Skip to content

Acquisition Thesis

Source: Playbook v2 EN — Ch. 2 (canonical). Last synced 2026-05-13.

Criteria — ALL must be met

Criterion Target
Annual Revenue €400K – €1.5M
Annual Profit (EBITDA) €100K+ (adjusted — see below)
Asking Price Max €1M
Company Age Minimum 10 years (LLC / Oy)
Employees Minimum 5
Geography Finland, Sweden, Estonia
Entity type Osakeyhtiö (Oy) or equivalent

Target Sectors

  • Cleaning & laundry services (siivouspalvelu, pesula, pesutupa)
  • Property maintenance (kiinteistöhuolto, LVI, putkiasennus, sähköasennus, nuohous)
  • Waste & recycling collection (jätehuolto)
  • Funeral services (hautaustoimisto)
  • Transport & logistics (kuljetus)
  • Tyre services (rengasliike)
  • Auto repair (autokorjaamo)
  • Security (vartiointi)
  • Painting (maalausliike)

Immediate Disqualifiers

  • ✗ Business less than 5 years old
  • ✗ No recurring revenue
  • ✗ No credible exit in 3–5 years
  • ✗ Cannot be operated at max 5 hrs/week post-optimisation
  • ✗ Cannot generate min €100K capital gain per owner on exit

Sector Ratings (from completed sweeps)

Sector Rating Sweet Spot Density Consolidation Exit
Property maintenance 8/10 High (11,500 cos) High (Alltime, Tapiolan Lämpö)
Funeral homes 8/10 Moderate (~500 cos) Low (Memoria network)
Waste collection 7/10 Low (barbell) High (L&T/Luotea)
Industrial cleaning 7/10 Low (~300 cos) High (L&T, ISS, Alltime)

Ideal Seller Profile

  • Founder aged 55–70, approaching retirement
  • No clear successor
  • Business 15–40 years old
  • Owner salary compressed into the business
  • Located outside Helsinki metro (preferred, not required)

Adjusted EBITDA — The Melers Pattern

Many thesis-grade businesses look less profitable than they are. Watch for: - Owner pays themselves a modest salary but works full-time - Equipment depreciation is aggressive - Personal expenses run through the business

Always calculate: Adjusted EBITDA = reported profit + owner salary + excess depreciation + personal expenses

The reported number is almost never the real number. Always adjust before scoring.

Geography Notes

v2 EN (canonical) sets geography as Finland + Sweden + Estonia.

  • Finland — primary market; all sourcing crons cover this.
  • Sweden — covered by cron-swedish-sweep (bolagsplatsen.se and others).
  • Estonia — in thesis but no dedicated sourcing cron yet. Flag Estonian opportunities ad-hoc when encountered via cron-swedish-sweep or other channels. A dedicated cron can be added once we have a reliable Estonian source.

Known Constraints

  • The barbell problem: the €400K–1.5M sweet spot is thinner than expected.
  • Financial verification is non-negotiable: always verify via finder.fi when available.
  • High exit-readiness + weak financials = distressed, not hidden gem.
  • Follow-on flexibility: if a company is a credible add-on to an existing Askel holding (e.g. Melers Oy), normal thesis filters can be relaxed. Flag with the "Add On Acquisition" Trello label.