Norwegian Private M&A Survey – Statistics and Trends (2020 edition)

BAHR has published the 2020 edition of the Norwegian Private M&A Survey, in which we examine the latest developments on key terms and market trends in the Norwegian M&A market. Our survey is based on over 100 sale and purchase agreements (SPAs) signed in the period from 2017 through 2019 and involving parties advised by BAHR.

Following an unparalleled 2017 and a strong 2018, overall activity in the Norwegian M&A market continued the positive momentum in 2019, posting a deal count increase of approximately 6 per cent from the preceding year. Deal value was up 90 per cent from 2018, almost reaching the record level of 2017, albeit a few big-ticket deals contributed heavily to this climb.

While the broader European market has seen a recent drop in activity on the back of continued geopolitical uncertainties, trade wars and growth stagnation, domestic and in-bound M&A in Norway has largely been shielded from similar slowdown effects. The appealing deal-making environment continues to be driven by low interest rates, attractive bond markets, large cash reserves and private equity (PE) firms looking to deploy vast amounts of available capital. This has also bolstered competition for the most attractive targets and contributed to persistent high equity valuations.

With 2020 having just kicked off, we continue to see a steady demand and the favourable market conditions remain intact. We therefore have an optimistic outlook for the year ahead, and we anticipate yet another year of high deal appetite in Norway.

We hope you find our latest edition of the M&A report informative. As always, we would be delighted to present more insight and statistics if you want to dig deeper into the details.

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