KPY plans listing

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KPY plans an initial public offering and listing on the Nasdaq First North Finland marketplace

KPY osk (“KPY”), a Finnish value-based cooperative and modern investment company aiming to create value for its owners and promote societal vitality by strengthening companies’ competitiveness, growth, profitability, and renewal through active ownership, is planning an initial public offering (“IPO”) and the listing of its shares (osuudet) on the multilateral Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland marketplace maintained by Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (“Listing”).

The objective of the planned Listing and IPO is to support the implementation of KPY’s strategy through three investment portfolios — infrastructure, private equity, and balance sheet investments — to broaden KPY’s ownership base, improve the liquidity of KPY’s shares, and enable their secure trading. The Listing and increased liquidity would also enable more efficient use of shares as consideration in potential acquisitions. The Listing is also expected to improve KPY’s brand awareness not only among potential investment targets but also among the wider public.

The planned IPO consists exclusively of new shares issued by KPY. The funds raised in the IPO are intended to be used for anchor investments in funds, development projects for existing infrastructure and balance sheet investment targets, as well as the expansion of fund operations and working capital. KPY’s current owners will not sell their shares in connection with the IPO.

KPY in brief

KPY is a value-based cooperative and modern investment company founded in Finland in 1883, owned by approximately 19,000 shareholders. KPY’s broad ownership base is explained by its history as a regional telephone association. KPY’s goal is to create value for its owners and promote societal vitality by strengthening companies’ competitiveness, growth, profitability, and renewal through active ownership. KPY makes investments throughout Finland, and its target companies’ operations span several industries both in Finland and internationally.

The KPY Group consists of the parent company KPY and its owned subsidiaries and associates. The Net Asset Value (NAV) of KPY’s assets was EUR 245.1 million as of March 31, 2026. In 2025, the KPY Group’s revenue was EUR 167.4 million, operating profit was EUR 14.8 million, and adjusted operating profit was EUR 9.0 million[1].

KPY’s Strategy

KPY’s objective is the long-term growth of the value of its holdings and enabling sustainable vitality for growing Finnish companies. KPY implements its strategy through three investment portfolios: infrastructure, private equity, and balance sheet investments.

Infrastructure Portfolio

The infrastructure portfolio currently consists of KPY’s subsidiary Novapolis, which as of the date of this release is also the KPY Group’s most significant asset. Novapolis will continue to be a key part of KPY’s infrastructure portfolio, and KPY is investing in the company’s growth. In the future, KPY aims to establish funds focusing on infrastructure investments, where KPY would act as an anchor investor. Infrastructure investments are intended to be carried out primarily through infrastructure funds in the future.

With infrastructure investments, KPY seeks stable cash flow, which in turn would enable the distribution of a stable cooperative interest (osuuskorko) to KPY’s owners. In the infrastructure portfolio, KPY is interested in, for example, infrastructure-related companies, energy, battery, and network projects, as well as business operating environments. Regarding new investments, KPY targets single investments of approximately EUR 10–40 million. The investment strategy of KPY’s infrastructure portfolio is stable cash flow and long-term value creation.

Private Equity Portfolio

The private equity portfolio currently consists of the private equity firm Sentica, and investments in the private equity portfolio are intended to be executed through Sentica. Investments focus primarily on medium-sized domestic companies with growth ambitions and a proven business model. Regarding new investments, Sentica targets single investments of approximately EUR 10–40 million. The goal is long-term appreciation in value, which is intended to be realized primarily in connection with exits. The fund structure brings diversification to KPY’s investments as well as income streams in the form of management fees and potential performance fees received by Sentica.

Balance Sheet Investment Portfolio

KPY’s balance sheet investment portfolio includes the portfolio companies Voimatel, Epical, Aurilo, Gebwell, and Osuma Henkilöstöpalvelut. KPY’s goal is to develop the companies in its balance sheet investment portfolio, increase their value, and then exit them in a controlled manner within approximately the next five years. In the future, KPY will invest from its balance sheet into infrastructure and private equity funds managed by an alternative investment fund manager in which KPY acts as a majority owner. Regarding fund investments, KPY’s target level for investment commitments is approximately EUR 10–50 million.

With balance sheet investments, KPY seeks returns through both value appreciation and cash flow. Investment returns expected from current balance sheet exits are planned to be used for new investments, in addition to which they could enable the distribution of additional cooperative interest to KPY’s owners.

KPY’s Key Strengths

In the view of KPY’s management, the following factors in particular are its key strengths and provide it with a competitive advantage:

  • Enabler of company growth: At the core of KPY’s investment activities are long-term ownership and cooperation with the management and other owners of target companies to enable efficient value creation.

  • Diversified investment strategy in alternative asset classes: KPY’s investment strategy is based on a diversified investment portfolio emphasizing alternative asset classes and unlisted companies.

