Otava strengthens its hold on Alma Media with a €10M+ share purchase

Three did. Two of those were the same bond amortisation at one company, and the third — a take-private crossing 90% — filed in September, after the month it belonged to.

August looked quiet on Nasdaq Helsinki flagging notifications. The shareholder registers moved more than the disclosure feed did. Finland's thresholds start at 5%, and most of the month's largest register moves never touched the ladder.

Here is what moved, what was notified, and what the gap between those two sets says about reading Nordic ownership.

Citycon: the take-private the register sees last

G City Ltd's directly registered stake in Citycon grew from 39.50% to 42.55% during August, a gain of 5.6 million shares. 

In the same window the Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken Helsinki Branch nominee account, which had been holding a large Citycon block in custody, shrank by 4.8 million shares. Citibank Europe's custodial line edged down as well.

That is not buying. It is the shares crossing out of nominee registration into G City's own name as the tender offer settles. G City's flagging notification of 2 September puts its total holding at 91.05%, against a directly registered position of 42.55% at the end of August. Both are correct: the rest still sits in custodial accounts, re-registering in tranches. Read alone, the register would tell you G City owns less than half of Citycon.

G City crossed 90% on 1 September, commenced compulsory redemption of the minority shares and will apply to delist. Our Citycon piece this week has the offer periods, the divestment and the parking dispute.

Faron: a new largest register holder, and no new money

Heights Capital Management, through CVI Investments, crossed a threshold in Faron Pharmaceuticals on 4 August and filed the next day: shares up from 7.99% to 9.41%. The same notification shows its holding through financial instruments falling from 12.53% to 11.30%, and combined exposure barely moving, 20.52% to 20.72%. This is a convertible bond converting under the up-to-€35m arrangement Faron entered with a Heights-managed entity in April 2025 — not a purchase. Faron's own treasury holding fell from 10.97% to 9.37% in the same event, through dilution rather than a sale.

A reverse listing into 3North Partners puts a pre-revenue reactor developer on First North. The board, not the order book, is what investors are pricing.

Steady Energy, the Finnish developer of heat-only small modular reactors, is coming to First North through a share exchange in which investment company 3North Partners acquires all of its shares. Counting the investment commitments and a retail offering of up to €5 million, the company would open at a market value of roughly €345 million, against a share capital valued at about €270 million at listing after dilution from staff options.

The company has not signed a single binding delivery agreement.

Pension capital commits ahead of the first commercial milestone

3NP has secured irrevocable commitments of about €69.8 million in a directed issue. Elo, Ilmarinen and Varma are among the investors, alongside Suomen Teollisuussijoitus (Tesi) and Fortum Energy Holding B.V. The European Investment Bank has added a convertible loan of up to €40 million, its first financing for a small modular reactor project.

The participation of three major Finnish pension insurers adds institutional backing to the transaction, alongside the €115 million financing package.

The board is the instrument doing the de-risking

Pekka Lundmark, former chief executive of Fortum and Nokia, will chair the combined company. Chirayu Batra, Juha Juntunen, Petteri Tenhunen and Timo Ahopelto join him. Behind 3NP are Ahopelto and Lundmark, alongside Juha Hulkko, one of the creators of Bittium, Ilkka Paananen of Supercell and Tero Ojanperä. 3NP's chief executive Tuomo Vähäpassi was involved in taking Canatu to market through a SPAC.

The structure resembles a reverse listing: 3NP acquires Steady Energy and brings the combined company to First North. The transaction also puts a prominent group of technology and business figures around a company that remains in the product-development phase and has yet to sign a binding delivery agreement.