A local business called Groenland BV recently completed a cross-border acquisition within the space of just two months. The target company was a Swedish provider of flower services called Spira Blommor AB, which Groenland bought from Plantagen i Sverige AB, a member of the Ratos group. Matthy van Paridon, an M&A specialist and a managing partner at RWV Advocaten, acted as the legal adviser to the buyer, seeing the deal through to a rapid and successful conclusion.

The acquisition of Spira Blomm0r (and its staff complement of over 110 FTEs) gives Groenland a firm base in Sweden. Like the other members of the Groenland group, the new subsidiary will be given a free rein to develop its own market strategy.

A winning combination

“Very occasionally, you run into an opportunity you simply cannot afford to ignore. In that case, it’s a matter of not hesitating and acting quickly and decisively. Or, as in this case, super-quickly. At the same time, it’s also about ‘more haste and less speed’. In other words, you’ve got to know what you’re doing and get down to business as quick as a flash. All those involved in the deal – both your own staff and external parties – must be ready to gear up and work at top speed,” explains John Celie, Groenland’s CEO. “Thanks to their wide-ranging knowledge and experience, plus the backing of English documentation and a network of foreign contacts, Matthy and his team proved to be the ideal advisers to help us complete this deal.”

Mark Wiersma, Groenland’s Finance Director, adds: “Even though Matthy was in the process of closing another deal at the very same time, he was prepared to sit down and listen to our needs at any time. It was this combination of flexibility and expertise on Matthy’s part that made his contribution such a success.”

Finance, mergers and acquisitions

Any sort of strategic alliance needs to be backed by sound thinking and powerful financial arguments. Careful planning and management of the takeover process is required from the very outset, particularly where time is of the essence. Here at RWV Advocaten, we have both the people and the international contacts that are required to complete a successful corporate acquisition.