Date
03.03.25
One Equity Partners Wins Mid Cap Deal of the Year
*Firm Recognized for Acquisition Strategy, Sustainability Efforts & Exit of Walki Group *
One Equity Partners (“OEP”), a middle market private equity firm, today announced it has won the PE Hub ‘Deal of the Year’ Award in the Mid-Cap Europe category for its investment in Walki Group Oy, (‘Walki” or ‘the Company’).
OEP was recognized for its transformation of Finland-based Walki into a pan-European leader in environmentally sustainable packaging. The firm’s approach combined targeted acquisitions with operational enhancements, culminating in a successful exit through a strategic sale to Japanese packaging leader Oji Holdings.
“This award highlights the strength of our investment strategy—identifying platform businesses with expansion potential and executing targeted M&A to build scale, enhance capabilities, and drive strategic value,” said Marc Lindhorst, Partner at One Equity Partners.
“With Walki, we acquired complementary businesses downstream in the packaging value chain to broaden geographic reach, diversify sales channels, and enhance the product portfolio. This ultimately positioned Walki as a highly attractive target for strategic buyers.”
OEP has extensive experience investing in packaging businesses and had pursued investments within the “war on plastics” ESG theme for several years, which led to the identification of Walki as an attractive platform. Walki’s position high in the packaging value chain made it an ideal platform for acquiring regional players in a fragmented market, with a specific focus on sustainability. Walki was able to funnel its recyclable packaging materials into the various sales channels, as other packaging companies sought environmentally sustainable packaging solutions.
In addition to expanding through inorganic growth, Walki also drove organic growth via energy-saving initiatives at several Finnish production facilities. These efforts reduced CO₂ emissions by several thousand metric tons and reinforced Walki’s sustainability credentials. This further supported the Company’s appeal for strategic acquirers, ultimately leading to the acquisition from Oji Holdings, completed in April 2024.
“Walki exemplifies the type of platform we seek at OEP, a business with strong fundamentals and clear potential for growth driven by a targeted acquisition strategy,” said David Lippin, Partner and Head of Investor Relations at One Equity Partners. “We’re proud to see our strategy and the team’s execution recognized with this award.”
About One Equity Partners
One Equity Partners (“OEP”) is a middle market private equity firm focused on the industrial, healthcare, and technology sectors in North America and Europe. The firm seeks to build market-leading companies by identifying and executing transformative business combinations. OEP is a trusted partner with a differentiated investment process, a broad and senior team, and an established track record generating long-term value for its partners. Since 2001, the firm has completed more than 400 transactions worldwide. OEP, founded in 2001, spun out of JP Morgan in 2015. The firm has offices in New York, Chicago, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. For more information, please visit www.oneequity.com.
