(Bloomberg) — A regional investment bank has become Europe’s most prolific underwriter of initial public offerings, tapping a rich vein of listings in the continent’s northernmost corner.
Nordic-focused DNB Carnegie worked on five IPOs so far this year that raised roughly $2 billion in proceeds, accounting for about a third of all European volumes for the period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The deals have catapulted the bank to the number one spot for European IPOs thus far in 2025, and number two for the wider Europe, Middle East and Africa region after Citigroup Inc.
DNB Carnegie’s dominance illustrates how Scandinavian bourses, particularly Stockholm, have been gaining traction since the second half of 2024. Meanwhile, financial centers like London, Milan and Paris have lagged behind. The trend reached a zenith with the roughly $1 billion listing by Stockholm’s Asker Healthcare Group AB in March — the biggest European IPO so far in 2025.
“The Nordic IPO market has been very busy the last three quarters compared to the rest of Europe, and we’ve been executing all the sizable IPOs,” Jens Plenov, DNB Carnegie’s global head of equity capital markets, said in an interview.
Verisure’s planned Swedish listing could provide an even bigger boost in the coming months, as the alarm company and its backers are eyeing raising about €3 to €4 billion, people familiar with the matter have said. DNB Carnegie is acting as a global coordinator on the float, Bloomberg News has reported.
Dealmakers credit the strength of the Nordic market to its local community of asset managers and pension funds that regularly invest in IPOs. Retail investors are also keen to participate directly in deals, making up around 10% of allocations on average, Plenov said.
To mitigate risks, newly listed companies have generally opted for smaller free-floats and shorter offering periods, sounding out investors extensively before officially launching the IPO, Plenov said. For instance, serial acquirer Roko AB sold roughly 95% of its 5.3 billion Swedish krona ($560 million) offering to cornerstone investors before opening it to the public in March.
But the region hasn’t been completely immune to market volatility. Investment firm Greenbridge SA and NOBA Bank Group AB, a consumer lender backed by Nordic Capital, postponed plans to go public before the summer to hold out for calmer markets.
DNB Carnegie was established in May, after Norway’s DNB Bank ASA bought Carnegie Holding AB, a boutique investment bank with origins dating back to the early 19th century, for more than $1 billion from Altor Equity Partners. Carnegie was the sixth-biggest underwriter in all of EMEA during the IPO boom of 2021, but slumped in the rankings when the Nordic market slowed down.
Its rise in the standings isn’t just a factor of the tie-up — combined deal volumes for both banks last year would not have been in the top 20 firms, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Asked if DNB Carnegie would lean on DNB’s large balance sheet to win more mandates, Plenov said the bank wants “to continue winning IPO mandates on merit.” However, “the ability to apply our balance sheet to support our clients will be a great benefit.”
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