News

January 29, 2025, Stockholm

Pedersen & Partners and CMS Wistrand co-hosted the Stockholm Private Equity Breakfast today. The event offered a dynamic setting for representatives from local and international PrivateEquity, VentureCapital, and Infrastructure funds to engage in discussions, debates, and networking.

The panel discussion was jointly moderated by Poul Pedersen, Executive Chairman, Pedersen & Partners, and Louise Rodebjer, Partner Corporate/M&A, CMS Wistrand.

The panelists included:

• Fredrik Karlsson, CEO, Röko
• Martin Lagerblad, Managing Director, Nalka
• Staffan Mörndal, Partner, Verdane Capital
• Erik Nobel, Managing Director, Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP)
• Bita Sehat, Senior Investment Director Impact Ventures, Trill Impact
• Göran Svensson, Managing Director – Head of Corporate Finance Sweden, Nordea
• Jan Wiklund, Joint Managing Partner, Armada Credit Partners.

Key takeaways from the event:

• Exits are challenging, leading to longer holding periods. Limited Partners (LPs) are concentrating on DPI (Distribution to Paid-In-Capital), and private equity fund managers are employing continuation vehicles, secondaries, part-exits, etc., to boost the liquidity flow to LPs.
• Fundraising is easier for large-cap private equity funds but challenging for smaller ones. ESG remains significant for Nordic funds; however, it's less emphasized when interacting with US investors.
• Margins are reduced and risk increased in the private credit market. With fewer new deals, there is a greater emphasis on refinancing existing portfolio companies.
• VC and PE portfolio firms are prioritizing profitability and cash-flow over growth. For VC portfolio firms the size and timing of the next fund raising has become more uncertain.
• Deal activity remained weak in 2024. It was +50% lower compared to the record year of 2021.

In summary, the Stockholm Private Equity Breakfast highlighted key industry challenges and strategies. The expectation is that 2025 will have more deal activity than 2024.