City of Helsinki set to buy former Hartwall Arena
The two-year saga over the future of Finland’s largest arena could finally be nearing its conclusion after the City of Helsinki signalled its intention to acquire the venue from its Russian owners.
The 15,500-cap Helsinki Halli, formerly the Hartwall Arena, has been owned by Arena Events Oy (AEO) – a company co-founded by oligarchs Gennady Timchenko and Roman Rotenberg – since 2013, but shuttered in early 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All of Timchenko’s holdings in the EU have been frozen, while Rotenberg’s family is the target of US sanctions for their ties with Vladimir Putin.
“The city will take measures to buy the required shares or arena property by sale,” the City of Helsinki tells Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (HS).
According to YLE, the city is seeking a voluntary deal with the current owners, with a process to expropriate the venue to be launched by early June if an agreement cannot be reached.
“This is an important step towards making the arena operational,” says Helsinki deputy mayor Paavo Arhinmäki. “The events industry in particular has lost a huge number of concerts while the arena has been out of use.”
The publication notes that the foundation operating the arena has already been instructed that it must be prepared to reopen as soon as possible if ownership is transferred to the city.
“At this point, it is not relevant who will own the arena later”
Head of office Jukka-Pekka Ujula tells HS there are no estimates on how much the acquisition would cost the city, which is reportedly losing more than €100 million per year due to the closure. In the meantime, Tampere’s 15,000-cap Nokia Arena has filled the breach as the country’s leading events venue.
Several private parties have failed in bids to buy the arena over the past 18 months, and Arhinmäki indicates the city’s ownership could just be a temporary measure to get the venue back in use.
“At this point, it is not relevant who will own the arena later,” adds Arhinmäki.
YLE previously noted that Rotenberg and Timchenko own a combined 44% of the arena’s holding company, Helsinki Halli Oy, but their combined voting power in the firm accounts for 93.9%.
Beverage giant Hartwall ended its 25-year association with the building due to the arena’s Russian ownership shortly after the war began in 2022. Finland’s Flow Festival also ended its brand partnership with Heineken Silver last year due to the lager firm’s operations in Russia.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Finnish arena could be seized under new sanctions
A new package of EU sanctions on Moscow could pave the way for the Finnish authorities to seize the Russian-owned former Hartwall Arena in Helsinki.
The 15,500-cap venue has been owned by Arena Events Oy (AEO) – a company co-founded by oligarchs Gennady Timchenko and Roman Rotenberg – since 2013, but shuttered in early 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
All of Timchenko’s holdings in the European Union (EU) have been frozen, while Rotenberg’s family is the target of US sanctions for their close ties with Vladimir Putin.
The 12th package of EU sanctions will be decided in December. According to a new report by Finnish News Agency STT, via The Insider, individuals who are subject to sanctions could be given the opportunity to sell their frozen assets, although the proceeds of the sale would remain frozen. The assets would be confiscated if they refuse to sell.
STT reports that property can be expropriated in cases of “public need”, with the owner of the property receiving compensation. Although, again, the funds would be frozen in the case of the arena.
“At the moment, the interests of the owners are to promote trade. And there are plenty of buyers”
In September this year, Timchenko’s Finnish case manager Kai Paananen told Helsingin Sanomat that the sale of the venue was being negotiated.
“During the past year, there have certainly been moments when the negotiations for the sale of the arena have not progressed, but now the situation is different,” said Paananen. “Of course, the current owners of the arena ultimately decide whether they will sell their shares or not. There is currently no certainty about this, but as said, at the moment, the interests of the owners are to promote trade. And there are plenty of buyers.”
Beverage giant Hartwall ended its 25-year association with the building – since renamed Helsinki Halli – last year due to its Russian ownership.
Finnish publication Ilta Sanomat notes that the city of Helsinki is losing more than €100 million per year due to the closure, with Tampere’s 15,000-cap Nokia Arena taking over as the country’s leading events venue.
Earlier this year, Finland’s Flow Festival also ended its brand partnership with Heineken Silver due to the lager firm’s operations in Russia.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Finland’s former Hartwall Arena put up for sale
Hopes have been raised that Finland’s largest arena will be sold “very soon” after being left in limbo since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The former Hartwall Arena in Helsinki is owned by Arena Events but has laid empty since two of the company’s co-founders, oligarchs Gennady Timchenko and Boris Rotenberg, were added to the UK’s sanctions list shortly after the war began in February.
