Norva24 Group acquired by Apax Partners

Apax Partners completed a recommended public cash offer for Norva24 Group on 7 May 2025, acting through Nordahl BidCo and acquiring approximately 98% of the shares. The offer, at 36.50 Swedish kronor per share, valued the company at an enterprise value of NOK 1–10bn, an EV/EBITDA multiple of 5x–12x on 2024 figures, and represented a premium of 58.7% to the closing price of 7 March 2025, the last trading day before the announcement. Five principal shareholders, Valedo Partners Fund II, Briarwood Chase Management, Nordstjernan, Invest24 and AHB Invest, holding together around 57% of the capital, had irrevocably undertaken to accept. Apax proceeded with the compulsory redemption of the remaining shares and the delisting from Nasdaq Stockholm. Norva24 maintains underground infrastructure across Northern Europe. Its crews empty septic tanks, grease traps and drainage wells, clear blocked sewers by high-pressure flushing, inspect pipes by camera and carry out repairs. Its customers are municipalities, property owners, industrial sites and small businesses, served through a decentralised network of local branches working on scheduled rounds. It generated revenue of NOK 1–10bn and an EBITDA of NOK 450–900M in 2024, with an EBIT of 283.6 million kroner and net debt at 2.1 times adjusted EBITDA. The economics rest on density. A vehicle and its crew cover a fixed radius each day, and profitability depends on how many jobs fall within it, which means market share in a given area matters more than national scale. That is what makes acquiring local operators the route to margin: each one absorbed into an existing round raises utilisation without adding a vehicle. Apax based its case on that model, which it had backed elsewhere in the Nordics and Germany, and on the fragmentation of the European market. It argued the company would be better placed outside public markets to pursue acquisitions at the pace required, accepting the operational and financial risk that entails, with a capital structure a listed company could not maintain. Citigroup advised Norva24’s board, with White & Case as legal counsel, and the independent bid committee obtained a fairness opinion from Berenberg. Jefferies advised Apax, with Sullivan & Cromwell, Setterwalls and Poul Schmith as legal counsel.

The acquisition of Norva24 Group is part of the growth strategy of Apax Partners, which already has several external growth operations under its belt, notably Evelyn Partners in 2024.