group.

LVI Kurikka, RKM Group, and Bark are each top companies in their fields and provide a strong platform for implementing Kotera’s corporate acquisition strategy. We have a good team spirit, and the team is strongly aligned behind a common goal, continues Tuomas Forsberg.”

More details:

Tuomas Forsberg

CEO, Kotera Group Oy

tuomas.forsberg@koteragroup.fi

045 631 8597

Founded in 2018, Bragnum Invest is an investment company that invests in small and medium-sized Nordic companies. Bragnum Invest supports companies with a proven business model and attractive growth and development potential, actively working with its companies to accelerate growth and transformation processes