Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 11, 2025
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Digital banking group NOBA has announced plans to list on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange sometime in the third quarter of this year in a deal expected to value the company at around 35 billion Swedish crowns ($3.74 billion).
NOBA's listing plans make it the second major Swedish financial services group to opt to go public this year, with buy-now, pay-later lender Klarna making its New York debut this week.
NOBA said on Thursday that Finland's OP Cooperative, DNB Asset Management and Handelsbanken Fonder had entered into cornerstone agreements to subscribe to up to around 3.18 billion crowns of shares at an offer price representing an equity value of up to 35 billion crowns at the initial public offering.
The NOBA Group is controlled by private equity firm Nordic Capital's funds and Finnish insurer Sampo Oyj, according to information on its website.
"Today, NOBA is one of Europe's leading specialist banks with an impressive profitable growth, serving over two million customers," Christopher Ekdahl, Partner at Nordic Capital Advisors and a member of NOBA's board, said in a statement.
"Nordic Capital believes a listing is the next natural step for NOBA."
NOBA could be joined by other European digital banks and fintech companies that have ambitions to go public. Revolut, Monzo and Starling in Britain are widely seen as potential IPO candidates but are yet to lay out concrete plans.
NOBA operates across the Nordic region and offers credit cards in Germany, as well as deposit products in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Ireland.
It operates under the brands Nordax Bank, Bank Norwegian and Svensk Hypotekspension.
NOBA chief executive, Jacob Lundblad, said the listing would raise the public profile of the lender and allow it to tap investors to fund potential acquisitions in the future.
“We shouldn’t rule out that we will do acquisitions," he told Reuters. “There's a big chance that we can fund a lot of that ourselves through our profits. But if the target is right, then there's obviously the opportunity to access the capital market in a good way being a listed company.”
Sweden’s IPO market has been a bright spot this year amid a wider downturn for European listings. The country hosted 11 IPOs and direct listings in the first half of 2025, raising a total of 1.9 billion euros ($2.22 billion), according to PwC data.
This compares with nine listings with total proceeds of 264 million euros in the same period last year, based on PwC data.
($1 = 9.3608 Swedish crowns)
($1 = 0.8554 euros)
(Reporting by Simon Johnson and Charlie Conchie; Editing by Jane Merriman)
