Nordic Capital, the Swedish private equity firm, has invested a further £123m (€196m) in Nycomed Pharma, the northern European pharmaceuticals company.

The firm originally bought 69% of Nycomed Pharma in 1999, and has now paid a total of £402.5m to Amersham, the parent life sciences company, for a 98% holding. Amersham will use the proceeds of the sale to reduce its net debt and invest in the growth of its core businesses. Nordic Capital raised Skr7bn (€834m) in July last year for its fourth fund, which specialises in healthcare and information technology investment.