Beyond The Obvious

The Nordic region continues to outperform much of Europe when it comes to M&A. Combining stability, low inflation, and well-capitalized markets, it remains a magnet for private equity and corporate investment.

Mats Bremberg, Head of Greenhill Nordic, explains how private equity remains a driving force, with roughly 14% of all European PE investments flowing into Nordic portfolio companies. Meanwhile, a resurgent IPO market is reigniting confidence among financial sponsors and corporates alike.

Explore why the Nordics continue to punch above its weight in European M&A, and what’s driving renewed optimism across the region.

Discover expert insights and global perspectives from Mizuho | Greenhill, your bank for M&A. 

What is Beyond The Obvious?

In Mizuho | Greenhill’s Beyond The Obvious podcast channel, we uncover the value that others miss.

Our podcast is a source for the latest discussions on topics related to capital markets, dealmaking activity, business leadership and more.

Delve into insights from our investment & corporate banking thought leaders to hear their unique perspectives on current trends and market influences.

Learn how industry icons and influential figures began their journeys, overcame adversity and rose to success.

Discover insights that look deeper.

Podcast and Video Recording Disclaimer

This podcast or video recording is for informational purposes only and should not be copied, distributed, published, or reproduced in whole or in part without permission. The information contained in this podcast or video recording does not constitute research or recommendation from any Mizuho entity to the listener or viewer. Neither Mizuho nor any of its affiliates make any representation or warranty as to the accuracy or the completeness of the statements or any of the information contained in this podcast, and any liability therefor, including in respect of direct or indirect or consequential losses or damage, is expressly disclaimed.

The views expressed in this podcast or video recording are not necessarily those of Mizuho, and Mizuho is not providing any financial, economic, legal, accounting, or tax advice, or recommendations in this podcast. In addition, the receipt of the podcast by any listener is not to be taken as the giving of investment advice by Mizuho, nor to constitute that person a client of any Mizuho entity.

For additional disclaimers and regulatory disclosures, please visit Mizuhogroup.com/americas.

00:00:05:17 - 00:00:08:04
The Nordic region is generally viewed to be

00:00:08:04 - 00:00:10:26
one of the most stable and deepest markets

00:00:10:26 - 00:00:11:15
in Europe.

00:00:12:02 - 00:00:14:13
It's stable because of the underlying economies with

00:00:14:13 - 00:00:18:04
very good growth and low inflation, but also

00:00:18:04 - 00:00:21:18
because the government debt being below 40% in

00:00:21:18 - 00:00:23:02
all countries except for Finland, which is more

00:00:23:02 - 00:00:24:22
along the European average.

00:00:25:07 - 00:00:28:05
It's deep because of a very well-functioning

00:00:28:05 - 00:00:29:00
capital market.

00:00:29:17 - 00:00:32:11
If you take Sweden alone, for instance, in

00:00:32:11 - 00:00:35:08
Sweden we've had over 500 IPOs over the

00:00:35:08 - 00:00:38:12
last 10 years, which is more than Germany,

00:00:38:21 - 00:00:40:18
the Netherlands, France and Spain together.

00:00:41:13 - 00:00:43:16
It's deep also in the sense of a

00:00:43:16 - 00:00:46:10
very high PE penetration, where if you take

00:00:46:10 - 00:00:49:23
last year, among the investments being made by

00:00:49:23 - 00:00:52:01
private equity into Europe,

00:00:52:01 - 00:00:54:13
~14% was made into

00:00:54:13 - 00:00:56:28
portfolio companies based in the Nordic region, which

00:00:56:28 - 00:00:59:04
is the same amount that was invested into

00:00:59:04 - 00:00:59:28
the DACH region.

00:01:00:05 - 00:01:01:27
The DACH region has a population of 100

00:01:01:27 - 00:01:04:10
million and the Nordics is about 28, so

00:01:04:10 - 00:01:05:21
it's really beating above its weight.

00:01:06:12 - 00:01:09:02
The Nordic region is beating above its weight

00:01:09:02 - 00:01:11:21
also when it comes to M&A with

00:01:11:21 - 00:01:13:27
volumes, and that's been the case for decades,

00:01:14:14 - 00:01:17:19
being around, I think if you take the

00:01:17:19 - 00:01:20:00
last five years, it's at par with France.

00:01:20:18 - 00:01:22:19
It is twice the size of Spain.

00:01:23:06 - 00:01:25:01
The biggest market in Europe is obviously the

00:01:25:01 - 00:01:27:17
U.K. and the Nordic region stands in dollar

00:01:27:17 - 00:01:29:20
volumes for about half of that size.

00:01:29:20 - 00:01:34:02
So it's a significant market from an M&A perspective.

00:01:34:08 - 00:01:35:24
The main driver for M&A

00:01:35:24 - 00:01:38:00
going forwards in the Nordic region is very

00:01:38:00 - 00:01:41:03
much the return of the healthy IPO market.

00:01:41:19 - 00:01:43:24
Similar to many other regions, we've had a

00:01:43:24 - 00:01:46:16
couple of years of low activity and now

00:01:46:16 - 00:01:49:10
recently we're seeing a strong return with a

00:01:49:10 - 00:01:51:16
strong pipeline of healthy companies coming to market.

00:01:51:25 - 00:01:54:15
That is of course helping to increase confidence

00:01:54:15 - 00:01:57:28
both among financial sponsors and among corporates.

00:01:58:03 - 00:02:01:06
Financial sponsors are now already planning

00:02:01:06 - 00:02:03:12
launching long-awaited exits.

00:02:04:02 - 00:02:07:27
They can go through an IPO or M&A,

00:02:07:27 - 00:02:07:28
They can go through an IPO or M&A,

00:02:07:28 - 00:02:10:01
but also corporates are now dusting off

00:02:10:01 - 00:02:13:00
their M&A agenda after some waiting period

00:02:13:00 - 00:02:13:28
over the last few years.

00:02:14:13 - 00:02:17:05
So in general, we are expecting a healthy

00:02:17:05 - 00:02:19:09
flow of good M&A and increasing volume

00:02:19:09 - 00:02:21:26
of M&A in the Nordic region going forward.