Macrobond Stock 1

Macrobond: Scaling from a founder-led company to a global platform for economic and financial data

Founded in 2008, Macrobond began as a Nordic-centric company with a clear vision: to offer a comprehensive platform for macroeconomic and financial data research. The transformative investment by Nordic Capital in 2018 propelled Macrobond into a new era of growth and innovation. After five years partnership, Macrobond stands as a global leader in financial data technology, revolutionising economic and financial analysis worldwide. With a robust database of over 300 million macroeconomic and financial time series, Macrobond provides its customers with powerful analytics capabilities, setting new standards in the industry.

A strategic partnership with Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital recognised Macrobond’s unique potential early on. Through a close collaboration with the company’s management and founders, significant investments have been made to enhance the company’s technology platform and accelerate its growth trajectory. These efforts focused on strengthening Macrobond’s position as a leading global provider of analytical tools and data services, while preserving its core values of innovation and customer-centricity. The partnership also emphasised commercial excellence and organisational strengthening. During Nordic Capital’s majority ownership period, the management team was strengthened with new functions, and the Company’s sales operations where streamlined. This resulted in increase in average deal size through a solution-driven sales model, and improvement of net revenue retention. Sales productivity more than doubled with a streamlined sales team boasting blue-chip experience. Another key achievement was the tripling of annual contract value, with a growth trend of 34% LTM observed at the time of the exit, in 2023.

Technology investment: building a best-in-class platform

At the heart of Macrobond’s success is its robust and scalable technology platform. Nordic Capital’s support has enabled the company to expand its SaaS solution, offering seamless access to macroeconomic data from over 2,500 sources. This investment has pushed Macrobond to the forefront of the industry, offering users automated workflows, comprehensive metadata, and efficient data sharing capabilities. The platform’s flexibility and precision have helped financial analysts worldwide streamline their research processes and improve productivity.

Expanding product offerings and global reach

Macrobond’s product expansion has been a key focus area. In collaboration with Nordic Capital, the company has broadened its service offering, integrating more data sources and refining its proprietary software to support complex financial analysis. This expanded portfolio has allowed Macrobond to capture new markets and attract a broader client base, from leading global financial institutions to academic researchers. Before 2019, Macrobond had a single product with around 40 million macro time series. Since then, strategic investments have laid the foundation for continued rapid growth, expanding the product range to five products covering the full breadth of research software workflows and
increasing the data to over 300-million-time series in 2023. Between 2019 and 2023 Macrobonds time series increased from 40 to 300 m +.

Momentum for global growth

From its Nordic origins, Macrobond has successfully expanded into global markets, establishing itself as a trusted provider of economic and financial data solutions. Nordic Capital’s strategic guidance and investment have enabled the company to pursue ambitious growth targets, enhancing its market position in Europe, North America, and Asia. This international momentum underscores Macrobond’s commitment to becoming the global platform of choice for financial research. With a solid foundation and clear strategic direction, Macrobond is well-positioned for continued growth. Its focus on innovation, technological excellence, and customer-centric solutions ensures that Macrobond will remain a leader in the economic and financial data industry for years to come. In 2023, Macrobond was divested to Francisco Partners, a global investment firm specialising in technology businesses. However, Nordic Capital remains a minority share, reflecting its continued belief in the company’s growth potential and commitment to supporting its ongoing success.

Revenue

Employees

“During Nordic Capital’s majority ownership period, Macrobond evolved from a founder-led, Nordic-centric firm into a leading global platform for economic and financial data. One key achievement is the tripling of annual contract value, with a growth trend of 34% LTM observed in 2023, at the time of the exit.”

Tomas Liljeborg, Chairman and Founder of Macrobond, previously CEO.

Can you elaborate a bit on Macrobond’s growth during Nordic Capital’s ownership?

"During Nordic Capital’s ownership, Macrobond experienced remarkable growth and transformation. Since Nordic Capital became the majority owner in 2018, Macrobond has more than tripled its size and significantly accelerated its growth trajectory. This period saw the company evolve from a founder-led, Nordic-centric firm into a leading global platform for economic and financial data. One key achievement is the tripling of annual contract value, with a growth trend of 34% LTM observed in 2023, at the time of the exit”.

How has Nordic Capital supported Macrobond’s success?

"Nordic Capital has played a pivotal role in Macrobond’s success through several strategic initiatives such as operational support, investment into the technology, and support with scaling the business. Furthermore, Nordic Capital’s extensive network has been very beneficial for Macrobond. This has been particularly evident in our hiring of fantastic new talent, much of which has come through the Nordic Capital network. It has made a significant difference in steering the company towards its growth objectives”.

What does the future hold for Macrobond?

“The outlook for Macrobond is promising as we embark on a new chapter focusing on scaling operations and reaching new audiences globally. Key focus areas include continued growth, innovation and global expansion. We are also happy to have Nordic Capital on board as minority owners on our continued journey”.

Time series:

  • Before 2019: ~ 40 m.
  • 2023: ~ 300 m +

Annual Contracted Value (ACV):

  • 2018: 170 m SEK
  • 2023: 550 m SEK