Luxembourg, 22 April 2022: Sterling Active Fund (“SAF”) confirms that on the 14th of April 2022 it successfully exited its position in Basware Oyj, marking another double digit return for the activist investor and further cementing its stellar track record with the exit of Basware being its 51st successful activist investment.
SAF commenced its investment in Basware in 2020, despite the Company having had a tumultuous last few years, namely, a failed takeover attempt in 2019 and subsequently barely escaping bankruptcy. In line with its usual, cautious and long-term value creation approach, SAF worked with the other large shareholders to support the Basware management team and under the combined guidance, the Company strengthened its board and further eliminated reputational and legacy issues.
These efforts culminated with the announcement, on the 14th of April 2022, of a public tender offer by Sapphire BidCo Ltd, a consortium comprising Accel-KKR Capital Partners, Long Path Partners and Briarwood Capital Partners. Following the market announcement of the tender offer, SAF decided to sell its stake via the market based on the attractive share price meeting its internal valuation target.
SAF’s successful exit from Basware is a typical example of an “involved” investment case by the activist investor, which was conducted following industrial logic and adopting a constructive activist approach i.e. one of “working behind the scenes”.
*****
Basware Oyj, a company listed in Finland, is a leading cloud-based purchase-to-pay solutions providers, with strong accounts payable and e-invoicing automation capabilities.
Sterling Active Fund, is the second fund launched by Sterling Strategic Value in October 2020. SAF is open for subscriptions.
Sterling Strategic Value, is one of Europe’s oldest Activist investors founded in 1999 and with a track record of over 50 successful activist investment entry and exits.
