Media group A-lehdet Oy acquires majority stake in E-commerce company Keskisen Kello Oy. Keskisen Kello is the largest Finnish online retailer of watches, smart watches and jewellery, reaching an astonishing revenue growth of app. 70 % during last year. The company has already established a foothold in Sweden and continues to expand into new markets with the aim of becoming a pan-European player during the next few years. The acquisition is well-aligned with A-lehdet’s strategy and the acquisition is expected to strengthen its E-commerce business already comprising Finnish Design Shop, a fast-growing online retailer of Nordic design and furniture to global markets.

Keskisen Kello’s revenue was approximately 16 million euro during the last fiscal year and is expected to surpass 20 million euro this year. The company was founded in Tuuri, Finland in 1982.

Translink acted as advisor to the sellers. CEO and co-owner Jari Keskinen comments on the process and working with Translink:

”We started to negotiate with the buyer without taking aboard an advisor and were struggling with the decision whether or not external help was needed in order to consummate the transaction. Fortunately, we heard about Translink at just the right moment and we decided to proceed with them. Without Translink’s robust way of handling the process, there would have been significant delays in the timetable and the outcome would have been far from what was achieved now. Translink added great value to each stage of the process. I would definitely recommend them!”

Translink predicts a high number of M&A deals to be seen over the coming years in the E-commerce segment due to industry consolidation and the increasing growth of E-commerce as a result of COVID-19.