The State of Nordic Private Equity 2022

Argentum

Frida is a Partner at Verdane, where she leads the Investor Relations team, covering investor relations, fundraising and co-investments. She joined Verdane in Stockholm in 2010 from Helix Associates, Jefferies Private Placement Group, to build its investor relations and capital raising function.


Frida holds an MSc in Business and Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) and a CEMS Master’s in International Management from HEC Paris (France) and SSE. She is a CFA charter holder.

A specialist growth investment firm that partners with tech-enabling and sustainable European businesses 

Invests as a minority or majority investor in single companies or through portfolios of companies 

Looks to deploy inside two core growth themes: Digitalisation and Decarbonisation 

Verdane holds over €4.5 billion in total commitments, and has made over 140 investments since 2003 

Operates in Europe, with bases in Stockholm, Oslo, London, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Berlin and Munich 

VC & Growth deals: High level of activity continued in 2022

In 2022, 359 transactions were completed by venture

a segment of the private equity industry that focuses on investing in new companies with high growth rates. The segment includes seed, venture and growth investments.

 funds in Nordic start-ups and growth companies

Argentum monitors investments made by active owner funds – both Nordic and non-Nordic – in Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish companies.

. The amount invested in the segment remained high, with €2.2 billion in total. Compared to the average for 2017-2021, the invested amount was up 52 %, but down 25 % compared to 2021. The high activity level of 2021 continued in the first half of 2022, before slowing down in the second half of 2022. 

Second highest number of venture and growth deals on record. A total of 359 deals.

There was a 20 % reduction in deals compared to the record-breaking level in 2021, but a 10 % increase compared to the average between 2017 and 2021.

Fund managers invested €2.2 bn in Nordic venture and growth companies. 

Activity slowed down in the second half of 2022. Two thirds of deals were completed in the first half of the year, representing more than three quarters of the invested amount.

Compared to the average for 2017-2021, the invested amount was up 52 %, but down by 25 % compared to 2021.

“The Nordic venture and growth market has made impressive progress, with the number of deals exceeding 300 for the first time in 2019, and continuing to do so for four years in a row. Overall, we have seen an acceleration within the professionalisation of the venture sphere, driven by more venture firms and greater competition among them”, says Espen Langeland, CEO of Argentum. 

Investments by seed, venture and growth funds in Nordic companies in 2022.

The number of venture deals remained high in 2022, after a record-breaking number of deals in 2021. The high activity level from 2021 was maintained in the first half of 2022. However, activity was reduced in the second half of the year. The activity did not experience a hard stop in the wake of uncertainty, even though activity slowed down somewhat in the second half of 2022. The number of venture and growth deals surpassed 300 for the first time in 2019, and for the fourth straight year the number of deals was well above 300. The number of deals fell from 447 in 2021 to 359 in 2022, but the activity remained high. Compared to the previous five years, the number of investments is up 10 %.

Amount invested in Nordic venture and growth in 2022.

“Although there was a decrease in investment activity in the latter half of 2022, the Nordic venture and growth market continues to attract significant investment. The record-breaking amount of capital raised in 2022 has put many funds in a strong position to make promising investments in the coming years”, says Espen Langeland, CEO of Argentum. 

High activity: 2022 was a good year for investments in unlisted Nordic early phase companies, regarding the number of transactions and the invested amount. 

 2022 was a good year for investments in unlisted Nordic early phase companies, regarding the number of transactions and the invested amount.


Quarterly view: The investment level was very high in the first two quarters of 2022. In Q3, the activity slowed down considerably, before increasing again in Q4. Overall, the activity slowed down in the second half of the year. Two thirds of deals were completed and 77 % of the invested amount was invested in the first half of the year. 

The investment level was very high in the first two quarters of 2022. In Q3, the activity slowed down considerably, before increasing again in Q4. Overall, the activity slowed down in the second half of the year. Two thirds of deals were completed and 77 % of the invested amount was invested in the first half of the year. 

Deals

Invested amount (€m)

 venture and growth deals by quarter, 2022

Seven of the ten largest deals involve tech companies

Below are the ten most significant transactions during the year

 The list only includes initial investments from VC and growth funds. As an example, the USD 265 million corporate investment round in Oda is not included.

