Mutares-backed Nordec cancels Finland IPO

The announcement comes a month after the company first stated its plans for an IPO on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Finland. It had aimed to raise proceeds of EUR 7m through the listing of new shares, with parent company Donges SteelTec placing more than 50% of its existing shares of Nordec up for sale.

Mutares acquired steel construction supplier Donges Group from Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe in 2017. Nordec is a subsidiary of Donges and specialises in steel frame structures and envelopes for construction projects, operating in the Nordics and the CEE region.

Unquote's sister publication Mergermarket reported in April 2021 that Mutares was weighing options for Donges, which could include the sale of Nordec. The vendor was working with Houlihan Lokey for a potential sale, according to one source cited by Mergermarket.

Nordec was considered the "most resilient" part of the business during the pandemic, given its involvement in the construction of data centres and logistics halls, according to Mergermarket. At the time, the company was marketed based on EBITDA of EUR 12m and revenues of EUR 195m for 2021.

In a statement issued by Mutares, the GP also said that it has postponed its potential issuance of a new senior secured bond, as well as the potential redemption of its existing EUR 80m senior secured bond, again citing the current public markets situation that would affect the interest rate and size of any potential issue. However, it intends to continue with its pipeline of acquisitions and will consider another bond issue "at a more favourable time", according to a statement.

As the IPO market cooled towards the end of 2021, a spate of cancelled IPOs of sponsor-backed companies began to emerge in Europe, including ECI-backed holiday letting business Travel Chapter, as reported. The company was ultimately sold in an SBO to ICG in January 2022.

This has continued into 2022, with the IPO market largely considered to be closed amidst macroeconomic uncertainty. In February, Quadriga-backed LR Health & Beauty postponed its IPO, which had initially been planned for Q4 2021, as reported. VC-backed WeTransfer shelved its IPO plans in January 2022, with the company expected to revisit its exit plans later this year, as reported. Italy-based Design Holding (which is backed by Carlyle and Investindustrial) was initially aiming for an IPO in summer 2022, as reported.

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• Topics
• Exits
• Nordics
• IPO
• Mutares
• Finland