DLA Piper advises founding partners of Liana Technologies on sale of the majority of the shares to Ilkka-Yhtymä Oyj

DLA Piper has advised the founding partners of Liana technologies on sale of the majority stake of the company to Ilkka-Yhtymä Oyj, listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. 

Liana Technologies is specialised in digital marketing and communication software, offering digital tools to digital marketing & communications professionals and leading advertising agencies around the world. The company's headquarters and product development are located in Oulu, Finland. While Finland is currently the main market for Liana Technologies, it also has offices in Stockholm, Paris, Munich, Dubai and Hong Kong, and is constantly pursuing further international expansion. Liana Technologies Group's net sales have grown annually 6.7% on average between 2015 and 2018 and comprised EUR 14.3 million in 2018.

The purchase price paid for the shares (67%) is approximately 15 million euros.

According to Samuli Tursas, CEO and co-founder of Liana Technologies, it was important for the founding shareholders to maintain the company's ownership in Finland and to find a new majority owner, who would share the same values and could support the company in its future growth and expansion.

The acquisition supports Ilkka-Yhtymä’s strategy to invest in growth and expand from traditional media to digital marketing and communications technology. As a new majority shareholder and a publicly listed company, it will provide additional resources for developing Liana's operations and promoting growth.

The DLA Piper team consisted of corporate partner Ilkka Liljeroos and corporate associate Juha Kauma.