The HAANPAA Group, established in 1949, is the leader in the logistics and transport of chemicals in the northern European area. Beginning as a family-owned company, its capital gradually opened up to outside investors and has been held since 1999 by investment funds, and a few minority managers. The majority American investment fund expressed its desire to withdraw and the SAMAT Group took the opportunity to acquire the HAANPAA group.

“Based on the strong synergy in terms of activity and expertise, and an obvious geographical complementarity, we were immediately interested in the project of acquiring the HAANPAA group. Such an opportunity for external growth is an important step for the SAMAT Group; we had to ensure the viability of the HAANPAA group, the integration of skills and know-how, our shared long-term vision.

We were supported by trusted financial and legal advisors, able to both form an international team dedicated to our project, and to understand what is at stake in the context of a family group that pursues its international development”, says Florence DUPASQUIER, Chairman and Managing Director of the SAMAT group.

The project was then handed over to LAMY LEXEL Lawyers Associates above all because of their ability to combine, through its international network (PLG International Lawyers), skills and local resources for the realization of international projects. Michel MASOËRO, associate, and Sibylle AUDET, lawyer, advised the SAMAT group in the formalization of its offer, then established meetings with English, Finnish, Swedish, Dutch, Russian, Norwegian, Estonian legal partners, in order to finalize the process of acquisition in the countries concerned: letters of intent, due diligence, sales protocol, negotiation, review of contracts and transfer documents, negotiations of incentive schemes with minority managers etc

The protocol of sale was concluded in June, by integrating a management package to motivate and retain top executives remaining minority shareholders of the HAANPAA Group.

As the funding needed to be justified for the closing, LAMY LEXEL, with Magalie RÉVILLON-PERSAT, Associate Director, and Antonin THEL, lawyer, intervened with the corresponding Finnish firm to negotiate bank documents, produce the documents laying out the preliminary conditions and establish the guarantees requested by the pool of banks issuing the loan to the SAMAT Group. The closing took place on July 12th, 2016.

“We are delighted with the outcome of this operation. Our teams and those of our partners, French and foreign, were able to work together, to listen to each other, to carry out this acquisition process. These qualities of reactivity, availability, adaptation, and of course the skills and each party’s passion for its profession have allowed us to move forward, step by step, to achieve our goal. With new locations in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Russia and the Netherlands, our group is developing its scope of activities, and is strengthening its capacity to respond to the issues and needs of the European market for the transport of dangerous goods", concludes the Chairman and Managing Director of the SAMAT Group.

Our international partners from our PLG International Lawyers network:

United Kingdom: PANNONE CORPORATE (Marc Winthorpe and Ashnoor Amershi)

Sweden: NYMAN RUDENSTAM (Jonas Conradsson)

Netherlands: SCHAAP AND PARTNERS (Xander Blokzijl)

Other international partners :

Russia: ASTAPOV LAWYERS (Oksana Kneychuk)

Finland: SISU LAW (Kim Kyntola)

Estonia: HEDMAN ATTORNEYS (Kalle Pedak)

Norway: KVALE (Carl Christian Marthinussen)