DOHA: Qatar saw the second largest number of announced acquisitions in the Mena region in 2012 with 48 deals. The total deals ware valued $11.2bn.
Of the top 10 announced deals by value in Mena in 2012, four of the deals were acquired by Qatar and three were acquired by the UAE, according to Ernst & Young’s 2012 year-end Mena merger & acquisitions (M&A) update.
The Ernst & Young noted the announced deal values in the region rose from $31.6bn in 2011 to $44.8bn in 2012, an increase of 42 percent. Deal volume on the other hand fell by four percent, from 416 in 2011 to 398 in 2012.
“From an acquirer’s perspective, countries that ranked highest in terms of announced deal value were UAE at $13.5bn, followed by Qatar at $11.2bn and Kuwait with $3.9bn. Of the top 10 announced deals by value in Mena in 2012, four of the deals were acquired by Qatar and three of the deals were acquired by the UAE,” the report said.
The countries that saw the largest number of announced acquisitions in 2012 were the UAE (77 deals), Qatar (48 deals), and Saudi Arabia (33 deals).
In the domestic space, Egypt and the UAE saw the highest activity in terms of target country focus of announced domestic deals, with 36 and 33 deals respectively in 2012. The countries with the highest deal values for target country focus of announced domestic deals in Mena were Kuwait at $4.9bn and Egypt at $3.4bn.
The fourth quarter saw significantly higher deal values yet lower deal activity in 2012 compared to the same period in 2011. Announced deal values increased by 84 percent from $7.2bn in Q4 2011 to $13.3bn in Q4 2012. Deal volumes in Q4 2012 declined by 17 percent to 107 deals from 129 deals in Q4 2011.
In comparison to the previous quarter, total announced deal values rose from $9.9bn in Q3 2012 to $13.3bn in Q4 2012, a jump of 35 percent.
Phil Gandier, Mena head of Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst & Young, said: “The 42 percent increase in announced deal values in 2012 suggest that there may be an improvement in the valuation gap amongst buyer and sellers in the market in comparison to last year where total deal values were considerably lower. Additionally, many businesses who restructured their capital back in 2011 left themselves well placed to finance and close deals in 2012. As 2013 unfolds there is an anticipation that the improvement in deal activity in 2012 will further improve as we start to see market conditions continually improving despite the unpredictable macroeconomic landscape.”
Oil & Gas, Professional Firms & Services and Consumer Products sectors were the most active in terms of the number of announced inbound deals.
The Peninsula
