Speaker details

Biography

About Toomas Having started with Sorainen in 1997, Toomas has been privileged to help develop a five-lawyer team into a distinguished law firm operating across the Baltics. This journey has provided him with the opportunity to work in many fields of law. However, his main focus has always been M&A and private equity transactions, and more recently, the startup and technology sectors. His passion lies with negotiations, where he has constantly educated himself abroad and in teaching negotiations for the Estonian Bar Association and with Sorainen. He is the head of the Corporate and M&A practice, head of the startup team in Estonia, and co-head of the startup sector group on a regional level. Professional Highlights Toomas has advised M&A and private equity transactions for over twenty years and for more than ten years has also handled complex fundraising rounds for local startup companies. In addition to his legal degrees, he obtained an Executive MBA in Mergers and Acquisitions at Vienna University of Technology. His dedication has earned him clients’ trust to the extent that he ranks top of the Mergermarket CEE legal advisers league table by the number of transactions advised in the region. Developing the M&A Market: The leading Baltic M&A law firms have been compiling the biennial Baltic M&A Deal Points Study since 1999 ‒ a collaborative effort that Toomas has been privileged to lead. He also served as a board member of the Estonian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and has participated in its task force to draft and develop model documents for startup companies and venture capital investment in Estonia. With the Sorainen M&A team, venture capital associations, and local business media, he also organizes the annual Baltic M&A and Private Equity Forum and the Baltic M&A Awards. Building the Firm: Toomas has been Sorainen’s co-managing partner and Estonian country managing partner for 10 years. Additionally, he has helped to build up the Sorainen quality management system, to which he continues contributing as a supporting partner. Contributing to Society: Toomas’ core purpose is to increase the prosperity of the region, and he is passionate about contributing to the development of the local startup ecosystem. He is a founder and trustee at the Gastronomy Awards Society of Estonia (the Silverspoon gastronomy awards) and a member of the supervisory board of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (ERSO). He was also the president of the Estonian Rollerskating Federation from 2014 to 2019.