  • Clear value creation model: KPY and Sentica work in close partnership with their companies. Ownership is based on trust, open dialogue, and a clear common goal, with determined actions taken to achieve it.

  • Strong private equity business as a growth accelerator: Cooperation with the private equity investor Sentica provides access to a wide flow of investment opportunities, deep industry expertise, and extensive domestic and international networks.

  • Business model to support shareholder value growth, cooperative interest, and additional profit distribution opportunities: KPY’s business model aims for significant growth in shareholder value and the regular payment of a stable cooperative interest. Shareholder value is sought to be increased through the appreciation of KPY’s investments. The ability to pay a regular cooperative interest is supported especially by Novapolis’s business profile aiming for stable cash flow. In addition, private equity and balance sheet investment activities create opportunities for additional profit distributions in connection with successful exits. With this combination, KPY aims to offer investors growth in shareholder value, a stable annual return, and the possibility of additional returns in the long term.

Juha Yrjänheikki, Chairman of the Board of KPY:

“Listing and the resulting trading of shares for the current approximately 19,000 shareholders has been a long-term goal for KPY. The purpose of the planned initial public offering is to further broaden KPY’s ownership base, support the implementation of KPY’s strategy, and improve the liquidity of the shares. We believe that the planned listing will also improve KPY’s brand awareness not only among potential investment targets but also among the wider public.”

Anssi Lehikoinen, CEO of KPY:

“We want to build strong growth stories. We believe that company value is created by effectively combining expertise and capital. Strengthening business competitiveness requires the courage to renew and the ability to build new concepts. We carry out this work with our portfolio companies over the long term and thus aim for value creation for our owners. The idea of continuous development is also strongly reflected in KPY, which has renewed itself over time and today operates as a modern investment company with a broad impact across Finland.”

KPY’s Financial and Operational Targets

KPY’s Board of Directors has set the following financial and operational targets:

  • Multiplying the amount of assets under management (AUM)[2] by the end of 2030.

  • Growing NAV / share annually.

  • Distributing at least 20 percent of the net income generated by holdings to KPY as cooperative interest annually and increasing the share distributed as cooperative interest to approximately 60 percent by 2030. KPY may also distribute funds from returns accumulated from investment activities in connection with successful exits, taking into account, however, anticipated capital needs for future investments as well as the group’s strategic and financial position.

Here is the CEO’s interview:

The webinar starts at 11:00. KPY yhtiöesittelytilaisuus 22.5. klo 11.00 - Inderes

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KPY’s CEO Anssi Lehikoinen was also a guest on @m_jylha’s Pördepodi. :slight_smile:

KPY is a cooperative and investment company founded in 1883, with approximately 19,000 shareholders. Last year, it took a significant step by acquiring the private equity firm Sentica Partners. Following the acquisition, a new phase began in the cooperative’s history, characterized by a stronger focus on operating through funds. CEO Anssi Lehikoinen is interviewed by Mikko Jylhä.

This episode was produced in commercial cooperation with KPY. KPY is planning an IPO on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. Investors are advised to read the prospectus before making an investment decision to fully understand the risks and rewards associated with the decision to invest in the securities. When the potential IPO begins, the prospectus will be available at Listautumisen paikka?.

Topics:

00:53 Introduction 01:50 Planned IPO 04:02 Start of the CEO term 05:32 Anssi’s startup experiences 12:13 Three investment portfolios 13:55 Infrastructure portfolio 18:05 Private equity portfolio 22:53 Financial targets 24:38 Value-based cooperative 32:42 How do you see KPY in the future? 34:48 Target: Kuopio

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Truly responsible management would have liquidated the Kuopio Telephone Association and distributed all assets back to the owners when a massive sum of money was received from the sale of the business to DNA. However, in these situations, logic rarely prevails, and structures originally set up for a completely different purpose soon begin to invent their own justification by acquiring new tasks.

Now, a local investment company from Kuopio is being offered to the wider public, through which one can own Technopolis Kuopio (Novapolis), Voimatel, Epical, and other Kuopio-based companies. At the turn of the year, the management of the acquisition target, Sentica, simultaneously became KPY’s largest owner, and apparently, the company’s primary purpose going forward will be to channel funds to Sentica’s partners through funds instead of new direct investments. For Sentica’s management, it was certainly an extremely successful move to tie up more capital in their own funds and grow them into a larger size class.

Telephone associations in Finland have a long and colorful history of how “common” unmanaged money is easily channeled into local political projects on flimsy grounds, whereas the best solution for owners would practically always have been to withdraw the money as quickly as possible and move it into an index fund. The City of Oulu’s development company, Oulun Puhelin, listed on the stock exchange in 2020 with similar rhetoric, and it turned out exactly as one might expect:

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Upon a first look at the listing prospectus, an optimist might see KPY more as a regional growth investor similar to Arvo Investment Cooperative (Arvo Sijoitusosuuskunta), while a pessimist might view it more like Partnera, which strayed into the circular economy hype. Without knowing the background beforehand, and in light of the current portfolio, cash position, and stated strategy, I think I am leaning towards optimism.

