The European private equity market went up against significant headwinds in 2022, but nonetheless saw marked success in areas like deal count and deal value. As explained in PitchBook’s 2022 Annual European PE Breakdown, private equity was partially insulated from public market volatility and the rise in interest rates from central banks. The report also notes a record amount of assets under management (AUM) for private equity, as well as a significant number of take-privates that further prove the swing in momentum towards the private sector.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at PE activity in Sweden—highlighting the top five largest Swedish private equity firms by assets under management (AUM). For the purposes of this post, we use AUM totals through January 24, 2023 to define “top” firms.
2023 Nordic Private Capital Breakdown
Take a closer look at PE and VC in the Nordics region via a review of deals, exits and fundraising trends.Download report
Top 5 PE firms in Sweden by AUM
*According to PitchBook data as of January 24, 2023; data is subject to change frequently. Results are based on firms with “Private Equity” as their primary investor tag on the PitchBook Platform.
EQT
AUM: €114B
Total investments: 1,373
Dry powder: €33.3B
Stockholm’s EQT is a private equity firm that invests in technology, media, telecommunications, consumer goods, logistics, and more. Founded in 1994 and with at least 20 global offices, EQT has an active portfolio of 137 companies, 23 open funds and a median round amount of €262M. Some of EQT’s recent activity includes investments in the cleantech industry, having acquired Global Remediation Services and Globalcycle, two American environmental service companies, through buyout/LBO in January 2023.
Nordic Capital
AUM: €25B
Total investments: 413
Dry powder: €14.9B
Nordic Capital is a private equity firm founded in 1989 and headquartered in Sweden’s capital city of Stockholm. The firm seeks to invest in companies in northern Europe and the United States with a focus on healthcare technology, payments, and financial services, and industrial and business services. With an active portfolio of 52 companies and a median round amount of €190.1M, Nordic Capital most recently invested in London’s RLDatix, a cloud-based patient safety and risk management software.
Altor Equity Partners
AUM: €4.5B
Total investments: 313
Dry powder: €1.1B
Founded in 2003, Altor Equity Partners is a Swedish PE firm is based in Stockholm. The firm prefers to invest in growth-stage companies in consumer products and services, business products and services, and financial services. Altor Equity Partners, which most recently invested in the Dutch wholesaler Facility Trade Group, has an active portfolio of 47 companies, and its median round amount is €77.3M.
Summa Equity
AUM: €3.6B
Total investments: 81
Dry powder: €2.7B
Summa Equity is a private equity firm with an emphasis on green and sustainable investments. They primarily offer buyout and late-stage VC financing and prioritize portfolio companies based on alignment with their core pillars of resource efficiency, healthcare, and technological transformation. This firm has an active portfolio of 25 companies, a median round value of €12M, and made a recent investment in TotalCar, a Swedish company that develops digital auto functionality like speed modulation and driver identification.
Bure Equity
AUM: €3.3B
Total investments: 86
Dry powder: N/A
Bure Equity is a PE firm that specializes in investments relating to STEM. It mainly operates in the space of buyout financing and employs an investment style characterized by active participation in companies it has a stake in, as well as long-term portfolio planning and ownership. Bure Equity’s recent activity includes Mentice and XVIVO, two Swedish healthtech companies in its active portfolio of 14 investments, which they financed through a PIPE.
More on the private capital markets across Europe
More on the private capital markets across Europe
Download PitchBook’s Annual European Venture Report
Dive into private market trends in the DACH region
Check out our DACH private capital breakdown report
Learn about how inflation is affecting the European equity market
Read the Europe Equity Market Outlook report
Explore the VC landscape in the Netherlands
Read our blog post about the top Dutch VC firms by AUM
Check out top-performing Dutch funds
Check out our blog post about the top VC funds by IRR in the Netherlands
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