2019 was a bad year for Nordic M&A. For the first time since 2012 there were no deals above EUR 5bn, while both deal volume and value was down on 2018, according to Mergermarket data. Was it a blip in history or a continuation of an overall trend for the Nordic markets? In this podcast, Debtwire’s Nordics reporter Carl-Johan Kullving sits down with Jan Olsson, CEO of Nordics at Deutsche Bank and the Chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in the UK, to discuss the outlook for Nordic M&A, why transactions derail, how direct lenders are tackling competition from the Nordic banks in leveraged buyouts, and why an ESG measurement standard will be difficult to implement in the private equity world. 0:00 - Intro8:16 - The decline of M&As in the Nordics10:09 - Changes in the dynamics between private equity and lenders15:29 - The future with ESG20:49 - Nordic macro outlook