 Information and communication technology, which includes software and IT services and technological equipment, as well as communication in various forms.

 The health care and life sciences sector includes pharmaceuticals, therapeutics, diagnostics and medical devices, and other products and services that are designed to treat or aid in the treatment of patients.

 The financial services sector is made up of a variety of financial firms, including banks, investment houses, lenders, finance companies, real estate brokers and insurance companies. Source: Investopedia

. Eight of the ten largest deals were completed in the first half of 2022. 

 in a round led by Eurazeo. 
The transaction valued the open-source company at USD 3 billion (

 from EQT Growth and One Peak Partners, among others. The transaction valued the Norwegian company at more than USD 300 million (

The Swedish provider of logistics technology, 

 was led by Verdane and ended with a unicorn valuation (over USD 1 billion). 

 million in February. The round was led by Verdane, together with existing investors Lifeline Ventures, Inventure, Reaktor Ventures and TESI (

 in funding led by Invicta Growth, with participation from another new investor, Angel Pond Holding Corporation (

 in a round led by Summa Equity. Investors such as Balderton Capital, Eight Road Ventures and Schibsted Ventures also participated in the round (

 in December. The round valued the company at USD 353 million, and new investors Summa Equity and Verdane participated in the round (

in a round led by Verdane. NORNORM is a subscription-based furnishing service that enables businesses to move from single-use office furniture to a circular model (

, which has plans for sustainable battery cell production. The company raised 

, which was led by Siemens Financial Services and ABB. 

ICT remains the most attractive sector for VC and growth funds 

The ICT sector is still attracting the most investments from venture and growth investors. The sector attracted 55 % of investments in the segment, which is about the same share of investments as in the previous two years. The share has stabilised at around 50-55 %, after the five-year period of 2014-2018 in which the sector attracted around 60 %. Compared to the number of deals in the previous five years, investments increased by 4 %, but decreased by 10 % compared to 2021. 

Industrials was the only major sector that experienced an increase in investments compared to 2021, with a record-breaking 39 deals. Industrials attracted 11 % of venture and growth investments, compared to 8 % in 2021. Compared to the average for the previous five years, this was an increase of 52 %, and an increase of 11 % compared to 2021. 

Closely behind we find health care and life science and the consumer sector, each with 10 % of investments. Both sectors attracted fewer investments than in 2021. Health care and life science investments fell by 23 % compared to the average for the previous five years, and fell by 47 % compared to 2021. Although investments in the consumer sector fell by 20 % compared to 2021, investments in the sector are high compared to historical levels. Compared to the period 2017-2021, the average number of investments in the sector is up by 25 %. 

Financials is another sector that attracted a significant number of investments, attracting 7 % of investments. This is a reduction of 42 % from 2021, but the sector is still an important one for venture and growth deals. 

Number of venture investments in industrials in 2022. This is 3 percentage points up on the average for the same period in the previous five years.

Health care and life science attracted less attention from investors, compared to the pandemic years

The health care and life science sector attracted 10 % of all venture investments, which was fewer than in 2021. According to our statistics, the sector experienced a fall of 47 %, compared to the average for the previous five years. Hadean Ventures specialises within the health care and life science sector, and Founding Partner Ingrid Teigland Akay is not worried that the sector will become irrelevant any time soon: 

“Macro trends make this an exciting sector. A number of rising medical needs are not covered by current medicines and technologies, which includes the field of chronic diseases. The population is ageing, and even more people are getting these chronic diseases. We also know that welfare systems have limited resources, so we need new effective treatments and new technologies to handle the challenges ahead”, she explains. 

Teigland Akay describes the upswing of the sector during the pandemic as “sector tourism”, which offers an explanation as to why we have seen a fall in our numbers for this sector: 

“The pandemic also enticed other generalist investors to invest in health. We refer to this as sector tourism. This meant that the sector received much more capital and had an upswing at the beginning of the pandemic. We believe that, regardless of fluctuations, this is an interesting sector – mainly because of the underlying trend creating a need for innovation”, she adds. 

