Doranova Takes Its Next Step in Growth with Saari Partners – Setting Its Sights on Major Biogas Projects

Doranova Oy, a specialist in the design and turnkey delivery of biogas plants, and Finnish private equity firm Saari Partners Oy have agreed on an ownership arrangement through which a fund managed by Saari Partners will become Doranova’s new majority shareholder.

As part of the transaction, Doranova’s long-standing majority shareholder, Pasi Mäkelä, will retire, while the company’s current shareholders – CEO Antti Myllärinen and Business Director Mikko Saalasti – will increase their ownership stakes.

The transaction supports the implementation of Doranova’s growth strategy and strengthens the company’s ability to invest in its future expansion. Saari Partners and Doranova’s highly committed management team share the goal of achieving significant and profitable growth. The new ownership structure provides a strong financial and strategic foundation for this growth and for the responsible delivery of major projects.

“Our views and ways of working are an excellent match. Saari Partners brings both financial resources and business development expertise, accelerating our next phase of growth and strengthening our ability to deliver increasingly large projects,” says Myllärinen.

The biogas market is growing rapidly in Finland, across the Nordic countries and throughout Europe. In Finland, the industry’s shared target is to quadruple annual biogas production from approximately one terawatt-hour today to four terawatt-hours by 2030. In the Nordic countries, the targets and project pipelines announced by leading industry players indicate that their combined production capacity could more than double in the coming years.

At EU level, growth is being accelerated by the REPowerEU framework, which highlights the role of renewable gases in strengthening energy self-sufficiency, phasing out dependence on Russian fossil fuels and reducing emissions from industrial and transport sectors that are difficult to electrify.

Demand for Finnish biogas plant expertise is increasing as the energy transition and security-of-supply considerations drive domestic demand for biogas. The strong growth of the market and Doranova’s extensive technological expertise were key factors behind Saari Partners’ investment decision.

“What impressed us about Doranova was its strong technological expertise, the rapidly growing biogas market and its clear vision for delivering even the most demanding biogas plants. We saw an opportunity to work with the management team to build Doranova into Finland’s leading biogas plant supplier with a growing international presence,” says Joni Pitkäranta, Partner at Saari Partners.

Antti Myllärinen
CEO, Doranova
antti.myllarinen@doranova.fi
+358 40 549 1431

Joni Pitkäranta
Partner, Saari Partners
joni.pitkaranta@saaripartners.fi
+358 50 342 3283

Representatives of Doranova and Saari Partners will be available to meet at the national Biotalouspäivät event in Seinäjoki on 15–16 September 2026. Come and meet us!

Founded in 1995, Doranova Oy is a Finnish designer of biogas technologies and builder of biogas plants. The company specialises in processing demanding feedstocks, developing biogas solutions for the food industry and, more recently, delivering agricultural biogas plants that use manure and field biomass as feedstock.

Having grown rapidly in recent years, Doranova is seeking further expansion through larger plant projects and international business. Its customers include privately owned biogas companies, municipal organisations and energy companies such as Nevel Oy, One1 Oy and Suomen Lantakaasu Oy.

doranova.fi

Founded in 2018, Saari Partners is a Finnish private equity firm that develops and grows Finnish small and medium-sized service companies in partnership with their management teams. It draws on strong expertise in digitalisation, marketing and business development. The funds managed by Saari Partners focus on profitable Finnish SMEs.

saaripartners.fi