Episode 88 · 2021-07-02 · 42:10 · Original in Finnish
The IPO Boom | Henrik Husman | Negotiator 88
Originally published as “Pörssin IPO-buumi | Henrk Husman | Neuvottelija 88”
Nasdaq Helsinki's chief executive Henrik Husman opens up Finland's third listing wave in spring 2021. More than a hundred companies have left the Helsinki exchange since 2000, but around 130 have joined — the net change is positive, though without the arrivals the list would be short. The episode covers what a First North listing demands of a company, what a Certified Adviser adds, and what the SPAC structure then being trialled in Finland actually is: Husman stresses it is not a back door to the exchange, because the combined entity must meet the same listing criteria. Also discussed: the reversal in reputation of private-equity-backed listings, anchor investors and Puuilo's thirty thousand subscribers, retail allocation cuts, and high-frequency trading. Husman also names a Finnish deterrent — dividend taxation that keeps well-capitalised family companies off the exchange.
Core theses
- A SPAC is not a back door: the combined entity has to meet the same listing criteria, which is the answer to the structural objection.
- A hundred departures and 130 arrivals since 2000 is a positive net change and a thin margin — without the new arrivals the Helsinki list would be short.
- Dividend taxation is named by the exchange's own chief executive as what keeps well-capitalised family companies off it, which is an unusually direct thing for him to say.
- Private-equity-backed listings reversed their reputation by outperforming, which changed who anchor investors would follow.
Watch and listen
Key moments
- 00:00 — A hundred leaving, 130 arriving, and the SPAC as a harness driver
- 01:00 — Henrik Husman, and the third hot listing wave
- 02:06 — Brady bought Nordic ID: the first First North takeover
- 03:08 — What a First North listing demands of a company
- 04:42 — The Certified Adviser, and moving to the main list
- 07:30 — Why companies list: growth capital, a quality mark and recruitment
- 09:10 — A SPAC: a company listed in order to make an acquisition, not a back door
- 11:08 — The agency problem, the escrow account, and the investor's right to exit
- 13:30 — A SPAC as an alternative to a private equity buyer for a target company
- 15:16 — Private-equity-backed listings have beaten the index
- 18:56 — Anchor investors, and Puuilo's thirty thousand investors
- 20:28 — Institutions against retail investors, and allocation cuts
- 22:16 — Ultra-fast trading, banks internalising flow, and market share
- 25:29 — Discounts in directed offerings, and the value of handcraft
- 27:07 — Why Sweden is Europe's champion in listings
- 29:42 — The stick of dividend taxation keeps family companies off the exchange
- 31:14 — First North's positive spiral, and balancing the risk level
- 32:44 — Green bonds, ESG reporting and the Green Equity Designation
- 36:33 — The Certified Adviser and the takeover code on First North
- 38:51 — A direct listing without an offering, and Spotify's example
- 41:58 — Closing words
Summary
Nasdaq Helsinki’s chief executive Henrik Husman opens up Finland’s third listing wave in spring 2021. More than a hundred companies have left the Helsinki exchange since 2000, but around 130 have joined — the net change is positive, though without the arrivals the list would be short. The episode covers what a First North listing demands of a company, what a Certified Adviser adds, and what the SPAC structure then being trialled in Finland actually is: Husman stresses it is not a back door to the exchange, because the combined entity must meet the same listing criteria. Also discussed: the reversal in reputation of private-equity-backed listings, anchor investors and Puuilo’s thirty thousand subscribers, retail allocation cuts, and high-frequency trading. Husman also names a Finnish deterrent — dividend taxation that keeps well-capitalised family companies off the exchange.
The answer to the SPAC objection
The standard complaint is that a SPAC lets a company onto the exchange without meeting the requirements. Husman’s answer is procedural and correct: the combined entity has to clear the same criteria, so the listing standard is applied — just at a different moment. Whether that moment is late enough is a fair further question the episode does not press.
A thin net positive
A hundred out, 130 in, over two decades. The headline is that Helsinki has grown; the substance is how close the margin is, and how much of the current list exists because of the arrivals rather than in spite of the departures.
The exchange names its own obstacle
Dividend taxation keeps well-capitalised family companies private, and the person saying so is the chief executive of the exchange that would otherwise list them. Coming from him it is a more useful data point than the same claim from a lobbyist.
Watch
The recording lives on the Neuvottelija channel: Pörssin IPO-buumi | Henrk Husman | Neuvottelija 88. A Finnish edition of this episode is published at www.neuvottelija.fi.
In depth
The Neuvottelija AI editions carry a long-form write-up of this episode: English · suomeksi.
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People and topics
Guests: Henrik Husman
Topics: Investing & Markets Ownership, Capital & Tax M&A & Exits