According to Teigland Akay, success within this sector requires specialised competence: 

“The entire investment team is specialised in life science and health care. We all have a background in either scientific research or clinical work. This is absolutely crucial to enable us to conduct a thorough analysis of the investment cases”, she says. 

She continues by explaining why long-term owners are important for this particular sector: 

“Drug development is capital-intensive and high risk, but, as specialist investors, we are set up to handle that. We are also probably better equipped in the capital drought because we are so used to thinking long-term. I think it is an advantage for the companies that the owners are aware of the nature of this sector”, she adds. 

Et bilde som inneholder tekst, person, bukser

Automatisk generert beskrivelse

Uncertainty spread in the second half of the year 

Many of the GPs we have talked to referred to greater uncertainty in the market last year. Ingrid Teigland Akay, Founding Partner of Hadean Ventures, describes this as a turbulent year: 

“It was a very turbulent year. A lot happened that created uncertainty in the market. We saw many of our peers slow down and become more cautious. When it came to investments, people sat on the fence to assess the situation. We were also a little cautious. Our investments last year were made at the beginning of the year, and were a result of long and thorough processes. We had a very strong deal-flow and worked on a number of processes throughout the year, but we saw that, in particular, syndication with other investors took longer than before”, says Teigland Akay.

2012

2017

2022

2018

2019

2020

2021

New sector: Financials has only been counted as a separate sector in Argentum’s tracking for the last couple of years, and the sector already has a significant market share. 

Financials has only been counted as a separate sector in Argentum’s tracking for the last couple of years, and the sector already has a significant market share. 

All Nordic countries experienced a decrease in the number of venture and growth deals except for the Norwegian market, which experienced a significant increase in the number of investments:

companies attracted 28 % of the deals in the region, compared to an average of 17 % in the previous five years. The number of transactions was 12 % higher in 2022 than in the record year of 2021, and 82 % higher than the average for the period 2017-2021.

companies still attracted the most investments, with 125 investments in 2022. Sweden accounted for 35 % of the market, with a decrease of 25 % compared to 2021, but an increase of 2 % compared to the previous five years.

, the number of investments fell by 46 % in 2022, from an extraordinarily high level in 2021. Compared to the average for the previous five years, the reduction was 9 %. Danish companies attracted only 16 % of the venture transactions, which is lower than usual.

VC experienced a moderate decrease of 10 % in 2022 compared to 2021, and a 6 % decrease compared to the average for the previous five years. The Finnish market did not experience particularly high activity in 2021, and the activity had remained quite stable for the previous five years. 

Denmark

Finland

Norway

Sweden

Norwegian growth: Activity in Nordic venture fell in 2022, but the Norwegian market experienced increased activity despite the overall fall in the Nordics. Activity in Denmark fell sharply, while the decrease was moderate in Sweden and Finland. 

Activity in Nordic venture fell in 2022, but the Norwegian market experienced increased activity despite the overall fall in the Nordics. Activity in Denmark fell sharply, while the decrease was moderate in Sweden and Finland. 

If we look at the share of the invested amount, the distribution across the Nordic countries differs from the number of deals. Finland attracted the largest amount of investments, but Finland had the second lowest number of investments among the four Nordic countries. In other words, the average investment in Finnish companies was a lot larger than in the other countries. Norway is second in terms of the amount invested with 29 %, which compares to the 28 % when we look at Norway’s share in terms of number of investments. Sweden attracted the highest number of investments but only 21 % of the amount invested (see graph above). Denmark only attracted 14 % of the amount invested. 

Nordic fund managers

Non-Nordic fund managers

Non-Nordic managers’s share fell from 2021: The share of international investors in the Nordics was 32 % in 2022, down from 40 % in 2021. The share of non-Nordic investors is high, in a historical perspective.

Non-Nordic managers’s share fell from 2021: 

The share of international investors in the Nordics was 32 % in 2022, down from 40 % in 2021. The share of non-Nordic investors is high, in a historical perspective.

