The value creation analysis was carried out by Menon Economics on behalf of the Norwegian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (NVCA). The study illustrates the importance of private equity funds for Norwegian business and industry in terms of employment and value creation, and shows how this is distributed over different phases and industries over time. The analysis also looks at how much capital is available for investments in the future:
• Today’s portfolio companies had a total value creation of NOK 37.2 billion during the last financial year for which accounting figures are available. This amounts to 1.6 percent of GDP for mainland Norway.
• The companies owned or part-owned by private equity funds employ approximately 68 900 persons.
• ICT, petroleum and retail dominate the investments of private equity funds in Norway. Petroleum used to be the biggest industry in terms of value creation, but has now been passed by ICT, which has doubled its value creation since 2009.
• The development of the companies in the period before and after private equity funds took ownership shows that the portfolio companies experienced significant growth after the private equity fund invested. This is especially true for the earliest phases, where the growth rate changes following the fund’s investment. The result is a clear indication that private equity funds contribute to the further development of Norwegian growth companies by supplying capital and expertise.
Norwegian and foreign private equity funds have NOK 23.2 billion in available capital for new investments. Buyout funds stand for NOK 18.6 billion of this, and venture funds for NOK 4.6 billion.