Panostaja Invests in the Growth of the HR Services Sector by Investing in Carrot Palvelut Oy

Panostaja Oyj         Stock Exchange Bulletin, Inside Information          April 20, 2018,      at 1:00 pm

Panostaja Invests in the Growth of the HR Services Sector by Investing in Carrot Palvelut Oy

Panostaja Oyj has today signed an agreement on the acquisition of the share capital of Carrot Palvelut Oy, a company providing staffing, recruitment and outsourcing services. After the trade, Panostaja will own 63% of the entity to be formed through the transaction.

The Carrot Palvelut Oy group, which was established in 1998 and specializes in human resources services, provides nationwide high-quality staffing, recruitment and outsourcing services and serves as a strategic HR partner to its customers. Carrot employs yearly more than a thousand experts in various fields, meets a variety of recruitment needs and serves as a partner to its customers in wider outsourcing projects.

The company’s customers include companies in the fields of construction, industry and logistics, for example. Carrot has a head office in Helsinki and smaller offices in nine municipalities in Finland. In 2017, the company’s net sales stood at about MEUR 29 and it employed some 670 people on average.

The value of the company’s entire share capital (100%) is MEUR 6.55.

Carrot’s founder Jukka Hiltunen and CEO Jouni Arolainen will continue as significant minority shareholders in the company.
                                            
The aim of the owners is to expedite Carrot’s growth amid the current shift in employment and working methods through corporate acquisitions and diversification of services.

 "The prospects for HR services are good and the foundations for growth are strong. New innovations in the field, the changes brought about by digitalization and the new ways of working and gaining employment offer wonderful opportunities. We are convinced of the company’s capability to continue the positive development and reinvent and expand its services. Carrot is a company and brand in a very interesting developmental phase in the rapidly-growing HR services market. We want to contribute to helping both employers and employees navigate the changing landscape of working life,” Panostaja CEO Juha Sarsama says.

”We are happy to have found a renowned and reliable partner that values the entrepreneurial spirit and with whom we can continue in the active development of the company to the next stage. The know-how as well as the support and development tools provided by Panostaja are a good fit for our company’s life span and needs. This creates an excellent foundation for meeting any challenges the future may hold,” Carrot Oy’s CEO Jouni Arolainen explains.

Carrot Palvelut Oy group’s net sales and EBIT in the financial periods January 1-December 31, 2017 and January 1-December 31, 2016 were as follows (FAS):

(in thousands of euros)

The balance sheets in the financial statements on December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 were as follows:

(in thousands of euros)

Panostaja Oyj

Juha Sarsama
CEO

Further information:

Juha Sarsama, CEO, Panostaja Oyj, tel. +358 40 774 2099

Jouni Arolainen, CEO, Carrot Palvelut Oy, tel. +358 400 875 030

Panostaja is an investment company developing Finnish SMEs in the role of an active majority shareholder. The company aims to be the most sought-after partner for business owners selling their companies as well as for the best managers and investors. Together with its partners, Panostaja increases the Group's shareholder value and creates Finnish success stories. After the Carrot Palvelut acquisition, Panostaja has a majority holding in eight investment targets. Panostaja’s shares (PNA1V) are quoted on the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange. In the 2017 financial year, the Group’s net sales totaled MEUR 193.2.

www.panostaja.fi