Fewer non-Nordic GPs, but more deals by Norwegian GPs

Investments from Nordic GPs remained relatively stable, falling from 268 to 243 deals. Compared to 2021, the share of non-Nordic

 Defined as a fund manager with HQ outside of the Nordics.

 GPs fell considerably, from 40 % in 2021 to 32 % in 2022. However, the share of non-Nordic managers remained at levels seen in the years before 2021, and was high compared to historical levels. The number of US and UK investors fell considerably from 2021. Investments from US GPs fell by 51 % from 2021, and by 31 % for UK GPs. Investments from GPs from the rest of the world experienced a more moderate decline of 11 %. 

Swedish fund managers were, as usual, the most active in 2022, making up 26 % of venture investments. The number of investments remained stable, decreasing from 114 in 2021 to 92 in 2022. Compared to the average for the previous five years, the number of investments from Swedish GPs was up 5 %. 

For the first time, the Norwegian GPs were the second most active in the Nordics. Norwegian fund managers accounted for 19 % of Nordic venture deals. Investments from Norwegian GPs increased by 10 % from 2021 and, compared to the average for the previous five years, the number of investments was up by 38 %.

Finnish fund managers also increased their investments in Nordic venture, up by 17 % compared to 2021, but down by 9 % when compared to the average for the previous five years. The number of investments from Danish GPs fell by 35 % compared to 2021, but increased by 1 % compared to the average for the previous five years. 

Active Norwegian fund managers: Norwegian fund managers made the most investments in Nordic venture and growth in 2022, with 19 % of the Nordic market. The number of investments by US fund managers fell sharply by 51 %, compared to 2021. 

Norwegian fund managers made the most investments in Nordic venture and growth in 2022, with 19 % of the Nordic market. The number of investments by US fund managers fell sharply by 51 %, compared to 2021. 

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Nordic venture funds raised €7.1 bn in 2022 compared to €2 bn in 2021. 

In total, venture and growth funds raised €7.1 bn, more than twice the previous record from 2019 of €3 bn.

Seven funds exceeded €100 m in 2022, compared to five in 2021 and zero in 2020

 NB: Only taking public closings into account.

Despite activity slowing down in the second half of 2022, most of the fundraising was closed in the second half of 2022.

According to the overview, the total amount of capital in the fundraising pipeline for 2023 is €2.6 bn.

Fundraising, by home country of fund manager

Fundraising in 2022, by home country of fund manager

public information, either on the funds’ websites or according to news stories.

 Only includes funds with a public closing in 2022.

Venture funds completed 44 exits of Nordic companies in 2021.

VC exits decreased by 57 % from 2021, and by 42 % compared to the previous five years. 

The number of exits was the lowest level since Argentum’s tracking of the market started in 2007.

Most VC-backed exits involved ICT companies (70 %).

Industrials was the second largest sector (11 %). 

“We are currently seeing rising interest rates and market unrest, which contributes to lower investment activity and exits, particularly within the venture phase.”

 ICT sector dominating: ICT exits accounted for 70 % of exits in the venture segment, followed by industrials and consumer companies. 

 ICT exits accounted for 70 % of exits in the venture segment, followed by industrials and consumer companies. 

Venture and growth exits by year and home country of company in 2018-2022

Increase in secondary exits: Secondary exits made up 28 % of venture exits in 2022, compared to an average share of 8 % of exits in the previous five years The most popular exit strategy in 2021 was trade sale, with 55% of exits. However, compared to the average in the previous five years, this is a relatively low level (down from 71 %, see graph). 

Secondary exits made up 28 % of venture exits in 2022, compared to an average share of 8 % of exits in the previous five years The most popular exit strategy in 2021 was trade sale, with 55% of exits. However, compared to the average in the previous five years, this is a relatively low level (down from 71 %, see graph). 

127 buyout deals were completed in 2022, which represents a normalisation of activity after soaring in 2021. 

37 % fewer deals than in 2021, and 12 % fewer than the average for the previous five years.

Buyout funds invested €9.3 bn across these deals.

17 % decrease in the invested amount compared to the average in the previous five years. 

Investments fell by more than 30 % across all three major sectors – industrials, ICT and consumer. 

