Number Crunch H1 2022Analysis of the Nordic PE market in the first half of the year

The investments are spread across many sectors, but the majority of investments were in the industrial sector³, which attracted 31 per cent of investments. Despite high prices for inputs such as electricity and other raw materials, the industrial sector attracts a lot of investment. The number of investments is up 11 per cent compared to the average for the first half of each of the last five years. After a decline in 2020, investments within the industrial sector have thus again established themselves as the sector that attracts the most investments in the buyout segment.

25 per cent of investments were aimed at technology companies⁴, an increase of 17 per cent compared to the corresponding period in the last five years. Technology companies constitute an increasingly important sector for buyout investments. Companies within the consumer sector⁵ attracted 19 per cent of investments in Nordic buyout.

Healthcare and life sciences⁶ attracted 13 per cent of investments. Compared to the average for each of the last five years, the number of investments increased by 49 per cent. This was in line with the first half of last year, and shows that mature companies in the healthcare sector are perceived as attractive by fund managers.

The country distribution of investments in the buyout segment shows that the activity was distributed more evenly than previously across the Nordic countries. Swedish companies attracted the most investments, as they have traditionally done, but the proportion was far lower than in the past. Most investments were in Swedish companies, amounting to 29 per cent. The remaining investments were evenly distributed between Denmark, Finland and Norway, with 23-25 per cent of investments each. Compared to the average for the past five years, Norway and Finland are experiencing growth in the volume of investments, while Denmark and Sweden are experiencing moderate declines:

• Swedish companies attracted the most buyout investments in the first half of the year, with a share of almost a third (29%), and a drop of 10 per cent compared to the average for the last five years.
• Norwegian companies attracted the second most investments with 25 per cent, but the number of investments was an impressive 43 per cent higher than the average for the same period in each of the past five years.
• Finnish companies accounted for a share of 23 per cent. Finland is experiencing high activity in the buyout segment and had the strongest growth, 59 per cent, compared to the average over the past five years.
• Danish companies follow closely behind with 21 per cent of the investments. Denmark has experienced a moderate decline in the number of investments. 3 per cent fewer buyout investments involved Danish companies, compared to the five-year average for the first half of the year.

Investments that stand out in terms of size include:

• In June, Swedish EQT made an investment in Envirotainer, which produces refrigerated containers for the transport of pharmaceutical preparations. The transaction valued the Swedish company at EUR 2.8 billion (read more).

Technology:

• In March, HgCapital acquired a minority stake in the software company IFS, valuing the Swedish company at EUR 9 billion (read more).
• Visma's consulting business Visma Custom Solutions was acquired by CVC Capital Partners in June. The transaction valued the company at around EUR 800 million.
• Accel-KKR completed an acquisition of Basware Corporation, which supplies cloud-based procurement solutions. The company was valued at EUR 620 million (read more)

These four investments accounted for approximately 45 per cent of invested capital in the buyout segment during the period. As in previous years, we can thus see that a small number of investments are the main drivers of the amount invested.