Middle Eastern firms’ M&A deals hit $56.2b
OVERSEAS ACQUISITIONS FROM THE UAE ACCOUNT FOR 46% OF REGION’S OUTBOUND MERGER AND ACQUISITION ACTIVITY
The value of mergers and acquisitions with Middle Eastern involvement reached $56.2 billion last year, up 13 per cent from 2014, according to a report by Thomson Reuters.
Outbound mergers and acquisitions grew 34 per cent from 2014 to reach $35.2 billion, the highest annual total since 2008, while inbound activity rose by 29 per cent to $5.4 billion. Health care was the most active sector, accounting for 24 per cent of mergers and acquisitions with Middle Eastern involvement.
Overseas acquisitions from the UAE accounted for 46 per cent of Middle Eastern outbound merger and acquisition activity, while acquisitions by companies in Qatar and Saudi represented 36 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.
However, domestic and inter-Middle Eastern mergers and acquisitions fell 16 per cent year-on-year to $11.3 billion.
Fees from completed mergers and acquisitions touched $213.1 million in 2015, an increase of 4 per cent compared
“Middle Eastern equity and equity-related issuance totalled $5.7 billion during the full year 2015, a 50 per cent decline from full year 2014 and the slowest annual period for equity capital markets issuance in the region in two years,” said Nadim Najjar, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa at Thomson Reuters, in a statement.
“Middle Eastern debt issuance reached $6.2 billion during the fourth quarter of 2015, a significant increase compared to the value raised during the previous quarter,” he added.
However, bond issuance
in the region dropped 19 per cent to $30.2 billion in 2015 — the lowest annual total since 2011 — from 2014. The UAE accounted for 60 per cent of activity, followed by Bahrain with 9 per cent.
International Islamic debt issuance fell 23 per cent yearon-year in 2015 to reach $28.9 billion.
Meanwhile, Middle Eastern investment banking fees touched $636.4 million in 2015, down 16 per cent compared to 2014 — the lowest annual period for investment banking fees in the region since 2012, as per the report.