Harri Vehviläinen
Harri Vehviläinen
Harri advises our clients in the field of taxation, particularly corporate and international taxation and transfer taxation. He has experience in tax structuring, including related advance ruling proceedings and other implementation assistance, and in assessing tax considerations in various private and public M&A transactions, with a special focus on real estate, private equity, infrastructure, renewable energy, and investment fund transactions. Harri also advises our clients on tax disputes.
Harri Vehviläinen provides a good service.
Tax | Legal 500, 2023
References
Parties
Sampo plc and Topdanmark A/S
Transaction
Sampo plc's recommended public exchange offer for the shares in Topdanmark A/S
Deal Value
DKK 33 billion
Role
Counsel to Sampo plc
Parties
Cargotec Corporation and Kalmar Corporation
Transaction
Cargotec’s partial demerger and separation of Kalmar
Deal Value
Approx. EUR 2.0 billion (illustrative carve-out sales)
Role
Counsel to Cargotec Corporation and Kalmar Corporation
Parties
Häggblom & Partners Ltd. and the sellers, UB Nordic Forest Fund II LP, United Bankers
Transaction
Counsel to Häggblom & Partners Ltd. and the sellers in the sale of UB Nordic Forest Fund II LP. The sale of approximately 33,000 hectares of forest properties and partnership interests in UB Nordic Forest Fund II LP, managed by United Bankers, was agreed upon with MEAG, an asset management company of the Munich Re Group acting on behalf of its group client. Upon completion, the buyer will pay a total purchase price of approximately EUR 166 million.
Deal Value
Approximately EUR 166 million
Role
Counsel to Häggblom & Partners Ltd. and the sellers
Parties:
YIT
Transaction:
Counsel to YIT in the disposal of its wind and solar business, comprising of 2.3 GW renewable energy projects and a team of 16 employees.
Deal value:
Value not public
Role:
Counsel to YIT
Hannes Snellman acted as counsel to Finnish state enterprise Metsähallitus in the negotiation of contractual arrangements with Vattenfall for the expansion of the Korsnäs offshore wind farm development project.
Parties:
United Bankers’ UB Timberland Fund (AIF), Taaleri Forest Fund III LP
Transaction:
United Bankers’ UB Timberland Fund (AIF) agreed to acquire Taaleri Forest Fund III LP. The forests managed by Taaleri Forest Fund III comprise 19 forest properties covering in total a surface area of approximately 7,650 hectares of which more than 6,400 hectares is productive forest land.
Deal value:
Value not public
Role:
Counsel to United Bankers’ UB Timberland Fund (AIF)
Parties:
Uponor Corporation (target), Georg Fischer Ltd (buyer)
Transaction:
Counsel to Uponor Corporation in the recommended public cash tender offer by Georg Fischer Ltd to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of Uponor Corporation.
Value:
EUR 2.1 billion
Role:
Counsel to Uponor Corporation
Parties:
Myrsky Energia, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP)
Transaction:
Counsel to Myrsky Energia in the formation of a joint venture with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) concerning the investment and development of 1.8 GW portfolio of onshore wind power in Finland.
Value:
EUR 2.3 billion
Role:
Counsel to Myrsky Energia
Parties
A consortium consisting of Security Trading, Fennogens Investments, Corbis, and Bain Capital (buyer), Caverion Oyj (Target)
Transaction
Counsel to the offeror consortium consisting of Security Trading, Fennogens Investments, Corbis, and Bain Capital in the recommended public cash tender offer for all shares in Caverion Oyj.
Deal value
EUR 955 million
Role
Counsel to the offeror consortium consisting of Security Trading, Fennogens Investments, Corbis, and Bain Capital
Parties
Slättö Core Plus and PEAB
Transaction
Hannes Snellman acted as counsel to Slättö in the formation of a joint venture with PEAB regarding investments into residential housing in Finland.
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to Slättö Core Plus
Parties
Basware Corporation (target), a consortium consisting of Accel-KKR, Long Path Partners, and Briarwood Chase Management (buyer)
Transaction
Counsel to the offeror consortium of Accel-KKR, Long Path Partners, and Briarwood Chase Management in the tender offer for all outstanding securities in Basware Corporation.
