CapMan Press release 15 February 2010 3.45 p.m.
CapMan to exit Turo Tailor
Funds managed by CapMan together with minority shareholders have signed an agreement to sell their holdings in Oy Turo Tailor Ab, the Nordic region’s largest producer of men’s suits, to the company’s management. The exit will not have a substantial impact on CapMan Plc’s result for 2010.
CapMan funds have owned 89% of Turo Tailor since 1997. The new owners will be with equal shareholdings the company’s Managing Director Heikki Vuorinen, Deputy Managing Director Raimo Kinnunen, CFO Ossi Loikkanen and the Managing Director of Turo Tailor’s Norwegian subsidiary Frislid Konfeksjon Rune Taklo. Ari Lahti, the Managing Director of ICECAPITAL Pankkiiriliike Oy, will also become an owner.
“Our goal is to continue the work done during CapMan’s ownership and to develop Turo Tailor as a specialist supplier of men’s suits, overcoats, and trousers in the Nordic region,” says Turo Tailor’s Managing Director Heikki Vuorinen. “Our approach will be based on our strong brands and service concepts and our extensive expertise in the field.”
“Turo Tailor has succeeded in enhancing the efficiency of its operations in the difficult market situation that we have seen over the last few years, without compromising the strong level of service it offers in the Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish market,” says CapMan Senior Partner, Markus Sjöholm. “We have been involved with the company for over 10 years and now is the time to pass on ownership to new hands. The new ownership structure will give Turo Tailor an excellent foundation for the future and for further developing the comprehensive range of services that it offers retailers and consumers.”
Turo Tailor is the last portfolio company of the Finnventure Rahasto II Ky, Finnventure Rahasto III Ky and Finnventure Rahasto III G funds, and the funds’ activities will terminate with the exit.
For further information, please contact:
Markus Sjöholm, Senior Partner, CapMan Buyout, tel. +358 (0)207 512 or +358 (0)40 508 0121
Heikki Vuorinen, Managing Director, Oy Turo Tailor Ab, tel. +358 (0)500 272 949
CapMan www.capman.com
CapMan is one of the leading alternative asset managers in the Nordic countries and Russia and manages private equity funds with approximately EUR 3.5 billion in total capital. CapMan has six investment areas (CapMan Buyout, CapMan Technology, CapMan Life Science, CapMan Russia, CapMan Public Market and CapMan Real Estate), and each of them has a dedicated team and funds. Altogether CapMan employs 150 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and Moscow. CapMan was established in 1989 and its B shares are listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange since 2001.
Turo Tailor www.turotailor.fi
Turo Oy was founded in Kuopio in 1938 and originally produced work clothes, army uniforms, and sportswear. Industrial production of men’s suits began in the early 1960s, and in the 1980s the company decided to concentrate solely on men’s suits, jackets, and trousers. The company changed its name to Oy Turo Tailor Ab in 1988. Today, the company is the Nordic region’s largest producer of men’s suits and primarily active in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Turo Tailor has subsidiaries in Norway (Frislid Konfeksjon As) and Estonia (AS Villero). The group’s consolidated net sales in 2009 totalled 17.8 million.
