Oona Lilja

Oona Lilja

Partner, Helsinki
Oona Lilja
Oona Lilja

Oona Lilja

Partner, Helsinki
Oona Lilja

Next Generation Partner in Banking and Finance: Oona Lilja

The Legal 500 EMEA 2026

Biography

Oona Lilja is a partner who supports Finnish and international clients in corporate and financial transactions, including debt finance and mergers and acquisitions.

Oona's debt finance experience includes acquisition finance, project finance, real estate finance and general bank lending, representing lenders as well as corporate clients. In M&A transactions, Oona represents private equity, venture capital and corporate clients across a range of business sectors.

Oona joined White & Case in 2013 upon graduation from law school. In 2017 – 2018, Oona was seconded to the Firm's London office.

Experience

Representation of Bregal Milestone LLP, a leading European growth private equity firm, on the financing of its acquisition of SkySparc, a trusted global provider of digital transformation solutions for treasury and finance organizations. The secured acquisition financing package also includes additional facilities for the financing of future acquisitions and for general corporate and working capital purposes.

Representation of Adelis Equity Partners Fund I AB, a Swedish private equity fund, on the secured financing for the acquisition of Retta Oy and Retta Ab, a leading property management group in the Nordics. In addition to the platform acquisition, the financing may be used for financing future M&A and general corporate and working capital requirements.

Representation of Macquarie Asset Management and its managed funds in relation to a EUR 51 million second lien financing as sole lender to an onshore wind platform located in Finland. The eight operational onshore wind farms with total capacity of 218 MW are located across Central-South Finland and owned by funds managed by Taaleri Energia, a Helsinki-based renewable energy fund manager. The EUR 51 million financing supports the onshore wind platform to partly refinance its existing debt, with highly bespoke terms structured to provide flexibility.

Representation of CVC and Mehiläinen on the EUR 1.1 billion financing for Mehiläinen's acquisition of Regina Maria in Romania and MediGroup in Serbia from private equity firm MidEuropa. The acquisition financing included: (i) repricing Mehiläinen's EUR 1.86 billion term loan B facility, (ii) offering of EUR 350 million Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2032, and (iii) offering of EUR 740 million Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due 2032. The notes were sold pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the US Securities Act and admitted to trading on the Official List of The International Stock Exchange.

Representation of Valmet Corporation, a leading global developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries, on the EUR 450 million multi-currency syndicated revolving credit facility. The new revolving credit facility replaces Valmet’s existing EUR 300 million revolving credit facility and will be used for general corporate purposes of the group.

Representation of Metso Oyj, a world-leading industrial company offering equipment and services for the sustainable processing and flow of natural resources in the mining, aggregates, recycling and process industries, on the EUR 700 million sustainability-linked syndicated revolving credit facility. The new revolving credit facility replaces Metso’s existing EUR 600 million facility and it will be used for general corporate purposes of the group.

Representation of Neste Oyj, the world's leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel, on the financing of the EUR 1,3 billion multi-currency revolving credit facility with a syndicate of 13 banks. The five-year tenor has two one-year extension options subject to approval by individual lenders. The loan will be used for refinancing and general corporate purposes.

Representation of Monroe Capital Management Advisors, LLC, as the Administrative Agent and a Lender, and Jefferies Credit Partners LLC, as a Lender, in connection with a term loan facility, revolving credit facility and delayed draw term loan facility funding a dividend recapitalization of a vacation rental software company.

Representation of Nala Renewables Ltd, a global power and renewable energy investment platform, on the financing of its acquisition of Fu-Gen Energia I Oy together with a ready-to-build 50 MW Battery Energy Storage System located in Finland.

Representation of Hartwall Capital, a Finnish family-owned investment company focused on Nordic small and medium-sized enterprises, on the financing of its investment in Secto Automotive, a business-to-business car leasing company in Finland and currently manages a fleet of more than 10,000 vehicles.

Representation of Nordea Bank Abp and Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft as joint global coordinators and physical bookrunners in connection with the issuance of EUR 300,000,000 syndicated senior secured floating rate term loan B of PHM Group Holding Oyj, a property maintenance and management services group that is present in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The senior secured floating rate term loan B has a margin of 4.75 per cent and a maturity of up to seven years. PHM Group is majority-owned by a Nordic private equity investor Norvestor.

Representation of Nordea Bank Abp, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (publ), Danske Bank A/S and OP Corporate Bank plc on the EUR 200,000,000 secured revolving loan facility of Finnair Oyj for general corporate purposes. The financing carries a three-year tenor with a one-year extension option.

Representation of Sato Oyj, one of Finland’s leading housing providers, in connection with an EUR 150,000,000 secured, sustainability linked term loan facility with Legal & General Investment Management’s dedicated UK and European Real Estate Debt Division. The loan has a 12-year tenor and will be used for general financing purposes and refinancing existing indebtedness.

Finland, Attorney-at-Law
LLM
University of Helsinki
Faculty of Law
English
Finnish

Next Generation Partner in Banking and Finance, The Legal 500 EMEA 2023-2026

Service areas