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It would be extremely nice to know about the schedule, as shares still seem to be being sold online. For example, Evon Capital seems to be selling them on huutokaupat.com every now and then.

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Did it happen that KPY gave up its ownership in DNA just before Telenor managed to buy DNA at a significantly higher valuation? KPY shares were sold on Privanet 10 years ago at a price of approx. €5 - 5.5 per share (taking into account the 2022 1-to-4 split).

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KPY is an interesting case: a growth engine in PE investments, cash flow and stability from the real estate portfolio, and (hopefully) some cash from balance sheet investments that are intended to be exited in the medium term. However, a big “but” relates to the ownership model, which unfortunately happens to be a cooperative (osuuskunta). Although I am a Savonian at heart and love my home region, I am not enthusiastic about local politicking and the one-vote-per-member restriction in decision-making. Usually, when a majority owner who dictates the company’s direction is known and has their own skin in the game, there are incentives for better performance. Now, this structure is conspicuously absent, creating an opportunity for “Savonian deviousness” and frankly stupid capital allocation (of which KPY unfortunately has plenty of experience). I am not ready to bear this risk.

Despite my negative tone, I wish KPY all the best on its journey to the stock exchange. It was about time Kuopio got a listed company! After all, in Iisalmi—which is five times smaller—they can use the plural when talking about listed companies :eyes:

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My vision is that the Chairman of the Board and the CEO have demonstrated a determined allocation of the cooperative’s assets over recent years (the 3 pillars). On top of that, a credible IPO in this Finnish economic environment already warrants bonuses. The main point of reflection is the regional background (Savo) and the potential parochialism of the Supervisory Board. However, they can prove this fear to be an unnecessary concern as early as 2026.

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This KPY case is, in my opinion, a bit like CapMan but built in reverse.

CapMan started out as an asset manager and later acquired Norvestia to secure permanent capital and its own balance sheet.

KPY, on the other hand, is an old holding/cooperative balance sheet that is acquiring Sentica and trying to transition more towards a fund-based model.

I don’t know yet if this will lead to the same end result, but the strategic direction seems quite clear:

  • moving away from direct balance sheet investments
  • moving towards funds
  • management fees
  • recurring fee income
  • and potentially later, a broader alternative investments house.

In my view, the best bull case would be building a real PE/alternatives platform around Sentica, backed by large anchor investments from KPY’s balance sheet.

And theoretically, Novapolis could eventually be structured into its own infra/real estate fund.

At that point, KPY would no longer be just a “confusing holding,” but rather a permanent capital + asset management structure.

But there is a lot of execution risk:

  • Sentica integration
  • fundraising
  • LP trust
  • First North liquidity
  • holding discount
  • and whether the market will even learn to price this as an asset manager.

Furthermore, the cooperative structure and somewhat “faceless” ownership require, in my opinion, a larger discount than a normal holding company. This doesn’t have the same strong founder-led or clearly growth-oriented capital allocation story as many highly valued investment companies.

I’ll definitely keep following from the sidelines. I could well own it at the right price, but not at any price.

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KPY is launching a 10 million euro initial public offering (IPO) and plans to list on the Nasdaq Helsinki First North growth market.

  • Subscription period for the public offering: June 1 – June 9, 2026
  • Subscription price / share: €5.10
  • Trading in the shares is estimated to begin on June 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM.

Further information, prospectuses, and materials can be found here:

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Well, at first glance, the subscription price isn’t particularly high. One could almost participate; there’s a reasonably large discount to NAV (40%) and mostly stable, albeit fairly low-yield, businesses underneath.

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https://x.com/zijoittaja/status/2060327443521585622?s=20

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Esa Juntunen’s KPY IPO analysis

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If/since Sentica has already tried to raise a new fund independently before the KPY deals, but clearly hasn’t succeeded, why would it succeed now with KPY? They have already knocked on the doors of these same fund investors once before and the story didn’t resonate then, so can KPY as an anchor investor turn the ship around? Personally, I doubt it and see it as a significant risk that they won’t manage to raise that new fund to its target size. Even after KPY’s ticket, they still need to scrape together 150 million euros, which is a large sum for a Finnish private equity firm—especially if there is a background of lackluster performance and major changes in the investment team. If the fund were “easy” to raise, it would have been done as an independent Sentica or at the latest before the listing. And the failure to raise this fund is a major risk for KPY’s entire development, given that the fund strategy is now a central cornerstone for them.

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Might be that I’ll participate, but then again, might be that I won’t. We’ll see; tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.

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It’s quite quiet around this offering. Are you planning to participate?

  • Yes
  • No
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