Borenius advised Davie on the purchase of the assets of Helsinki Shipyard

Borenius advised Canada’s Davie on a landmark case where Davie purchased Helsinki Shipyard’s business. The historic transaction combines the skills, experience and capabilities of two leaders in Arctic shipbuilding and other high-value products. Helsinki Shipyard is widely acknowledged as the leading provider of icebreaking vessels, and its team has built a total of 10 icebreakers in Helsinki between 2011 and 2019. Both shipbuilders, renowned for their leadership and expert knowledge in clean energy solutions, will contribute to the creation of a greener and more sustainable ocean-going fleet.

While the details of the business purchase agreement are confidential, the transaction was made possible by a combination of Davie’s own funds and by EUR 77 million ($110 million) financing from the Québec government consisting of an equity investment of EUR 30 million ($43 million) and a loan of EUR 47 million ($67 million). A significant proportion of the funds will go to ensuring that the shipyard has working capital while it gets up and running and secures the new business.

The completion of the transaction is the culmination of a series of milestones, beginning in December 2022. In March 2023, Davie exercised an exclusive option to purchase the assets of HSO. This was followed by the signing of a business purchase agreement in April, and on 4 July Davie secured a new 50-year land lease from the City of Helsinki.