Published: June 2, 2010
Region’s M&A at lowest in 12 months.
The value of deals targeting companies in the Middle East slumped during May to its lowest level in the past 12 months, according to research released by M&A data specialist Zephyr.
Its analysis shows an 83% month-on-month decline in deal values, with US$161mn recorded, down from US$965mn in April. There was also a 45% drop in volume with 16 deals announced compared to 29 in the previous month.
The largest deal in May was a US$60mn fundraising by Kuwaiti paper producer Shuaiba Industrial, which is selling a 73% stake in its business.
This made Kuwait the leading country by value with US$145mn worth of transactions, compared to US$14mn for Jordan and US$2mn for Oman. Each of the three countries reported four deals.