Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised the Severn Group on its sale to Valmet, a Finland-listed global industrial leader, in a transaction valued at US$480 million.
The majority shareholder of Severn is Bluewater, a UK-based private equity firm focused on the energy and industrial sectors. The transaction represents one of Bluewater's largest exits to date, reflecting value creation achieved through disciplined sector diversification, international expansion and accretive M&A.
Severn is one of Britain's longest-established valve manufacturers. Since its acquisition by Bluewater in 2020, the business has undergone a four-year transformation programme, evolving from a predominantly energy-focused manufacturer into a diversified global industrial platform operating across more than 12 industrial sectors worldwide. During Bluewater's ownership, Severn significantly reduced its commodity-linked exposure, expanded its global footprint to 20 locations and grew to approximately 1,000 employees worldwide. Over the same period, the company's earnings quadrupled. White & Case advised Bluewater on the original acquisition of Severn in 2020 and then Severn on the acquisition of its US business, ValvTechnologies, in 2021.
Valmet is a global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries.
The White & Case team which advised on the transaction was led by partner Richard Jones (London) and included partners Colin Harley, Nicola Chapman, Nicholas Greenacre, Marc Israel, James Johnson, Dan Reavill, Tim Hickman, Jonah Anderson, Jess Kemp (all London), Sasha Belinkie (New York) and Caitlin Powell Gimpel (Milan & New York), counsel Kate Kelliher (London & Brussels) and associates Natasha Okoye, Christian Meijling, Prisca Victoria Wharton, Aliya Manji, Zarlush Zaidi, Shehnai Arora, George Croft (all London), Francesco Balestra (Milan), Antonio Fuentes Maiquez (Brussels), Otto Nunez-Montelongo and Allain Andry (both Washington, DC).
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