Nordic Deal Trend Report Q3 2022

What we do note, however, is that comparing first half of this year to that of 2021, the number of announced deals is more or less on par – and remember that all of 2021 was an unusually buoyant year in M&A terms. First half of last year, we saw 1,364 deals. First half of this year, 1,300 have, until now, been announced – still very much above pre-pandemic levels and not as gloomy as one could have expected. Adding to that, total announced deal value first half of this year adds up to EUR86bn across the region, compared to EUR93bn first half of 2021. 

Looking into the sector composition of deals, notably, nothing much has shifted there. Tech transactions still make up about 25% of total announced deals, followed by manufacturing, services, real estate and consumer goods. In total, the five largest sectors make up three quarters of all deals – business as usual there. Should we make one small note, it could be that deals in the energy space have ramped up their share of total to about 10%. Expectedly, with how things are developing in society around us and there is an increased focus on being energy self-sufficient, this share of total could increase even further in the next 6–12 months.

On an overall note, following the unusually high deal volumes of last year, we have until now not seen the downward spiral in Nordic M&A that many feared. We still seem to be resilient to a certain extent to what goes on around us in the world and, in particular, on our continent and signs in the market show us that there is still a fair amount of deals in the pipeline going into the fourth and final quarter of the year.

Look forward to seeing what the coming winter has in store for us from a deals perspective.