Morten Bogaard, Partner at BDO Corporate Finance.
The latest market update from BDO’s construction and civil engineering analysis shows that the level of activity in mergers and acquisitions within the sector remains at a historically high level.
Morten Bogaard works as a Partner at BDO Corporate Finance and has in-depth knowledge of the transactions market within construction and civil engineering.
– We observe that the number of acquisitions remains very high at both Nordic and Norwegian levels, and there is a clear trend of continued consolidation in the industry. Several acquirers owned by Nordic Private Equity firms have completed their first acquisitions in Norway in 2024 and 2025, says Bogaard.
In the first quarter of 2025, a total of 85 acquisitions in construction and civil engineering were announced across the Nordics, representing a slight decline compared to the same period in 2024. Measured over the past twelve months, transaction activity remains in line with the previous four quarters, with 354 acquisitions completed during this period.
– The actual figures are significantly higher, as acquisitions of smaller companies are not necessarily announced via press releases, says Bogaard.
The level of transaction activity among strategic buyers was slightly higher than among financial buyers in the first quarter of 2025.
– Private Equity players accounted for 44 percent of acquisitions in the Nordics in the first quarter, highlighting their central role in the market.
In the first quarter of 2025, Private Equity firms completed a total of 37 acquisitions in the industry, while 163 acquisitions were recorded over a twelve-month period.
The 163 acquisitions in the twelve-month period leading up to Q1 2025 are in line with the total of 166 acquisitions recorded throughout 2024. At the same time, the first quarter of 2025 shows that the number of platform investments among Private Equity firms remains stable.
– This development suggests that market participants are positioning themselves for future acquisitions of small and medium-sized companies in fragmented markets, through a roll-up strategy. It indicates that buyers remain confident in continued high activity in the market going forward.
In Q1 2025, a total of 19 acquisitions were completed in Norway within the construction and civil engineering sector, in line with the same period in 2024.
– Measured over the past twelve months, transaction activity remains close to historic peak levels in the Norwegian construction and civil engineering market, says Bogaard.
Private equity players account for a larger share of acquisitions in the Norwegian construction and civil engineering market compared to the Nordic market as a whole. Over the past twelve months, 54 acquisitions by private equity firms involving Norwegian target companies have been recorded, slightly exceeding the 44 acquisitions carried out by strategic buyers during the same period.
In Q1 2025, nine acquisitions were completed, more than twice as many as in Q1 2024.
– Although Norwegian private equity players have significantly increased their share of acquisitions this quarter, the trend still points towards growing foreign ownership of Norwegian companies, says the advisor.
Transaction activity was largely driven by foreign private equity buyers, who accounted for 57 percent of acquisitions by financial buyers over the past twelve months as of Q1 2025.
There is increasing transaction activity in the five most active segments of the Norwegian construction and civil engineering market – technical installation, façade and roofing, consulting engineers and architects, tradespeople, and landscape contractors.
Acquisitions of consulting engineers and architects, as well as companies within façade and roofing, have seen strong development in 2024 and 2025.
– Norway’s current historically high levels are partly due to several new acquirers in 2024 and early 2025 viewing the country as an attractive market for acquisitions to strengthen their existing Nordic platforms, explains Bogaard.
BDO Deal Advisory has strong knowledge of the Nordic transaction market and acts as advisor to a number of players in the construction and civil engineering industry. As a result, they have played a highly active role in the consolidation of the construction and civil engineering market