Deal Value
EUR 620 million
Role
Counsel to the consortium
Parties
Angel Pond Holdings Corporation, MariaDB Corporation Ab
Transaction
Combination of Angel Pond Holdings Corporation and MariaDB Corporation Ab by way of a domestication merger and cross-border merger, and related transactions
Deal Value
USD 672 million (implied enterprise value of the combined company)
Role
Finnish counsel to Angel Pond Holdings Corporation
Parties
MEAG (Buyer), YIT Oyj (Seller), Logistics property in Turku (Target)
Transaction
MEAG’s acquisition of a logistics property in Turku from YIT Oyj
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to MEAG
Parties
LähiTapiola Kiinteistövarainhoito Oy, Tapiola Yhteismetsä
Transaction
LähiTapiola Kiinteistövarainhoito Oy's establishment of the jointly owned forest Tapiola Yhteismetsä and the related service concept, which provides forest owners an opportunity to attach forest areas to the jointly owned forest, thereby receiving the benefits of professional, sustainable, and long-term forestry services as stakeholders of Tapiola Yhteismetsä.
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to LähiTapiola Kiinteistövarainhoito Oy
Parties
Altia Plc, Arcus ASA
Transaction
Merger of Altia Plc and Arcus ASA to form Anora Group
Deal value
Preliminary aggregated annual revenue EUR 640 million
Role
Lead counsel to Altia Plc
Parties
BlackRock Real Assets (Buyer), Green Horizon Renewables a.s. and other minority investors (Sellers), Mikana portfolio (Target)
Transaction
BlackRock Real Assets’ acquisition of the Mikana portfolio, which consists of an existing operational project of 20 MW and four wind development projects with a capacity of 200 MW, from Green Horizon Renewables a.s. and other minority investors
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to Green Horizon Renewables a.s. and other minority investors
Parties
LähiTapiola Yhteiskuntakiinteistöt Suomi Ky
Transaction
The acquisition of two properties providing community services in Oulu, Finland.
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to LähiTapiola
Parties
SRV, DWS
Transaction
Counsel to SRV on the sale and construction of three residential assets to one of DWS’s institutional real estate funds.
Deal Value
EUR 82 million
Role
Counsel to SRV
Parties
Valmet, Neles
Transaction
Hannes Snellman acted as lead counsel to Valmet, a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation, and services for the pulp, paper, and energy industries, in its merger with Neles, one of the leading providers of mission-critical flow control solutions and services for process industries in Finland.
Deal Value
The combined value of the merging companies is approximately EUR 7 billion.
Role
Lead counsel to Valmet
Parties
Volati (Buyer), Pisla Group Oy (Seller), Pisla Oy (Target)
Transaction
Volati's acquisition of Pisla Oy from Pisla Group Oy
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to Volati
Parties
Ahlstrom-Munksjö Oyj (target), a consortium consisting of Ahlström Capital, Bain Capital Private Equity, Viknum and Belgrano Inversiones (buyer)
Transaction
Recommended public cash tender offer for all shares in Ahlstrom-Munksjö Oyj by Spa Holdings 3 Oy
Deal value
Approximately EUR 2.1 billion
Role
Counsel to the consortium
Parties
City of Espoo, Kumppanuuskoulut Oy, YIT Oyj, Meridiam Investments II
Transaction
The City of Espoo signed a service agreement with Kumppanuuskoulut Oy on the implementation of five schools and three daycare centres
Deal Value
Approx. EUR 300 million
Role
Counsel to City of Espoo
Team
Rabbe Sittnikow, Jussi Ekonen, Janna Pihanurmi, Janne Veneranta, Roosa Väre, Markus Bremer, Maria Landtman, Samuli Pirinen, Heikki Vesikansa, Harri Vehviläinen, Piia Ahonen, Joakim Lavér
Counsel in Supreme Administrative Court case confirming equal treatment of a Swedish real estate investor in Finnish taxation
Parties
Outotec Oyj, Metso Corporation
Transaction
The combination of Outotec and Metso Minerals through a demerger
Deal Value
EUR 3.9 billion (illustrative combined sales)
Role
Counsel to Outotec Oyj
Parties
Peab AB (Buyer), YIT Corporation (Seller), YIT’s Nordic paving and mineral aggregates businesses (Targets)
Transaction
YIT’s sale of its Nordic paving and mineral aggregates businesses in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark to Peab
Deal Value
EUR 280 million
Role
Counsel to YIT Corporation
Parties
Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Kesko Corporation, Kesko Pension Fund, Kruunuvuoren Satama Oy
Transaction
A series of transactions, whereby Ilmarinen, Kesko, and Kesko Pension Fund, among other things, dissolve their joint ownership of Kruunuvuoren Satama and Ilmarinen acquires all 3,438,885 Kesko A shares held by Kruunuvuoren Satama.
