Investments in the Nordic buyout deals
In the first half of the year, there were 55 investments made in Nordic buyout segment. While activity in Nordic buyouts increased moderately from the second half of 2022, it still remained well below the record activity observed in 2021. The estimated total amount invested in Nordic buyout deals is EUR 4.5 billion. This represents a decline, but the amount of capital invested remains relatively high compared to historical levels.
55
Investments in Nordic companies by buyout funds in the first half of the year.
The Nordic buyout segment saw an increase in activity compared to the second half of 2022, though it remains lower than the record year 2021. Additionally, the number of investments in the buyout segment during the first half of 2023 dropped by 40 percent compared to the first half of 2022. In comparison to the average for the corresponding period in the last five years, there was a 32 percent decrease in the number of investments. The number of deals is still somewhat lower than pre-covid periods.
In the first half of the year, EUR 4.5 billion were invested in the Nordic buyout segment. This figure represents a 27 percent decrease compared to the average for the corresponding period in the last five years. Additionally, it marks a 27 percent decline from the first half of 2022.
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€4.5 bn
Amount invested in Nordic buyout deals
in the first half of the year.
Sector and country distribution
The investments are distributed across various sectors, with the industrial sector attracting the most investments, at 38 percent. However, the number of investments in this sector has decreased by 20 percent compared to the average for the first half of the last five years.
Technology companies received 29 percent of investments and experienced a decline of 18 percent in the number of investments compared to the corresponding period in the last five years. In contrast to the peak year of 2020, technology companies now constitute a somewhat less prominent sector for buyout investments. Instead, companies in the industrials and consumer sectors (which collectively represents 18 percent of investments in Nordic buyout) are attracting a growing share of total investments.
67%
of buyout investments in companies within industrials and technology
The distribution of investments in the buyout segment across countries reveals that Swedish companies continues to draw the highest share at 44 percent, aligning with historical trends. Notably, the proportion of investments made in Swedish companies increased in the first half of 2023, a shift from the previous year. This rise came at the cost of a reduced proportion of investments in Finland. Meanwhile, both Norway and Denmark saw a relatively stable share of investments. In comparison to the average of the past five years, all Nordic countries are currently experiencing a decline in the number of investments.
Large single transactions
Investments that stand out in terms of size include:
- In June, French investor PAI Partners made an investment in Norwegian company Azets, a provider of business-critical accounting, tax, payroll, audit and advisory services (read more).
- CVC Partner acquired a majority shareholding in Danish company Scan Global Logistics in February. Scan Global Logistics is a global transport and logistics provider. The deal is said to have valued the company at $1.5 bn (read more)
- In June, Nordic Capital acquired a majority of the shares in Foxway from Norvestor, among other investors. Foxway is a leading European provider of circular IT services, operating in more than 100 countries (read more).
- Finnish company Nomentia was acquired by Inflexion in March. Nomentia is a leading European treasury and cash management software provider (read more).
- In April, Shape was acquired by Waterland Private Equity. Shape is Denmark’s largest independent developer of native apps for Apple and Google operating systems (read more).
- London-based Stirling Square acquired a majority stake in Infobric from Summa Equity. The deal was announced in June. Infobric is a Swedish provider of end-to-end construction software products supporting the digitalisation of the construction industry (read more).
- Norwegian company Kabal received an investment from Insight Partners. Kabal provides logistics software-as-a-service platform for the energy industry. Insight Partners is a global software investor based in New York (read more).
- Insight Partners also acquired listed company Signup Software. Signup Software is a Swedish-based is an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) which enables organizations to increase efficiency, transparency and control in their AP Invoice process (read more).
- In May, Polaris acquired a majority stake in Micropower Group. Micropower Group is a leader in the development of battery charging solutions and power supplies as well as modular Li-ion batteries (read more).
These nine investments accounted for approximately 52 percent 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.