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Sorainen Advises Livonia Partners on Acquisition of Estonian Home and Gardening Products Retailer Hortes

Sorainen Advises Livonia Partners on Acquisition of Estonian Home and Gardening Products Retailer Hortes

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Sorainen has advised pan-Baltic private equity firm Livonia Partners on its acquisition of Hortes, a leading retail brand for home and gardening products in Estonia. 

“Retail is one of the strongest industries in Estonia, consistently outperforming GDP, and Hortes is one of Estonia’s most successful retail brands,” says Rain Lohmus, a founding Partner at Livonia. "Its concept is unique and profitability is growing. We’re proud to team up with an experienced management team to further expand the business.”

The Hortes investment is the second for Livonia Partners Fund I, which invests in medium-sized companies in the Baltics. With its first investment, in February this year, the fund acquired the sauna and thermo-treated wood products manufacturer Ha Serv in Estonia (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 22, 2016).

Hortes, established in 2004 by Trigon Capital and Finnish investors, runs the largest modern home and garden center in Estonia. According to Sorainen, “it successfully delivers an inspirational shopping experience in spacious glass-structure premises with a broad and unique selection of products."

“The concept has proven itself and we are ready to scale,” says Hortes CEO Kristian Kalgan, who has led company since 2007. “Livonia Partners’ investment and professional growth know-how will help us expand the business faster.”

Livonia will own 100 percent of the company, according to Kristine Berziņa, another founding Partner. “Hortes plans to expand regionally in Estonia and potentially to other countries. It’s one of the best retail concepts to come out of Estonia,” she says.

The Sorainen team consisted of Partner Toomas Prangli, Senior Associates Piret Lappert and Piibe Lehtsaar, and Associates Kai Vainola and Britta Park.

Sorainen did not reply to our inquiries about the identity of the sellers, or the external counsel which represented them.

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