Weekly round-up: Nordic region braced for IPO activity

Spotify may soon be joining ISS as another Nordic company going public, with a listing that could value the firm at $8bn. Ahead of the 10th annual unquote" Nordic Private Equity Forum in Stockholm on 13 May, unquote" analysed the pipeline of listings in Sweden. "The hot US tech market is catching on here," says EQT partner Caspar Callerström. "Many investment banks are busy with either working on IPOs or pitching right now." Debt collector Lindorff, co-owned by Altor and Investor, and cable operator Com.hem are both rumoured to list before the summer and EQT's Scandic and UK-based SSP could also become IPO candidates within a year. Says Callerström: "The market's been sceptical of sponsor-led IPOs previously, whereas today each case is judged on its own merits. There's a better ground now, the Sanitec listing has 'unplugged' the market."

But can the region match the eight IPOs recorded in 2010? Panelists will be discussing the longevity of the Nordic IPO market at the upcoming Nordic PE Forum in Stockholm. Click here to book your place.

International investors threw a lifeline to French GPs last year, providing nearly half of all capital raised in the country. Indeed, foreign LPs contributed to the best fundraising year for France in the post-crisis era, according to recent research by trade body Afic and accountancy firm Grant Thornton. unquote" analysed French fundraising in 2013, identifying the standout successes, and highlighted the significance of foreign LPs' continued commitment to the country, which has been afflicted by seemingly punitive tax levels and lacklustre growth in recent times.

As the UK industry continues to battle misconceptions around the asset class, unquote" asked whether social-impact investing can rectify private equity's tarnished public image. "Momentum is building for social-impact investment around the world and the UK is a world leader in this arena," says Daniela Barone Soares, CEO of Impetus-PEF and chair of the working group on capacity-building for the UK National Advisory Board of the G8 Social Impact Investment Taskforce. "While this growth is attracting a great deal of attention, future success will depend on the extent to which we have a social sector that intentionally and consistently produces high-impact results. It is this factor that will drive both social and financial returns." But social impact-investing has evolved to much more than good public relations; Bridges Ventures' sale of value-focused gym operator The Gym to Phoenix saw the investor reap 3.7x money. And with banks, pension funds, family offices and endowments now ready to cough up the cash to bolster Bridges' coffers, impact investing is going from strength to strength.

That's all from me this week but if you have any comments on this week's analysis, please send your thoughts to amy.king@incisivemedia.com.

You can continue to follow me and the rest of the unquote" team via @unquotenews for all the latest private equity and venture capital updates, and of course on unquote.com.

Amy King
News Editor, unquote"

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