Middle East M&A Deal Values Up 35.9%

The total value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A’s) across the Middle East and Africa rose 35.9 per cent to $30.2 billion in the first half of 2013, up from $22.2 billion in the same period last year.

The findings from a Mergermarket report show the region witnessed its highest half-year value since 2010 despite a slow start in Q1 off the back of a strong performance in the fourth quarter of last year.

However M&A activity picked up with the second quarter in 2013 sporting a 46 per cent increase from Q1, with a deal value of $17.9 billion.

Inbound investment into Africa and Middle East was up by 43.2 per cent year-on-year for the first half of the year and accounted for 56.8 per cent of the total deal value in the region as investors seeked to benefit from the region’s potential, the report said.

However outbound deals decreased 0.8 per cent in value and 20 per cent in number in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2012, thus making it the lowest opening half-year for outbound investment since 2004.

As per the report, industrials and chemicals had the highest market share of 16 deals valued at $10.3 billion in the first half of 2013, up by 758.3 per cent year-on-year.

According to an earlier Ernst & Young (E&Y) report, MENA’s M&A deals in Q1 2013 increased 100 per cent in value but declined three per cent in number. The UAE topped the region in terms of both the value of domestic deals ($2.2 billion) and number of acquisitions with 11 deals.

Qatar had the second highest value of domestic deals worth $880.4 billion along with having seven acquisitions.

The E&Y report also noted a decreased level of optimism due partly to continued tension in regional countries. However the report forecasted that though these factors might dampen deal activity, regional investors would factor them in and complete transactions.