Supportive macroeconoomic conditions have led to an active year for the leading law firms in the Swedish market. Negative interest rates and high bank liquidity, relative depreciation of the Swedish krona and mature exit-ready assets on private equity balance sheets have supported strong M&A and IPO deal flow for the leading law firms, according to a report published by Legal DealFolio (www.legaldealfolio.com) (September 2015). Whereas IPO activity on several European bourses was lower than for the same period last year, Nasdaq Stockholm and First North saw greater activity. On the M&A side, the leading law firms advised on a higher number of strategic (trade) buyer transactions than financial buyer/private equity deals. The industrial sector was the most active, followed by retail, technology and media. Traditionally strong firms such as Vinge and Gernandt & Danielsson led the way with the most transactions. The leading capital markets lawyers (both debt and equity) were from Gernandt & Danielsson and the leading M&A lawyers were from Vinge and Setterwalls.

1. Inaugural Survey of Activity in the Swedish
Commercial Legal Services Market
Jan – Sept 2015
www.legaldealfolio.com
1
Organised Insight into Lawyers’ Client Work

2. Executive Summary
2
Legal DealFolio has carried out its
inaugural survey of legal activity in
the Swedish market for the first
three quarters.
An end of year update will be
published in December 2015.
The main story has been a high deal turnover driven
by factors specific to the Swedish market, which has
seen, for example, IPO activity on the NASDAQ
Stockholm increase by 62% for the first half of 2015
compared a fall of 35%on the London Stock
Exchange for the same period (PWC IPO Watch).
Negative Interest Rates
Liquidity and Loan Growth
in the Banking Sector
Krona-USD Exchange
Rates
Mature Assets in Private Equity Portfolios
Solid GDP and Domestic Consumption
Favourable Conditions for Dealmaking
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3. Favourable Macroeconomic Backdrop for Dealmaking
• Low interest rates and banking sector loan growth in the local market and currency depreciation versus the US
dollar have been supportive of dealmaking. Underlying this, upward trends in GDP, domestic consumption and
industrial production indicate a solid platform for investors in Sweden. However, the global backdrop is
considerable more challenging in the final few months of 2015, and this could clearly affect deal volumes.
3
Swedish Business Confidence Swedish Loans to Private Sector
Swedish GDP Annual Growth Rate
Source: Trading Economics www.tradingeconomics.comwww.legaldealfolio.com

