Swedish investment company Roko AB’s [STO:ROKO] IPO serves as a much-needed boost for Nordic ECM, after the worst start to the year for volumes since 2019.

The listing, valued at SEK 5.3bn (USD 525.54m), was the largest in Sweden since Volvo Cars [STO:VOLCAR-B] listed in 2021.

The IPO has lifted ECM volumes in the Nordics – covering Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland – to USD 1.9bn in 2025 YTD.

The figure this year has been one of the slowest starts to a year in Nordic ECM in the last decade.

Roko’s IPO though has boosted sentiment in the region, especially now that Asker Healthcare Group AB and GRK Infra are recently launching IPOs on the Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq Helsinki respectively.

Both processes are attracting strong demand at the time of writing, despite market volatility, two sources familiar with the deals said.

There are plenty of technical reasons the region therefore could be a bright spot for EMEA ECM again.

“Valuations remain attractive – especially compared to earnings growth forecasts in the year ahead – and are also at rather large discounts to the US market,” Nicklas Fhärm, Head of ECM at SEB, said.

The sluggish start this year follows a slight IPO resurgence in 4Q24 when listings such as Sveafastigheter AB [STO:SVEAF] (USD 291m), Intea Fastigheter AB [STO:INTEA-B] (USD 197m), and Apotea AB [STO:APOTEA] (USD 173m) were priced.

“Last year ended on a strong note with four Nordic IPOs in December and that have all been well-received; in particular, the IPO of Apotea (SEB JGC), priced at sector-high multiples, added confidence to the IPO market sentiment,” Fhärm said. Total volumes in 2024 were USD 19.8bn, down from USD 23bn the year before.

The positive end to last year, however, has failed to translate to a flurry of ECM activity in 2025 so far, with only 2003 (USD 77m), 2008 (USD 463m), and 2009 (USD 364m) being worse starts for the region in the last 22 years, according to Dealogic data. Despite this, shoots of optimism are emerging as market sentiment improves.

“Investors still like the region and the OMX Nordic 40 Index has grown 5% YTD,” said an ECM banker. “There is renewed confidence in the market after Apotea has performed well after listing (up by 12%).”

In the follow-on market, full year volumes stood at USD 18.2bn in 2024, down from USD 21bn in 2023. Despite the decline, volumes remained resilient given the broader market volatility.

Investors in the region have, like in most of Europe, flocked to safe havens. So far in 2025, follow-on volumes have reached USD 1.3bn.

Meanwhile, convertible bond (CB) issuance in the region has been virtually dormant, with just USD 80m priced in 2024 and no deals so far in 2025.

This aligns with the broader European trend, where CB issuance has remained subdued amid deal supply remaining limited.