Capital raising by Nordic active owners funds
Many Nordic active owners funds, in both the venture and buyout segments, are in the market to raise capital according to Argentum's overview. EUR 5.2 billion was raised in the first half of 2022. Furthermore, capital raising of more than EUR 50 billion is expected in the second half of 2022.
EUR 5.2 billion was raised in Nordic active owners funds in the first half of 2022. The capital raised was at a moderate level, compared to the level in 2020 and 2021. It is expected that several larger funds will be closed in the second half of 2022, so that the level at the end of the year is expected to be far higher than for the record year 2020.
€5.2bn
Raised capital from PE funds in the Nordics in the first half of 2022
Venture funds: A lot of capital has been raised so far in 2022
Nordic venture funds raised EUR 1.7 billion in fresh capital in the first half of 2022. In comparison, EUR 2 billion was raised in the whole of 2021, so activity in the first half of 2022 was high. In the second half of 2022, fund managers are expected to close venture funds equivalent to EUR 7.6 billion, which will mean that 2022 will be a record year for Nordic capital raising in the venture segment.
There has been uncertainty around access to capital, with rising inflation and interest rates leading to poor expectations for economic development. Despite this, venture funds succeed in raising capital. Several fund managers postponed closing funds during the pandemic, and activity picked up in 2021. The high level of activity has continued into the first half of 2022.
As the figure above shows, a record level of capital raising is expected in the fourth quarter of 2022, with over EUR 4 billion in the pipeline.
See an overview below of Nordic venture funds that have closed so far this year.
Capital raising by Nordic venture funds as of October 2022
| Manager | Fund | Country | Fund size (€m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRO | Gro III | Denmark | 600 |
| Creandum | Creandum VI | Sweden | 448 |
| Wellstreet Partners | Wellstreet Fintech | Sweden | 36 |
| Luminar Ventures | Luminar Ventures Fund II | Sweden | 60 |
| Skyfall Ventures | Skyfall Ventures Fund II | Norway | 25 |
| Vendep Capital | Vendep Capital Fund III | Finland | 70 |
| Innovestor | Innovestor Health and Life Science Fund | Finland | 60 |
| Butterfly VC | Butterfly Venture IV | Finland | 47 |
| Sandwater | Sandwater Fund I | Norway | 65 |
| Upfin | Upfin Fund I | Denmark | 30 |
The pipeline for the second half of 2022 shows that if the expectations for capital raising are achieved, then 2022
will be a record year.
Buyout fund: Few buyout funds raised capital in the first half of 2022
Nordic buyout funds raised EUR 3.5 billion in the first half of 2021. Less capital has been raised so far in 2022 compared to the level in 2020 and 2021. However, there are several large funds that are expected to close in the second half of 2022, and almost EUR 45 billion is in the pipeline. That would then be far higher than in the record year 2020, when EUR 26.5 billion was raised.
2022 will probably stand as a record year for capital raising by Nordic buyout funds. Capital raising is often cyclical, with high amounts in some years and lower amounts in subsequent years. There are expectations of a record high amount in 2022, as the figure below shows. Correspondingly, the level was high in 2018 and 2020, but with a much lower level in the years in between. In particular, the very largest Nordic fund managers have closed large funds every two years in the last five years.
See an overview of Nordic buyout funds that closed in 2022 further down.
By the end of the third quarter, Nordic buyout funds had already brought in more than double the level in 2021.
Capital raising by Nordic buyout funds as of Q3 2022
| Manager | Fund | Country | Fund size (€m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verdane Capital | Verdane Idun I | Norway | 300 |
| Summa Equity | Summa Fund III | Norway | 2,300 |
| Polaris | Polaris Flexible Capital | Denmark | 67 |
| Polaris | Polaris V | Denmark | 210 |
| Driv Kapital | Driv Kapital Fund I | Norway | 85 |
| CapMan | CapMan Special Situations | Finland | 17 |