Norvestor invests in Nordic water technology company Smartvatten
A fund advised by Norvestor Advisory AS has signed an agreement to acquire the majority of the shares in Envera Ltd., the company behind the market-leading Smartvatten® solution. Smartvatten is a pioneer within the rapidly expanding services market for the responsible and sustainable use of valuable freshwater resources - providing water and cost savings as well as peace of mind for property professionals, property owners, and housing companies.
Smartvatten is a hardware-enabled SaaS company providing its customers with a complete solution for real-time monitoring and reporting of water consumption in buildings. Smartvatten’s customers reduce their water costs and the risk of water-related damage while improving their sustainability performance. The Company’s algorithm-based software analyse water consumption data from mechanical, digital, and IoT-enabled water meters in a cloud environment to identify consumption patterns and detect leakages.
Smartvatten was founded in 2013 and currently monitors more than 7 000 buildings primarily in Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Benelux countries. Smartvatten currently employs c. 40 people and is headquartered in Espoo, Finland, and has offices in Stockholm, Sweden, and in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
“Water prices in the Nordic markets may triple within the coming decade as local water utilities improve their ageing networks”, says Jussi Niiniaho, CEO of Smartvatten. “Customers need new efficient solutions and services to reduce water consumption and keep soaring water bills under control. Smartvatten has only just started to scratch the surface of this market with its services. With Norvestor’s competence and coaching, we will be able to accelerate the growth of our positive footprint to the market and environment.”
“Smartvatten is making it easy for customers to reduce their water consumption and climate footprint through a simple but ingenious IoT enabled meter reader providing real-time data and analysis for reporting and consumption-management purposes. We believe that Smartvatten is uniquely positioned to respond to the intensifying focus on responsible use of water resources among customers, and we are enthusiastic about the opportunity to support management in continuing the growth journey to become a true Nordic champion”, says Norvestor partner, Per-Ola Baalerud.
Following the acquisition, Norvestor will become the largest shareholder in Smartvatten with c. 60% of the shares. The existing shareholders, including Taaleri Circular Economy Fund, and the company founders and employees will reinvest in Envera in order to hold the remainder of the shares.
“We are strongly committed to impact investing and circular economy”, says Tero Luoma, Taaleri’s investment director. “We believe that Norvestor is the optimal new lead owner for Smartvatten, and we will continue to work with their Nordic team to help this great growth company maximise its impact in Northern Europe.”
More information:
Per-Ola Baalerud, Partner at Norvestor Advisory
Telephone: +47 916 30 007
Email: pob@norvestor.com
Jussi Niiniaho, CEO at Smartvatten
Telephone: +358 40 821 3116
Email: jussi.niiniaho@smartvatten.com
Tero Luoma, Partner and Investment Director at Taaleri
Telephone: +358 50 344 9933
Email: tero.luoma@taaleri.com
Smartvatten is a rapidly growing water management service company with +40 full-time employees, and operations stretching across Finland, Germany, Sweden, BENELUX, and the U.S. Our Smartvatten remote monitoring service already helps property owners in over 7000 properties to stop flushing money down the drain and catch plumbing leaks before it's too late. Read more at www.smartvatten.com
Norvestor is a leading private equity firm focusing on mid-market buyouts in the Nordic region with offices in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, and Luxembourg. The team has worked together since 1991 making it one of the most experienced private equity teams in the Nordics, having executed 74 investments with more than 250 follow-on M&A transactions, in addition to executing 51 exits including 15 IPOs. The Norvestor funds seek to invest in growth companies in the Nordic mid-market that have the potential to achieve a leading Nordic or international position, typically through organic growth, acquisitions across fragmented industries and by geographic expansion. Read more at www.norvestor.com
Taaleri is a Finnish financial services company, whose parent company, Taaleri Plc, is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki main market. The Taaleri Group comprises three business areas: Wealth Management, Insurance, and Energy. In addition, the Group makes investments from its own balance sheet. At the end of financial year 2020, Taaleri had assets under management totalling EUR 7.4 billion and over 6,000 wealth management customers. Taaleri Plc has some 6,000 shareholders. Taaleri’s operations are supervised by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority.Taaleri Circular Economy Private Equity Fund, established in 2016, is the first circular economy private equity fund in the World. It has over 360 Finnish investors and 7 portfolio companies. More information about our company and services: www.taaleri.com/en