Shares in Norwegian Air fall after Nordic Leisure Travel Group acquisition

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA

16/06/2026 12:59

   ** Shares in Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA NAS.OL fall about 3% after the Norway-based airlines operator said it has agreed to buy Sweden-based tour operator Nordic Leisure Travel Group AB for SEK 7.94 billion ($845.24 million)
** Broker Pareto Securities writes in a note that the headline EV/EBITDA of 8x in Last Twelve Months figures looks pricey at first glance against Norwegian at about 4x
** However, assuming the 2-3% revenue growth and 2pp margin uptick from synergies that multiple quickly drifts towards 6x, and should Nordic Travel Leisure Group return to EBITA margins of 9-10% it edges closer to 4-4.5x, the broker says
** "This clearly hinges on a successful realization of the growth and margin synergies, but the strategic rationale looks sound to us", it adds
** While the acquisition holds some strategic merits, a pure-play airline highly attractive in the ongoing European airline consolidation wave was and is superior to an integrated diversified leisure platform, broker Nordea writes
** "Although there may be some strengths in having a broader travel platform, I think Norwegian was on its way to gaining a stronger foothold as a purely focused, high-quality airline in an interesting region in the European context," Nordea analyst Sondre Snersrud says
** "It’s easy to get flashbacks to previous Norwegian 'diversions'… ref. long-haul," Snersrud adds
** The shares have fallen 8.60% YTD
     
($1 = 9.3938 Swedish crowns)

 (Reporting by Alexander Klyve Gudbrandsen)
 ((alexanderklyve.gudbrandsen@thomsonreuters.com))