4. Designations and Recognitions – Sweden YTD 2015
Leading Law Firms
Corporate and M&A Vinge
Capital Markets Gernandt & Danielsson
Project Finance Setterwalls
Banking and Finance Cederquist
Leading Lawyers
Corporate and M&A Anders Holmgren
(Setterwalls)
Johan Winnerblad (Vinge)
Equity Capital Markets Carl Westerberg
(Gernandt & Danielsson)
Debt Capital Markets Mikael Borg
(Gernandt & Danielsson)
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All Designations and Recognitions are based on deals closed in the period Jan – September 2015.
Please use the following links for the full list of deals:
Vinge - http://www.legaldealfolio.com/directory.php?lawAlpha=V&lawId=68
Gernandt & Danielsson - http://www.legaldealfolio.com/directory.php?lawAlpha=G&lawId=82
Setterwalls - http://www.legaldealfolio.com/directory.php?lawAlpha=S&lawId=81
Cederquist – http://www.legaldealfolio.com/directory.php?lawAlpha=C&lawId=80
Johan Winnerblad - http://www.legaldealfolio.com/directory_lawyer.php?lawAlpha=J&lawyerId=1177
Anders Holmgren - http://www.legaldealfolio.com/directory_lawyer.php?lawAlpha=A&lawyerId=2246
Carl Westerberg - http://www.legaldealfolio.com/directory_lawyer.php?lawAlpha=C&lawyerId=2268
Mikael Borg - http://www.legaldealfolio.com/directory_lawyer.php?lawAlpha=M&lawyerId=1353
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5. View from the Vanguard: Mr Carl Westerberg of Gernandt & Danielsson
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DealFolio: How has the first half of 2015 compared to 2014? According to PWC’s recent IPO watch,
Nasdaq Stockholm was the only major European exchange to see a year on year increase.
CW: The first half of 2015 was certainly very active in terms of ECM activity and there was pick up compared
to the same period in 2014. Nasdaq Stockholm even needed to have two closing bells because the
activity was so high!
DealFolio: Have any industry sectors in particular been driving the activity?
CW: Some of the activity has been driven by private equity sellers. The activity has been fairly balanced with
no particular industry sector driving the market forward.
DealFolio: Obviously there is some general macro uncertainty globally, but focussing on Sweden do
you see some good potential for activity in the coming quarters?
CW: It is difficult to say how international issues will affect the Swedish economy and market but in terms
of the second half, if market conditions permit, there are some good IPO candidates out there who would be
ready.
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6. View from the Vanguard: Mr Anders Holmgren of Setterwalls
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DealFolio: 2015 has been a very active year for Swedish M&A. What factors have driven this
activity?
AH: Several factors.The depreciation of the Swedish krona – 30% versus the US dollar – has meant that good
quality Swedish assets represent even better value for foreign buyers. This is one factor.
DealFolio: Have the record low interest rates set by the Riksbank also been a factor?
AH: Yes, some loan financing terms are attractive for acquisitions. There is good liquidity out there
and this has supported M&A activity.
DealFolio: Have currency dynamics led to an increase in cross-border activity?
AH: Historically, the Swedish market has always had a large number of transactions with a
cross-borderangle. Probably around 50% of deals are cross-border, and this year was no different.
DealFolio: Any observations on the nature of the cross-border activity?
AH: We have seen several deals with a US component, both private equity and industrial. There have
Been German acquirors on the industrial side and UK acquirors on the private equity side. There is
the potentialfor more Chinese acquirors in the future.
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7. Distinctive Legal Landscape of Sweden
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Sweden has a very distinctive high-end legal sector with a number of very respected law firms who
operate independently of international multi-national law firms. The tables above show headline league
tables as at 30 September 2015.
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8. Selected YTD League Tables as at 30 September 2015
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9. ECM Drivers: Real Estate and Travel & Leisure
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0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
ECM Deals by Industry
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10. Corporate and M&A Drivers: General Industrials and Retailers
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0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Corporate Deals by Industry
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11. Leading Lawyers: Equity Capital Markets
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12. Leading Lawyers: Corporate and M&A
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13. Leading Lawyers: Real Estate
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14. Active Sectors: General Industrials
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15. Active Sectors: General Industrials (cont.)
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16. Active Sectors: General Retailers
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17. Active Sectors: Media
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18. Active Sectors: Infrastructure Assets
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19. Active Sectors: Selected Bank Credit Transactions
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20. Active Sectors: Initial Public Offerings
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21. Active Sectors: Initial Public Offerings (cont.)
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22. Active Sectors: Corporate Bonds
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23. Concluding Remarks
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• YTD 2015 has been an active one in the Swedish legal market. Favourable macroeconomic conditions have
supported dealmaking.
• The sector could see less activity as global headwinds buffet markets with Chinese growth slowdown and Fed
tightening weighing on investors attention.
• Traditional heavyweights such as Gernandt & Danielsson in the Capital Markets and Vinge in the Corporate
practice areas have led the way. Setterwalls, Cederquist and MAQS have also been leading in several industry
sectors.
• In our end of year report December 2015 we will undertake a detailed comparison of 2015 activity versus 2014
activity.
• We hope you have found this survey informative – please contact us on info@legaldealfolio.com in case of any
questions.
• Legal DealFolio www.legaldealfolio.com is a unique resource for participants in the legal services market,
powered by a structured global database of lawyer client work and commentary. Please visit us soon….
Thank you!
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