Rantalainen Group accelerates its Nordic expansion by joining forces with Klara Consulting in Sweden
Rantalainen Group (“Rantalainen”) has achieved a significant milestone on its journey towards a Nordic market leader within accounting and payroll services by joining forces with Klara Consulting Holding AB (“Klara Consulting”) in Sweden.
Rantalainen, majority-owned jointly by two funds managed by Norvestor since 2023, has acquired Klara Consulting, a leading accounting, payroll and HR services provider in Sweden. The transaction is Rantalainen’s largest acquisition to date and significantly increases Rantalainen’s presence in Sweden where it already owned two smaller businesses. The combined group now holds aggregated revenues of c. EUR 141 million and 1700 employees.
Klara Consulting, headquartered in Stockholm, is among the largest accounting and payroll services providers in Sweden, with a turnover of 26 million euros and 300 employees. The sellers include private equity firm Ceder Capital with majority share and fifty key employees, all of whom will continue as minority shareholders in the combined group.
Norvestor announced the investment in Rantalainen in January 2023, with the ambition to support the company’s pan-Nordic growth through active consolidation of the market. The Swedish market for financial administration services is twofold in size compared to Finland, however more fragmented in terms of competition. The financial management services industry is largely concentrated around the Stockholm metropolitan area, but the ambition is to grow across the country, as Rantalainen has done in Finland.
"This is a key milestone on our journey to build Rantalainen into a leading Nordic outsourced accounting and payroll services provider. We hold in high regard the work that Magnus together with the broader management team in Klara Consulting has done to date, and are convinced the combined group has an excellent position for accelerated M&A driven growth in Sweden”, says Marika af Enehjelm, Chairman of the Board of Rantalainen and partner at Norvestor Advisory.
“Together with our customers and employees we have already achieved a position as one of the largest outsourced financial management services providers in Sweden. We and Rantalainen share the future vision of the Nordic accounting and payroll services market, and are excited to now continue the journey together,” says Magnus Ramfelt, the CEO of Klara Consulting.
“With Norvestor we set as target significant Nordic expansion already this year, and I am pleased to see how quickly we managed to achieve that. Klara Consulting is a company with many strengths, and an excellent platform for us in Sweden. We look forward to continue strengthening our value proposition to our increased customer base, especially through investments in digital capabilities, whilst also pursuing an active pan-Nordic buy and build strategy”, says Jukka Rosenberg, the CEO of Rantalainen,
The transaction has received an approval from the Swedish Competition Authority and was closed 1 September 2023.
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For further information and inquiries:
Jukka Rosenberg, CEO, Rantalainen Group
Telephone: +358 50 311 2194
Email: jukka.rosenberg@rantalainen.fi
Marika af Enehjelm, Partner, Norvestor
Telephone: +358 40 553 6934
Email: marika.af.enehjelm@norvestor.com
Magnus Ramfelt, CEO, Klara Consulting
Telephone: +46 70579 7024
Email: magnus.ramfelt@klaraconsulting.se
Rantalainen is a leading provider of outsourced accounting and payroll services in Finland, employing 1400 finance and payroll administration professionals. The company offers comprehensive and modern financial administration services locally to companies and other organizations of all sizes, and Rantalainen’s customer base consists of approximately 23 000 companies and organizations. Rantalainen was founded in 1972, and currently has over sixty offices in Finland and Sweden with aggregated revenues of over 115 million euros. Rantalainen Group is owned by the Nordic private equity company Norvestor, the group management, Ceder Capital and key employees. For more information, please visit rantalainen.fi
Klara Consulting is one of Sweden’s largest providers of outsourced financial management services. The group was founded in 2021, with its roots going back to 1997. Klara Consulting serves customer companies of all sizes in Stockholm and five other locations in central and southern Sweden, as well as digitally, and it is proud of its employee-driven company culture. The group currently has 300 employees and 1700 customers, and the goal of Klara Consulting is to attract, develop, and attain talent in the industry offer the customers the best service in the industry. For more information, please visit klaraconsulting.se
Norvestor is a leading private equity company 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 84 investments with over 400 add-on acquisitions, in addition to executing 59 exits, including 16 IPOs. The Fund seeks 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 or by geographic expansion. Read more at www.norvestor.com