Foreship partners with Vaaka to realize global ambitions

Private equity investor Vaaka Partners has become the majority shareholder (60%) of Foreship LTD after the transaction, and employee share ownership of Foreship will be 40%.

“Foreship has a good global footprint and excellent references from some of the biggest players in the cruise line and newbuilding businesses,” says Lauri Haavisto, Foreship CEO.

“The new ownership arrangement with Vaaka Partners is therefore an excellent opportunity to maintain Foreship as Foreship, while benefiting from the skills and resources of an established private equity investor. We will be better able to expand our market share globally, serve all our customers more effectively and strengthen our position in the rapidly growing cruise ship refurbishment and upgrade sector. The best way to move forward is to work with people who know how to navigate the international waters of business.”

Foreship’s new Board of Directors includes Chairman of the Board Juha Heikinheimo, a highly respected advisor to the cruise shipbuilding and marine IT industries; Jukka Laiterä, one of the founders and former CEO of Deltamarin Group; and Mikael Frisk, former SVP HR at Fortum. Vaaka Partners’ representatives on the board will be Ilkka Pentikäinen and Petrus Blomqvist.

There will be no changes to the company name or contact details, and discussions are already underway for Foreship to add new international locations to the company’s current offices in Finland (4), Estonia and the USA (2).

Vaaka Partners’ involvement allows Foreship to draw on an array of financial, business intelligence and industrial advisory expertise from a company portfolio consisting of 4,000 employees and a fund capital base approaching €500 million.

Further information:

Lauri Haavisto
CEO
Foreship Ltd.
lauri.haavisto@foreship.com
+358 400 560 318

Ilkka Pentikäinen
Partner
Vaaka Partners Ltd.
ilkka.pentikainen@vaakapartners.fi
+358 400 217671

Vaaka Partners in brief:
Vaaka Partners is an ambitious private equity firm that helps medium-sized Finnish companies become business champions. Companies owned by Vaaka include Framery, Tietokeskus, Evolta and Enerkey, with the firm managing funds of approximately 0.5 billion euros. The Vaaka approach combines strategic and operational insight with trust-driven collaboration and new growth opportunities. Leading European pension funds are the principal investor in Vaaka funds. www.vaakapartners.fi

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