Beverage giant Hartwall ended its 25-year association with the building – since renamed Helsinki Halli – due to its Russian ownership, while scheduled shows by acts such as Kiss, The Cure, Eric Clapton and Queen + Adam Lambert were relocated.
However, according to Helsingin Sanomat, investors were informed during the company’s general meeting that the venue was now officially on the market, with the sale of the Russian businessmen’s shares progressing “reasonably”.
A “strong impression” was given during the company’s general meeting that the arena will be sold “very soon”
Reporting on the meeting, IS states there was a “strong impression” the arena would be sold “very soon”, although no prospective buyers were named. The publication has previously listed live entertainment giants ASM Global and CTS Eventim, as well as Finnish billionaire Mika Anttonen, owner of energy company St1, as interested parties.
Rotenberg and Timchenko reportedly own a combined 44% of the 15,500-cap arena’s holding company, Helsinki Halli Oy, but their combined voting power in the firm accounts for 93.9%.
The report notes that, due to the sanctions, money from any sale cannot be paid directly to Timchenko and Rotenburg, with experts suggesting the proceeds be placed in a frozen account and not released until after the end of the war. Helsinki mayor Juhana Vartiainen previously told HS that the completion of any deal would require permission from the ministry of foreign affairs.
Arena Events says it will be making no comment during the transaction process.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Uncertainty grows over former Hartwall Arena
The future of the former Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland is unclear, with shows relocated and its naming rights partner terminating its long-standing sponsorship due to the venue’s Russian ownership.
The country’s largest arena, the 15,500-cap venue has been owned by Arena Events Oy (AEO) since 2013 but has been shuttered since two of the company’s co-founders, Gennady Timchenko and Boris Rotenberg, were added to the UK’s sanctions list following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland’s National Enforcement Authority reportedly confiscated Timchenko’s 22.5% holdings in the venue in April.
Helsinki-based Beverage giant Hartwall ended its 25-year association with the building soon after the war began, leading the arena to be renamed Helsinki Halli.
“The arena will not bear Hartwall’s name, and the Hartwall logo has been removed from the arena’s walls”
“The war started by Russia is an absurd and reprehensible act,” said Hartwall CEO Kalle Järvinen at the time. “We will no longer engage in marketing collaboration with Helsinki Halli due to the war in Russia. In the future, the arena will not bear Hartwall’s name and the Hartwall logo has been removed from the arena’s walls.”
High-profile 2022 concerts to have been moved include Kiss and The Cure, which were both switched to the 8,200-cap Helsinki Ice Hall, while Queen + Adam Lambert’s 24-25 July gigs will now take place at the 15,000-cap Nokia Arena in Tampere. Eric Clapton’s performance was also relocated to the latter venue.
“Due to ongoing sanctions pertaining to the situation in Ukraine, all Live Nation events originally scheduled to take place at the Hartwall Arena (Helsinki Halli) are being moved to alternate venues,” Live Nation told ticket-holders.
Shows by acts including Elton John, Dua Lipa and Bjork, meanwhile, were unable to be rescheduled and have now been cancelled.
“It is not possible to do business with Russians on the sanctions list”
A number of Finnish promoters have confirmed to IQ that the venue remains out of use for events as a result of the sanctions. Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen, meanwhile, has expressed his hope for a change in ownership to end the deadlock.
“It is not possible to do business with Russians on the sanctions list,” he said, reports YLE. “At this stage, we can only make sure that the hall pays its taxes and fulfils its obligations… My understanding is that a forced sale could come up in the event that Helsinki Halli does not pay its debts.”
YLE notes that Rotenberg and Timchenko own a combined 44% of the arena’s holding company, Helsinki Halli Oy, but their combined voting power in the firm accounts for 93.9%.
According to Iltalehti, the rent for the arena is due quarterly and was paid on time on its previous due date in April. The publication notes that due to the sanctions, the owners cannot sell the hall without the consent of the Finnish authorities.
The venue’s management has not responded to IQ‘s requests for comment.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.