Media release – Avaus Marketing Innovations Oy
31.3.2021, 11:00 EET
Harri Roschier, Emma Storbacka, Hans Luik
To ensure future growth, Avaus has expanded its shareholder base among key employees and also invited a new investor, Hans Luik – the principal owner of Ekspress Grupp AS, the public, leading media company in the Baltics. Luik has become the major shareholder in Avaus, with a 40% share of ownership. Simultaneously, the number of Avaus employee-owners has increased with an extensive options program.
“More employee-owners, in combination with an external investor, will ensure increased engagement, independence and the long-term growth of Avaus. This will benefit our customers as we now can further speed up the development of our skills and solutions”, says chairman Harri Roschier.
During the last three years, Avaus has undergone a transformation from a marketing technology agency to a focused data & analytics solution provider for Nordic and European enterprises. In the process, Avaus has developed the “Avaus Data Factory,” a set of standardised tools helping client companies to ramp up their data capabilities rapidly.
“I am happy to be on board with one of the best data-experts in Europe”, says Hans Luik, founder and majority shareholder of Ekspress Grupp AS. “The enormous amount of data that the modern company must process and analyse every day means that there is a rapidly growing demand for consulting companies that know how to do this efficiently and profitably.
Today the Avaus data practice produces close to half of all revenues. It is the engine for future growth in the Nordics, Germany, Poland and tentatively in other European markets in the near future. Avaus clients include major retailers, financial services, telecom and media companies. With the new investor on board and increased capabilities, Avaus will be better positioned to meet key customers’ needs.
“We have developed a Data Factory methodology that enables rapid improvements in data utilisation for our client companies. Time to significant business results has therefore become much shorter. The Avaus Data Factory, in combination with our strong technology partnerships with Google, Salesforce and Adobe, is our bet for the future”, says CEO and partner Emma Storbacka.
The investment in Avaus was made by Luik’s investment company Aktiva Finants OÜ on. Harri Roschier will continue as chairman and a key shareholder, while co-founders Tom Nickels and Kim Weckström have sold their stakes to Aktiva Finants. Nickels will continue to work as a Board professional and start-up investor, while Weckström will pursue other interests in his active retirement.
About Avaus: Avaus is an advisory partner for enterprises seeking to improve marketing and sales results by leveraging data and automation. The company was founded in 2007 in Helsinki by Tom Nickels, Harri Roschier, Kim Weckström and J-P Virtanen. It presently employs 100 people, with a turnover of 11,65 M€ and an EBITDA of 1,3 M€ in 2020. Avaus operates in the Nordics, Germany and Poland.
About Hans Luik: Hans Luik is the founder and majority shareholder of the Ekspress Grupp AS, the leading media group in the Baltics. The Ekspress group and Aktiva Finants are headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia.
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