DLA Piper has advised The Orange Company on its sale of Smartum to Epassi

The Finnish employee benefits pioneer Smartum has joined forces with Epassi, Europe's leading employee benefits payment provider. The merger will see Smartum become part of the Epassi Group, which already operates in Finland, Sweden, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. The transaction will strengthen Epassi's expansion in Europe. The Orange Company will become one of Epassi's shareholders.

"Smartum is the foundation of our family business and joining forces with Epassi, which has grown from Finland to become an international player, is a huge opportunity and a well thought out decision. We are proud to embark on the journey of taking our Finnish expertise and product to the world together. Developing Finnish working life and the employment relations industry is a matter close to our hearts and we are therefore delighted that the story will continue as one of Epassi's owners," says Anni Hyökyvaara, CEO of Smartum.

Smartum is a Finnish family-owned company and a pioneer in employment benefits that support well-being. More than 500,000 Finns benefit from Smartum's services, and its service network includes around 30,000 companies in the service sector.

Founded in 2007, Epassi is the market leader in mobile payments for employee benefits in the Nordic countries, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, the UK and Ireland. Epassi's unique and scalable solution combines all benefits in one user-friendly service.

The Epassi Group serves more than 30,000 employers and their nearly 17 million employees and partners with 80,000 service providers. Epassi is a leading fintech company, ranked by the Financial Times as one of the fastest growing companies in Europe in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and listed as the 111th largest company in Finland by Talouselämä 500.

The DLA Piper team advising The Orange Company consisted of Ilkka Liljeroos, Eliel Ahmala, Ville Leppäniemi, as well as Antti Paloniemi and Antti Pietinen focusing on tax matters.