UAE leads the way in volume, but Kuwait sees highest total deal value.
The value of mergers and acquisitions activity in the Middle East more than doubled in the first three months of this year compared to the previous quarter, a new report claims.
Zephyr, an M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk, states that US$8.6bn was spent on deals in the region between January and the end of March this year, up from US$3.6bn in the final quarter of 2009.
Volume also increased, with 73 deals signed off compared to 55 in the previous quarter, a rise of almost a third.
But the research also shows a huge slump in the value of private equity deals in the region. The value of those transactions fell by 98% despite only a 17% drop in volume. The report blames this on a particularly high level of activity at the end of 2009.
Of five such deals completed in the first quarter of the year, only a US$15m injection from a private equity consortium into UAE-based solar project developer Enviromena Power Systems had its value disclosed.
The growth of the first quarter was driven by companies selling minority stakes with 42 such transactions worth US$6.5bn, accounting for 58% and 75% of the quarter’s volume and value respectively.
Despite the promising start to the year there was only one deal worth more than US$1bn, with Kuwait Finance and Investment Company increasing its interest in property developer Kuwait Real Estate Company by 1% to take a 5% holding in the business.
This was closely followed by EFG-Hermes' sale of a fifth of Lebanon-based Bank Audi for $913mn.
The UAE led the way in terms of volume with 15 deals signed off, but Kuwait saw more value than any other country in the region with US$4.5bn spent over eight transactions. This was almost three times as much as was spent in Qatar, the country with the next-highest total value.
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