On May 31, SIA Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT), Baltijas datu pārraides tīkli, and IT security solutions group Santa Monica Networks (SMN) signed a capital shares sales agreement allowing LMT to become the sole owner of the SMN.
The completion of the transaction depends on the consent of market supervisors from Latvia and Lithuania.
This transaction will allow both companies to introduce the 5G network solutions faster and more efficiently.
"LMT is no longer just a communications operator, as we use various IT solutions to deal with complex business transformation tasks. With Santa Monica Networks, we share the innovator DNA. By combining LMT's experience in mobile communications with the capacity of a skilled developer of data transmission networks and IT security solutions, we will become the leader of digital transformation. Together, we will grow into the best partner in digitization processes for any public body or private company."
Juris Binde, the President of LMTUģis Bērziņš, Chairman of the Board of SMN: “For many years, we have driven innovation by introducing the latest technologies in the business environment of Latvia. Together with LMT, we will be able to take another step into the future by developing various 5G business solutions and extending the range of our customers who will enjoy access to the most advanced technologies and corporate technology solutions.”
“Livonia Partners invest in market leaders and teams of entrepreneurial managers and businessmen. Santa Monica Networks is an excellent testimony to that. In 2003, Santa Monica Networks was founded by Uģis Bērziņš. Together with an outstanding team, he has built a network solutions market leader based on his vision of technologies and their role in customer business. We are grateful for the opportunity to support the Santa Monica Networks team with capital and our knowledge. We are convinced that as a part of the LMT group, this company will achieve even more,” claims Kristīne Bērziņa, a founder and partner of Livonia Partners, the previous owner of the SMN.
Both companies expect to continue operating as separate legal entities. The transaction still needs to be reviewed by the Latvian and Lithuanian competition supervisors.
During the negotiations, Superia and Tofte & Company were the leading financial advisers of the seller, while the buyer was supported by PricewaterhouseCoopers that provided business and financial advice. Ellex provided legal advice to the seller concerning the transaction, and law firm Eversheds Sutherland Bitāns did the same for the buyer.
About Santa Monica Networks: The IT business group, SMN, was founded in Finland in 1989. Since 2003, it has offered solutions to the largest telecommunications, IT, and media companies of Latvia and public bodies, financial institutions, and manufacturers of Latvia and Lithuania. Its service portfolio includes developing innovative solutions, data transmission networks, design, technical solutions, installation, maintenance, and management of cloud computing and IT security systems. SMN has cooperated with leading international manufacturers of data transmission networks, data centers, and IT security infrastructure products, including Cisco, IBM, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Juniper Networks. It is one of the very few companies in the Baltic States that has received the CISCO Systems Gold Certified Partner status.
About Livonia Partners: Livonia Partners is a private Baltic equity investment company that currently manages EUR 83 million. In May 2021, before a new investment fund was opened, the FCMC registered a new Livonia Partners fund manager. The company was founded by Kaido Veske, Kristīne Bērziņa, Rain Lõhmus, and Mindaugas Utkevičius; and it has local and international institutional investors. They include the Baltic Innovation Fund, a joint initiative of the Estonian, Lithuanian, Latvian, and European Investment Fund, and the Baltic and Nordic pension funds.