Oriflame, the Swedish cosmetics group, and Yara International, the Norwegian fertilizer firm, will float this month with a combined value of $3.5bn (€2.8bn). The two will breathe life into the Nordic market which has not seen this level of activity for more than two years.

Merrill Lynch and Carnegie, the Nordic investment bank, are joint bookrunners for Oriflame, which will list in Stockholm on March 24, while UBS and ABG Sundal Collier are handling Yara's $1.9bn Oslo listing, due a day later.