Clairfield advises a major Nordic platform transaction in the B2B distribution market

Pamark provides a wide range of consumables, devices, and related services that are business essentials. Its customers originate from various resilient and growing segments, such as healthcare, cleaning & hygiene, and HoReCa. Pamark creates a large positive impact on its customers’ operations by offering competitive prices and advising on the transition towards using more sustainable consumables. Pamark was created through a merger between MedKit and Pamark in 2021, and it has sales of close to EUR 60 million.

Bunzl (LON: BNZL) is a UK-based international company with a focused compounder strategy. Bunzl has a topline of approximately GBP 12 billion, close to GBP 1 billion in adjusted operating profit, and around 24,500 employees. Bunzl’s shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and it has a market capitalisation of about GBP 10 billion.

Over the last 20 years Bunzl has acquired over 200 companies around the world. With this acquisition, Finland represents the 33rd country in which Bunzl operates.

In 2022 Clairfield had advised Pamark and its owners on the sale of the company to OptiGroup. However, the transaction was unexpectedly blocked by the Finnish Consumer and Competition Authority in August 2023. Clairfield continued in its advisory role and the transaction with Bunzl was signed in January 2024, and closed on the 29th of February 2024.

“When we were choosing a financial advisor to help us find the right partner to continue our company’s growth story, the most important things were that there must be a match in personal chemistries, including trust and sense of humour, and that we share the same strategic view regarding the sales process. The characteristics of the Nordhaven team matched perfectly with us, and our decision to choose Nordhaven (Clairfield in Finland) as our financial advisor turned out to be the right one. Without the skills and long-term commitment of Nordhaven’s team the final result of this sale process would not have been as successful!” says Minna Åman-Toivio, CEO and majority owner of Pamark.

“We are happy for the owners of Pamark for reaching an outstanding end result, both financially and business-wise. It is great to work with companies that have strong business models and management teams. We consider that the markets for essential business solutions are still fairly fragmented and further consolidation will take place,” says Timo Lappalainen, responsible partner for the project.