Deal Value
EUR 164 million
Role
Counsel to Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Kesko Corporation, Kesko Pension Fund, and Kruunuvuoren Satama Oy
Parties
Nordic Healthcare Group Oy, Vaaka Partners Oy
Transaction
Vaaka Partner's investment in Nordic Healthcare Group
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to Vaaka Partners
Parties
Areim Fund III (Buyer), Avant Capital Partners, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, EPISO 4 fund (Sellers)
Transaction
Areim Fund's acquisition of a portfolio of eight office properties from Avant Capital Partners, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company and EPISO 4 fund advised by Tristan Capital Partners
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to Areim Fund III
Parties
Skandia Fastigheter AB (Seller), Castellum AB (Buyer)
Transaction
Skandia Fastigheter AB's divestment of a 14,400 sqm of office property in Helsinki to Castellum AB
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to Skandia Fastigheter AB
Parties
CapMan Infra (Bidder), Elenia Group (Target)
Transaction
CapMan Infra signed to invest in Elenia, a leading Finnish electricity network and district heat company
Deal Value
EUR 70 million
Role
Counsel to CapMan Infra
Counsel to a client receiving confirmation from the Supreme Administrative Court that despite domestic tax law provisions the treaty dividend participation exemption prevents Finland from taxing a capital repayment from paid-in capital by a US subsidiary.
Parties
A fund managed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management (Seller), a fund managed by Genesta (Buyer)
Transaction
J.P. Morgan Asset Management's disposal of a 66,680 sqm logistics property in Espoo to a fund managed by Genesta
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to J.P. Morgan
Parties
Lemminkäinen Corporation and YIT Corporation
Transaction
The combination of Lemminkäinen Corporation and YIT Corporation through a statutory merger
Deal Value
EUR 771 million
Role
Counsel to Lemminkäinen
Parties
J.P. Morgan Asset Management fund (Seller), Alma Property Partners I AB (Buyer)
Transaction
The disposal of four office properties in the Keilaniemi business district of Espoo, Finland by a J.P. Morgan Asset Management fund to Alma Property Partners I AB
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to J.P. Morgan
Parties
Quattro Mikenti Group Oy sale of shares to Adelis Equity Partners Fund I AB
Transaction
Sale of a majority of shares in Quattro Mikenti Group Oy to Adelis Equity Partners Fund I AB by Henri Juva and other sellers
Deal Value
Value not public
Role
Counsel to Henri Juva
Rankings
- "Harri Vehviläinen provides a good service.", Tax, Legal 500, 2023
Memberships and Positions of Trust
- Member of the Finnish Bar Association
- Member of International Fiscal Association (IFA)
- Member of the Association for Finnish Tax Professionals
- Member of the Association of Finnish Lawyers
Publications
- Tax advice memorandums and the legal privilege of an attorney's and other tax consultant's clients – analysis of Supreme Administrative Court case 2016:127, Verotus 1/2017, p. 66-80
Education and Professional Background
- Specialist Partner, Hannes Snellman, 2022
- Counsel, Hannes Snellman, 2019
- Senior Associate, Hannes Snellman, 2016
- KPMG Oy Ab, 2010-2016
- Master of Laws, University of Helsinki, 2010