Livonia Partners portfolio company Fenestra Suomi has acquired assets of the bankrupt Finnish window manufacturer Domus. The transaction was signed on March 15 in Turku between Fenestra Suomi Oy and the Bankruptcy Estate of Domus Yhtiöt, owner of the Domus.

The purchase includes window and aluminium factories in Loimaa, closed since December 2018 after the previous owner filed for bankruptcy. Domus Yhtiöt had sales of about €30 million in 2017.

Fenestra Suomi plans to resume production on the site already early April. The main products will be wood-aluminium and wooden windows.
”We are very happy to announce that we will restart Loimaa factories and continue production on this site with more than 70 years of history. This is good news both for us and for the people living in the region”, the CEO of Fenestra Lauri Laast said.

”Most of the workers lost their jobs at the bankruptcy. We’ve briefed them on the situation and started hiring again. Our plan is to grow with the sales and gradually ramp up the production to two shifts.’’, the CEO of Fenestra Lauri Laast says.

Fenestra has now two factories, the other one located in Harjumaa, Estonia.

”We expect to realize synergies from logistics and sales activities. Also, production processes will be reassessed in order to increase efficiency.’’, Laast said. Laast has track record in turning around struggling businesses: with the current management, he has led the turnaround of Fenestra after purchasing the assets of the bankrupt company in 2015.

”We are planning to continue our expansion in Nordic markets, where we see great growth prospects and rising demand for high-quality windows. Acquisition of Domus fits perfectly in our long-term strategy”, Rain Lõhmus, founding partner of Livonia Partners said.

Fenestra develops and manufactures wooden-aluminium windows and balcony doors, exporting more than 70% of its production. The main market for the company is Scandinavia. Lauri Laast, Riho Prass and Martti Siitam purchased the company from bankrupt family-owned enterprise in 2014. In 2014 Fenestra’s consolidated revenue amounted to €7.3 million and in 2018 estimated revenue reached €16.5 million. Fenestra employs more than 100 people. Fenestra is owned 60% by Livonia Partners and 40% belong to the management team: Lauri Laast, Riho Prass and Martti Siitam.