Market statistics
Norwegian companies received investments of NOK 36.8 bn. from Norwegian and foreign PE funds, a decrease from the record-breaking investment numbers of 2021. Most of the capital (NOK 26.2 bn.) was invested by foreign fund managers, showing that foreign fund managers find Norwegian companies attractive.
The high investments of 2022 were largely driven by one mega-cap investment and a handful of large-cap transactions. Most of the invested capital was directed towards companies in the buyout phase, as has been the trend of previous years. Venture investments are on the same level as in 2019 and 2020, but seed investments have stayed relatively high, after the increase of 2021.
Among Norwegian PE firms the IT sector attracted by far the most capital of all sectors, at over NOK 21 bn., making up more than 58 percent of the total amount invested in Norwegian companies. This was a decrease from the NOK 30 bn. invested in 2020. 135 investments in the IT sector were recorded in 2022, down from 157 in 2021.
The number of investments in petroleum more than doubled from 8 in 2021, to 17 in 2022. The amount invested in the sector more than halved in the same period, from NOK 3.3 bn. in 2021, to 1.4 bn. in 2022.
NOK 3.7 bn. was invested in transportation, making it the sector attracting the second most capital in 2022, however, only four investments were recorded in the sector in 2022. One of these was an investment of over NOK 3.6 bn. In third place is cleantech, receiving investments of over NOK 3.1 bn., over 15 times more than in the previous year.
33 exits from Norwegian companies were made in 2022, at a value of NOK 5.8 bn. This is a significant decrease from the previous years 52 exits at a value of NOK 13.4 bn.
Figure 16: Number of divestments in Norwegian enterprises by Norwegian and foreign PE firms by phase. Source: Menon Economics