Nordic Deal Trend Report Q4

Though number of deals are down with almost 30% compared to Q3, there are no changes to the sector split. As we have grown accustomed to, technology deals still make up just above a quarter of the total announced deals, followed by manufacturing (19%), services (13%), real estate (12%) and energy (10%). In total, the five largest sectors make up above three quarters of all deals – same as for the earlier quarters of the year.

So, what does the new year hold for us from a deal-making perspective? No doubt investors – both corporates and financial – will need to stay focused and on top of their game in a world of financing pressures stemming from higher interest rates and slower growth.  The two top key-takeaways from my perspective are to remember doing comprehensive due diligence and to put an increasing focus on ESG issues.

Investors need to diligently analyse their investment targets for potential business-model uncertainties and weak supply chains and look for resilient financial performance and businesses that have a firm control of the increasing cost levels – also tech due diligence is increasingly important both from a performance and, not least, a security perspective. With regards to ESG, investors increasingly put focus on this as a value driver – from our recent experience, investors put more focus on areas including energy efficiency and emissions, supply chain sustainability and social aspects such as diversity and an inclusive nature which may set the target businesses apart from others.

Wishing you all a good start of the new year, I look forward to experiencing how resilient the Nordic M&A market will be – even in this tough financial climate.