Private equity investor Vaaka Partners has become the majority shareholder of Foreship, a Finnish company specializing in ship design and engineering.
With headquarters in Helsinki, Finland and more than 100 naval architects and marine engineering experts on board, Foreship claims to be a market leader in cruise ship design, refits and ship life-cycle projects. The company offers a range of engineering solutions that include project coordination and management, classification design and engineering, as well as drydock and ships-in-operation services.
Foreship’s new Board of Directors includes Chairman of the Board Juha Heikinheimo, a highly respected advisor to the cruise shipbuilding and marine IT industries; Jukka Laiterä, one of the founders and former CEO of Deltamarin Group; and Mikael Frisk, former SVP HR at Fortum. Vaaka Partners’ representatives on the board will be Ilkka Pentikäinen and Petrus Blomqvist.
Markus Aarnio, Marcus Höglund and Mattias Jörgensen will retain their positions in Foreship after the transaction, and employee share ownership of Foreship will stay at 40%. There will also be no changes to the company name or contact details, and discussions are already underway for Foreship to add new international locations to the company’s current offices in Finland, Estonia and the USA.
By Jake Frith
