Get Updates Now
GP Bullhound advised Smarp on its merger with Marlin Equity-backed COYO

Workforce engagement through employee communications.

Helsinki, 17 September 2021 - GP Bullhound acted as exclusive financial advisor to Smarp on its merger with Marlin Equity-backed COYO. Smarp is a leading provider of a mobile-first employee communication and advocacy platform for enterprise customers. The company is based in Helsinki, and serves a range of enterprises across Europe and North America.

By combining Smarp’s employee communication and advocacy portfolio with COYO’s social intranet and employee engagement offering, the new player will address the challenges of an increasingly mobile workforce and how companies can effectively manage change while keeping their employees engaged and motivated.

Customers of Smarp and COYO will benefit from an extended portfolio that includes multi-channel communication, social intranet, employee surveys, employee advocacy and a marketplace for widgets and connectors.

Roope Heinilä, CEO and Co-founder of Smarp, commented: “COYO and Marlin Equity are excellent partners for us to take our common vision forward thanks to the compatibility of our products. It has also been exciting to see how well our corporate cultures fit together. It has been a true pleasure to work with GP Bullhound throughout this process. Their deep knowledge and experience in the Human Capital Management space has been instrumental in order to identify and successfully close the best deal for Smarp.”

Sven Raeymaekers and Carl Wessberg, Partners at GP Bullhound, commented: “We are delighted to have supported Smarp and its shareholders throughout this process. The combination of Smarp and COYO will create a strong leader in the employee communication space in the years to come.”

This marks GP Bullhound’s fourth transaction in Finland in 2021, and is further testament to GP Bullhound’s track record within HR SaaS, with recent deals including the merger of Recruitee with Sympa, the merger of Wayup with Yello, and the acquisition of Easyrecrue by iCIMS, among others.

Enquiries
For enquiries, please contact: Sven Raeymaekers, Partner, at sven.raeymaekers@gpbullhound.com
Carl Wessberg, Partner, at carl.wessberg@gpbullhound.com

About GP Bullhound
GP Bullhound is a leading technology advisory and investment firm, providing transaction advice and capital to the world’s best entrepreneurs and founders. Founded in 1999 in London and Menlo Park, the firm today has 10 offices spanning Europe, the US and Asia. For more information, please visit www.gpbullhound.com

Related Articles