Bridgepoint Capital gets Nordea man

European private equity firm Bridgepoint Capital has announced the appointment of a fourth director at the firm’s Nordic operations based out of Stockholm. Hakan Johansson, former corporate finance director at Nordea Securities, will join the firm’s operations in Scandinavia as the firm looks to expand on its recent deal-making in the region.

Graham Oldroyd, the director responsible for Bridgepoint’s investments in the Nordic market, said that the expansion came about because of the increase in middle market opportunities in the region.

Since Bridgepoint began investing in the Nordic region in 1995, the firm has completed eight buyouts, five follow-on acquisitions and three successful realisations. In August 2000, Bridgepoint sold Capella, the Swedish data services outsourcing business it backed in 1998, to Finland Post for an undisclosed sum.

In July 2001, it completed the buyout of Nordisk Parkering (NP), the largest privately owned car park operator in the region, in a deal whose total value exceeded E87m. In March this year, Bridgepoint paid an undisclosed amount for Scanpark, the fourth largest car park operator in Norway.

Other investments made by Bridgepoint Capital in the Nordic region include: the SEK205m buyout of manufacturer of long-life industrial lighting products group Aura, the E20m buyout of engineering consultancy Semcon and the E37m buyout of cold store manufacturer Huurre.