Mandatum has sold its stake in Enento to Otava

Translation: Original published in Finnish on 6/15/2025 at 11:24 pm EEST.

On Friday afternoon, Mandatum sold its Enento holdings in a block trade to Otava, which was already the largest owner. The transaction was carried out at a premium to the stock exchange's pre-trade pricing, which created upward pressure on the stock. Mandatum's desire to exit has been known for a long time, and in part, the block trade can be seen as signaling that no buyer was found for Enento at a better price, or that other major shareholders had no interest in selling their stake. Otava became by far the largest owner of Enento, which in our view may increase speculation about a possible transaction with Alma Media.

Block trade at premium price

A block trade of 2.92 million Enento shares was executed on Friday afternoon. The flagging notification that came in late in the day confirmed that the seller was Mandatum, whose direct ownership fell to 0% (indirect ownership 0.7%). Prior to the transaction, Mandatum was Enento's second-largest shareholder with a stake of over 12%. The buyer was Otava, which cemented its position as the largest owner by far with 26.5% ownership. The trade was executed at EUR 19.50 per share, which corresponds to a premium of approximately 16% relative to the previous day's closing price. The entire block was worth 56.9 MEUR. The block trade, executed at a premium, created upward pressure on the stock in the stock market, and the stock ultimately rose +5% to EUR 17.68 during the day, but remained clearly below the block trade price.

Mandatum's desire to exit Enento has been known for a long time

Mandatum has commented for some time that it wants to divest its Enento stake as quickly as possible and at the best possible price. This has partly increased rumors and speculation surrounding a possible takeover bid for Enento, as this would likely have given Mandatum the best possible price for its stake. In the summer of 2023, there were significant rumors surrounding Enento about a possible takeover bid, and the company itself announced at the time that it had "noted the recent changes in the share price" and that it receives "proposals relating to Enento Group transactions from time to time". Ultimately, nothing came of this, but Mandatum's desire to divest did not disappear.

From Mandatum's perspective, a block trade at a higher price than the stock exchange price is naturally a good thing, even though the premium would likely have been even higher with the sale of the entire company. The impact of a possible future takeover bid for Enento is contradictory, as Mandatum has likely tried to leave no stone unturned in finding a way to dispose of its stake at the best possible price. The fact that the stake was sold in a block trade may indicate that no buyer was found for Enento at a better price. On the other hand, the interests and willingness of the largest owner, Otava, to sell Enento also have an impact. Otava becoming by far the largest owner (26.5% stake) may also increase speculation about some kind of transaction between Enento and Alma Media, where Otava is also the largest owner. Alma Media is Enento's competitor in business information in Finland. In our view, the probability of some kind of arrangement has increased, but we do not consider it a foregone conclusion.

No signs of recovery in Q2 based on the analyst call

On Friday, Enento also held an analyst call ahead of the silent period to discuss the company's and the market's news. The main message of the call was that the market environment in both main markets, Finland and Sweden, has remained challenging and there are no signs of recovery yet. In Finland, consumer confidence has remained weak, and in Sweden, the trend has even been slightly downward due to global political uncertainties. On the other hand, the regulatory changes that came into effect in Sweden at the beginning of the year have not had any new negative effects, although the initial level of market activity is already very low. Profitability pressures also continue due to weak volume development and sales mix. Regarding strategic development projects, the company stated that the IT infrastructure project will be largely completed in Q2, both in Finland and Sweden, as previously communicated. This will still cause some non-recurring expenses in Q2 (included in our forecasts).