Nasdaq chief sees Swedish IPO drought breaking in mid-2023

A DROUGHT of Swedish initial public offerings (IPO) is set to break in the middle of next year, provided uncertainty around valuations lifts, according to Nasdaq, which runs the biggest stock exchange in the Nordic country.

Hakan Sjogren, who is responsible for company listings at Nasdaq in Sweden said that Russia’s war in Ukraine and inflation pressures have put a damper on IPOs, creating “too much uncertainty around valuations” and leaving plenty of companies waiting for the right moment to sell shares on public markets.

“I’m sure we will see the start of many processes in the first quarter with listings at the end of May and hopefully over the first three weeks in June,” especially if the outlook clears and inflation pressures abate, Sjogren said in an interview.

The Nordic region saw just 45 companies going public this year, compared with 243 a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Companies raised a total of US$1.9 billion, the least in a decade. The bulk of that consisted of the IPO of Var Energi in Norway, following what Nasdaq called “an outlier” year in 2021 with Bloomberg data showing US$23.9 billion worth of offerings. Activity was slowest in Denmark and Iceland.

The slowdown comes against this year’s global slump in IPOs and share sales on the back of a selloff in stocks fuelled by fears of higher interest rates driving economies into a recession and curbing corporate profits.

Some of the top IPOs to be scrapped in the Nordic countries this year include Swedish pharmacy Meds Apotek, as well as Valmet Automotive, a Finnish contract manufacturer of luxury electric vehicles, which both cited worsened market conditions for the suspensions. In Denmark, Saxo Bank earlier this month shelved a plan to go public in a US$2 billion listing through a blank-cheque firm, saying the timing was “not optimal.”

Yet battery-storage developer Polarium Energy Solutions and electric truckmaker Einride have said they remain committed to preparing for potential IPOs. Battery-maker Northvolt is also working towards a listing in the coming years to raise capital for its expansion.

Jonas Wikmark, JPMorgan’s co-head for the Nordic region, said M&A is “currently seen as a stronger alternative versus an IPO compared to a year ago.”

“The right strategy for raising capital is to be prepared and to wait for the right window,” Wikmark said. “There are IPO discussions, but the number of companies planning to list is naturally lower versus a year ago.”

The dried-up activity in capital markets has particularly affected fast-growing companies’ ability to raise capital, Wikmark said.

Even so, his bank has plans to hire staff early next year in the Nordic region. The increase from the current more than 100 employees in the area includes an expansion into commercial banking, Wikmark said. That’s in line with a push it’s making in markets including Germany, Switzerland and the UK. BLOOMBERG