71 % of deals and 67 % of the invested amount were completed in the first half of 2022, illustrating how activity fell sharply in the second half of the year.

Industrial companies attracted the most investments, with 34 % of deals.

Pivotal year: Activity in the Nordic buyout segment normalised in 2022, following an extraordinariry high activity level in 2021, with regard to both the number of deals and the invested amount. 

Activity in the Nordic buyout segment normalised in 2022, following an extraordinariry high activity level in 2021, with regard to both the number of deals and the invested amount.

Nordic buyout deals by half-year, 2017-2022

 Most active fund managers in terms of investments in new portfolio companies. Add-on investments not included.

Aderian, Avidly, Diakrit, Handverkskompaniet, netIP, SSI Diagnostica, Westpack

Aro Systems, Hydroware, Netox, Niemi Palvelu, SARC Architects

Audiowell, Nordic Climate Group, Nova Austral, Silo AI, Svea Solar, Vianode

Danx, Init, NTI Group, Oral Care, Voff Premium Pet Food

 Only Verdane’s investments categorised as buyouts are included in the list.

Active Brands, Apoteka, Hobbii, Topro Industri

Active Brands, Epista Life Science, Firesafe, ilionx, Seriline

Buyout investments (amount) by home country of company

 of deals by home country of investor, 2022

Description: A group formed by Equip that instals and renovates underground pipelines without digging. The methods they use are resource efficient and have minimal impact on the environment. 

In total, Nordic buyout funds raised a record-breaking €28.9 bn during 2022, up from €12.1 bn in 2021. 

Large-cap funds accounted for 92 % of capital raised compared to 2021, when several small- and mid-cap funds raised a majority of the amount, at almost two-thirds.

Three large-cap funds (>1 € bn) closed in 2022, which was the same as in 2021 and 2020. However, in 2022, the three funds in question raised a combined €26.7 bn, compared to €4.2 bn for the three funds in 2021.

The fundraising expectations for 2023 are positive, with €20 bn in the pipeline, although that is lower than in 2022.

Total fundraising by fund size in Nordic buyout

Top 10 Nordic buyout funds with public closing

public information, either on the funds’ websites or according to news articles.

Idun I held final close in December 2021, but was announced in January 2022. 

As few as 71 buyout exits were completed in 2022. 

The number of exits was almost halved compared to the record-high level in 2021. 

Compared to the average for the period 2017-21, the level was 23 % lower. 

After the financial crisis in 2007-2009, only 2010 and 2020 saw a lower number of Nordic buyout exits.

Secondary exits still on the rise: Trade sales are still the most common exit strategy, but secondaries are closing the gap. Trade sales accounted for 45 % of buyout exits in 2022, closely followed by secondary exits, which accounted for 35 % of deals. 

 Trade sales are still the most common exit strategy, but secondaries are closing the gap. Trade sales accounted for 45 % of buyout exits in 2022, closely followed by secondary exits, which accounted for 35 % of deals. 

Changes in the sector composition: There was a change in the sector composition for exits. Industrials was still the sector with the most exits, with 34 % of exits. The respective shares of health care and life science and energy exits increased, whereas the consumer share remained stable. ICT exits plummeted in 2022.

There was a change in the sector composition for exits. Industrials was still the sector with the most exits, with 34 % of exits. The respective shares of health care and life science and energy exits increased, whereas the consumer share remained stable. ICT exits plummeted in 2022.

Buyout exits, by year and home country of company

Nordic buyout: PE-backed exits by country,

Private equity firms use multiples to understand the price that they are paying for a company relative to a financial metric.

One of the most common valuation multiples is the ratio between EV and EBITDA.

EV is the enterprise value or the total value of a company.

EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation – in other words, the company’s operating income.

The number of PE-backed IPOs decreased by 86 %, from 59 IPOs in 2021.

7.4 % of all European IPOs were Nordic and PE-backed, down from 12 % in 2021.

The second largest IPO in Europe in 2022 was a Nordic PE-backed company (Vår Energi).

PE-backed IPOs in 2022, by home country of listed company

Chalmers Innovation, Karolinska Development, Almi Invest

The State of Nordic Private Equity 2022

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