Biography

Airi Hammalov is a partner in White & Case's Global Mergers and Acquisitions Practice in the New York office. Airi focuses her practice on M&A and private equity transactions, with particular emphasis on cross-border deals spanning buyers from the Nordic region and broader Europe. 

She has extensive experience advising domestic and multinational corporations, private equity sponsors and portfolio companies on complex acquisitions, strategic and minority investments, joint ventures, leveraged buyouts, and other corporate matters. 

Clients value Airi for her practical approach and deep industry knowledge. She has advised on significant transactions across a range of sectors, including technology, video gaming, life sciences and industrials. 

Experience

Advised 65 Equity Partners, global investment firm backed by Temasek, on its minority investment in Kendra Scott Design, Inc., the celebrated lifestyle and accessories brand.

Advised private equity group Aurelius on its acquisitions of Dayco Propulsion Solutions, a global leader in the manufacture and sale of power transmission systems with eight worldwide production sites, and Teijin Automotive Technologies, a leading provider of advanced composite technologies.

Advised KKR on its acquisition of Potter Global Technologies, a leading manufacturer of fire and life equity equipment.

Advised Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. on multiple acquisitions, including USD 818 million acquisition of Bisnode Business Information Group AB, a leading European data and analytics firm, and its acquisition of Eyeota, a leading global data onboarding and audience intelligence company.

Advised Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) on its USD 1.05 billion acquisition of Navico, a global leader in marine electronics headquartered in Norway.

Advised Embracer Group (Nasdaq Stockholm: EMBRAC B), a Swedish- headquartered video game holding company, on its multiple acquisitions, including USD 1.3 billion acquisition of Gearbox Entertainment (developer of Borderlands), and its acquisitions of game developers Saber (World War Z), Demiurge Studios, Shiver Entertainment, New World Interactive, Crystal Dynamics (Tomb Raider and Deus Ex), Limited Run Games and Tripwire (Killing Floor and Rising Storm). Advised Embracer Group on its sale of Shiver gaming studio to Nintendo. 

Advised Enad Global 7 (Nasdaq Stockholm: EG7), a Stockholm-based online games developer, on its USD 300 million acquisition of Daybreak Game Company, a multiplatform online games developer and publisher.

Advised SteelSeries, a Danish-based global leader of gaming peripherals, in its acquisition of KontrolFreek, the industry leader in high-performance gaming controller accessories.

Advised Unilever PLC on its acquisition of Liquid IV, a US-based health science nutrition and wellness company.

Advised Daiwa Securities Group on its USD 120 million investment via the acquisition of bonds in Global X, a US-based issuer of ETFs and owned by South Korea's Mirae Asset Global Investments.

Advised One Equity Partners on its multiple acquisitions, including carve-out acquisition of ORS Medco, a leading wholesaler of industrial and automotive aftermarket products serving over 15,000 distributors and resellers, and its acquisition of Fluor Corp's AMECO business, a full-service provider of construction equipment.

Advised Tietoevry Oyj, a Finnish-headquartered IT software and services company, on its acquisition of MentorMate, a digital engineering company headquartered in the US.

Advised Safe Life, a Stockholm-based global group of AED and first-aid companies, on its acquisitions of Coro Medical, AED.us, AED Authority, AED Market, SafetyMed, Life Safety Solutions, Enerspect and HeartCert, US market leaders in Automated External Defibrillator (AED) sales and services.

Advised Worthington Enterprises (NYSE: WOR) on its acquisition of Hexagon Ragasco, a Norwegian-headquartered global leading manufacturer of composite LPG cylinders, and its joint venture with Hexagon Composites ASA for Austrian-headquartered Sustainability Energy Solutions business.

Advised hearX, maker of Lexie hearing aids, on its merger with Eargo, forming a new company called LXE Hearing.

*Certain matters were worked on prior to joining White & Case.

New York
LLM
New York University School of Law

Fulbright Scholar

BA
University of Tartu

cum laude

English
Estonian
Russian

The Deal's Top Rising Star 2021 for M&A and Private Equity

Honorary Consul of Estonia in New York, appointed by the President of Estonia, 2024

Co-author, "Legal 500 Country Comparative Guide for Private Equity US," 2022

Speaker, "Talking M&A Podcast: Cross-Border Dealmaking” The Deal, October 2022

Service areas