The UAE was the country most targeted by Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activities in H1 2022, which totaled $12 billion, an increase of 88 percent over the same period last year.
Refinitiv, a member of the London Stock Exchange Group, has released the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Investment Banking Report for the first half of 2022.
According to the report, M&A transactions with any type of participation in the MENA region amounted to a total of $43.7 billion in H1 2022, which is a decline of 4 percent from the same period last year.
On the other hand, 580 transactions were recorded, which is the highest number since the recording of this type of transactions began in 1980.
M&As targeting the MENA amounted to $22.1 billion, a decline of 38%, the lowest total since 2018.
Incoming mergers and acquisitions fell 63 percent to the lowest level in five years to record $8 billion.
On the other hand, issued M&As recorded a significant increase of 125 percent to $18.2 billion, the highest since 2008.
Local M&As recorded a slight increase, at an annual rate of 3 percent, to reach $14.1 billion.
The biggest deal for this type of operation in the MENA region this year was by DP World and CDPQ, which announced a $5 billion investment in strategic assets in the United Arab Emirates.
The industry sector was the most active in the MENA, with deals worth $5.9 billion, which represents a quarter of the recorded operations.
The UAE was the country most actively targeted, with a value of $12 billion, with a growth rate of 88 percent over the same period last year.
The total announced M&As with any participation in the Middle East and North Africa amounted to $109.1 billion during 2021, an increase of 57 percent over 2020. This was the third year in which the volume of mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East and North Africa exceeded $100 billion.
