OREANDA-NEWS. June 15, 2015. SORAINEN Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania together with Hannes Snellman advised Bridgepoint, a major international private equity group, on the acquisition of Nordic Cinema Group, a leading cinema operator in the Nordic and Baltic regions which owns, eg, Forum Cinemas in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Bridgepoint is acquiring shares from Ratos and Bonnier. Ratos will receive approx EUR 181.5 million for its shareholding, with total deal value being around EUR 500 million.

Susanna Campbell, CEO of Ratos, comments: “Together with Bonnier we have created a strong Nordic cinema operator with a leading market position and good profitability. This provides good opportunities for the company in the future and enables continued investment in modern cinemas and development of the customer offering. The company is well positioned to continue to deliver exciting film experiences in the future. A strong focus on value creation throughout the entire holding period has generated a good return and led to a successful transaction for Ratos.”

The transaction is subject to approval from the authorities and completion is expected in the summer.

SORAINEN performed legal due diligence of the cinemas operating in the Baltic countries, advised the client on matters related to financing the transaction and others.