By Satish Kanady
DOHA: A total of 13 M&A deals at an estimated value of $1.5bn were announced in the Middle East region during the first quarter of 2016. The total number of deals are same as in Q1 2015, but total deal value has declined by 39.7 percent from $2.5bn, Mergermarket, the world’s leading news and intelligence service for mergers & acquisitions stated yesterday.
Mergermarket identified the telecommunications sector as the most targeted in the Middle East, entirely as a result of Saudi Telecom Company’s $494m acquisition of Kuwait Telecommunications — the highest valued deal of the quarter.
Kirsty Wilson, Global Research Editor at Mergermarket, commented: “The UAE attracted the highest number of deals during the quarter, with the announcement of seven deals totalling $447m. The highest valued UAE deal of the quarter was the $292m acquisition of e-commerce platform Souq.com by Standard Chartered Private Equity limited, Baillie Gifford and International Finance Corporation, in a funding round that valued the company at $1bn.”
Deal value in the Telecommunications sector grew significantly, totalling $494m in the first quarter of 2016, compared with $223m in the same period last year.
Other sectors that experienced considerable growth were Construction, which recorded $135m in Q1 2016, compared with $41m in 2015, and Transport, with deal value totalling $90m in the first quarter, compared with $21m in the same period last year.
Will Seivewright, Corporate/M&A Partner at Baker & McKenzie Habib Al Mulla, based in the UAE, commented:“Cross-border M&A in Q1 2016 has continued to be very busy across the Middle East, following a record-breaking 2015 for cross-border M&A globally and regionally. The food and beverage and telecommunications sectors have been particularly active across the GCC, and notwithstanding the low oil prices and macroeconomic uncertainty, companies have continued their strategic expansion and/or consolidation plans. The region remains attractive to cash rich international private equity investors and given the current healthy pipeline of both M&A and private equity related deal activity, we expect this trend to continue into the next quarter.”
Mergermarket’s upcoming Middle Eastern M&A and Private Equity Forum will be attended by leading MENA transaction professionals, who will examine deal trends in the region as well as share ideas on the outlook for M&A in the Middle East. The Forum will be hosted in strategic partnership with Baker & McKenzie, EY, Standard Bank and Instinctif Partners. The Forum will be followed by Mergermarket’s inaugural Middle Eastern M&A Awards, which will recognise transaction advisory achievements across a range of sectors including Consumer, Mining & Utilities, Industrials & Chemicals, Medical & Biotech, Real Estate, and Financial Services. The Peninsula
By Satish Kanady
DOHA: A total of 13 M&A deals at an estimated value of $1.5bn were announced in the Middle East region during the first quarter of 2016. The total number of deals are same as in Q1 2015, but total deal value has declined by 39.7 percent from $2.5bn, Mergermarket, the world’s leading news and intelligence service for mergers & acquisitions stated yesterday.
Mergermarket identified the telecommunications sector as the most targeted in the Middle East, entirely as a result of Saudi Telecom Company’s $494m acquisition of Kuwait Telecommunications — the highest valued deal of the quarter.
Kirsty Wilson, Global Research Editor at Mergermarket, commented: “The UAE attracted the highest number of deals during the quarter, with the announcement of seven deals totalling $447m. The highest valued UAE deal of the quarter was the $292m acquisition of e-commerce platform Souq.com by Standard Chartered Private Equity limited, Baillie Gifford and International Finance Corporation, in a funding round that valued the company at $1bn.”
Deal value in the Telecommunications sector grew significantly, totalling $494m in the first quarter of 2016, compared with $223m in the same period last year.
Other sectors that experienced considerable growth were Construction, which recorded $135m in Q1 2016, compared with $41m in 2015, and Transport, with deal value totalling $90m in the first quarter, compared with $21m in the same period last year.
Will Seivewright, Corporate/M&A Partner at Baker & McKenzie Habib Al Mulla, based in the UAE, commented:“Cross-border M&A in Q1 2016 has continued to be very busy across the Middle East, following a record-breaking 2015 for cross-border M&A globally and regionally. The food and beverage and telecommunications sectors have been particularly active across the GCC, and notwithstanding the low oil prices and macroeconomic uncertainty, companies have continued their strategic expansion and/or consolidation plans. The region remains attractive to cash rich international private equity investors and given the current healthy pipeline of both M&A and private equity related deal activity, we expect this trend to continue into the next quarter.”
Mergermarket’s upcoming Middle Eastern M&A and Private Equity Forum will be attended by leading MENA transaction professionals, who will examine deal trends in the region as well as share ideas on the outlook for M&A in the Middle East. The Forum will be hosted in strategic partnership with Baker & McKenzie, EY, Standard Bank and Instinctif Partners. The Forum will be followed by Mergermarket’s inaugural Middle Eastern M&A Awards, which will recognise transaction advisory achievements across a range of sectors including Consumer, Mining & Utilities, Industrials & Chemicals, Medical & Biotech, Real Estate, and Financial Services. The Peninsula
