Author
Harsh Batra
Harsh Batra
Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding just took majority control of one of Saudi Arabia’s most decorated football clubs.
Its SAR840m ($224m) purchase of a 70% stake in Al Hilal from the Public Investment Fund is the latest sign that Gulf capital is happy to write cheques for trophy assets as readily as it does for pipelines and data centres.
Dealmaking stayed broad-based over the fortnight. Our deal tracker caught 18 deals, with Industrials & Manufacturing the most active sector (five deals) and Financial Services close behind (three), while Real Estate and Transportation & Logistics each added two.
This week’s highlights are:
- QatarEnergy signed on for a 30% working interest in two Angolan offshore blocks alongside Shell (operator, 50%) and Sonangol (20%), marking its entry into the country.
- Barclays bought its own Canary Wharf headquarters for £750m from Canary Wharf Group, the landlord part-owned by the Qatar Investment Authority.
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Deals summary | September 1-15, 2026
The Middle East recorded 18 announced deals between September 1-15, with Industrials & Manufacturing and Financial Services the most active sectors, accounting for five and three transactions respectively, while Real Estate and Transportation & Logistics each added two.
Capital moved in multiple directions across the region this fortnight. Qatar pushed outward on two fronts: QatarEnergy took a 30% working interest in two Angolan offshore blocks alongside Shell and Sonangol, while a Qatar Investment Authority-backed landlord sold Barclays its own Canary Wharf headquarters for £750m, recycling UK property capital back to Doha.
Closer to home, Saudi Arabia stayed the region’s busiest market. Kingdom Holding completed its SAR840m ($224m) purchase of a 70% stake in Al Hilal Club from the Public Investment Fund, Takween bought out its Chinese joint-venture partner JOFO Nonwoven to take full control of its SAAF subsidiary, and Tahweel Holding paid SAR684m ($182m) for Tasnee’s stake in Al-Rowad.
Rumour mill
- Saudi Arabia | Saudi wealth fund weighs EA-Savvy merger, Bloomberg News reports
- Saudi Arabia | SARC announces the start of negotiations to acquire an additional stake in an operating company in which they have an investment.
- Saudi Arabia | Sources: Aramco is considering selling Arlanxeo as part of its plan to divest from some of its assets.
- Saudi Arabia | A takeover offer for Al-Ittihad Club will likely be completed by the season
- Egypt | KIMA Company is considering scrapping old units and discussing the sale of assets in Aswan.
- Saudi Arabia | Dow considers exit from $20 billion Saudi Aramco chemicals venture Sadara
- Egypt | Cairo Poultry decides to sell its stake in “Aman” and liquidate Cairo Leasing
- Saudi Arabia | BCare eyes Saudi market IPO within 2 yrs amid fierce competition
- Saudi Arabia | DBS signs MoU to acquire up to 100% of 2 AI solutions firms
- Saudi Arabia | Dar Al Markaba signs a memorandum of understanding with Zad International to acquire all of its shares.
- UAE/Qatar | G42 explores raising bns of USD from outside investors + UAE and Qatar are adding LNG to ship-to-ship transfer play
- Egypt | Gulf money eyes the Corniche
- Egypt | What Xi’s Cairo visit has delivered so far: Teda expansion, MoUs, and wider China footprint
- Qatar | Qatar Financial Centre and Al Rayan Bank sign a memorandum of understanding to enhance Islamic finance and capital markets.
- Saudi Arabia | SABIC and Lenovo sign a memorandum of understanding to explore strategic cooperation opportunities.
- Saudi Arabia | The CEO of Tuwal told Argaam: We own 30,000 towers in 5 markets… and the IPO option is under discussion.
- UAE | Binghatti plans USD bns worth of partnerships
- Iraq | Iraq may soon hold talks with US banks for financing package
- Middle East | Plug Media and World of Business plan 300-person MENA merger
- Egypt | Egypt’s last state holdout says it won’t sell Alexandria Containers stake to AD Ports
- Saudi Arabia | Arabian Pharmaceutical Industries is offering its 10.5% stake in Al-Dawaeia for sale via an accelerated order book.
- Egypt | Raya Holding withdraws from sale of Raya Foods to Helios Investment
Regulatory
- Egypt | Financial regulator orders Premium Healthcare to exclude Lashin’s vote
- Saudi Arabia | The Insurance Authority chooses Re to lead the Saudi marine insurance fund against the risks of war
- Kuwait | Announcement regarding the licensing of securities activities for Kuwait International Bank
- Saudi Arabia | Trading in shares of Al-Ahli Gypsum Company suspended
- Saudi Arabia | The Minister of Finance thanks the leadership on the occasion of the approval to establish the Saudi Marine Insurance Fund
- Egypt | The stock exchange approves the listing of shares resulting from Grand Investment’s capital increase to 52 million pounds.
- Saudi Arabia | Basma Adeem Medical Co. Announces the issuance of a license from the Ministry of Health to open its third branch in Riyadh.
- Saudi Arabia | Al Rasheed secures GAC clearance to acquire 50% stake in Taif Shipping
- Egypt | The Financial Regulatory Authority decides on procedures for starting trading on Cairo Poultry shares after the merger
- Saudi Arabia | The Competition Authority approves the acquisition of 65% of Al-Taam Al-Wafir Company by Nafouth.
Job moves
- Saudi Arabia | Morabaha Marina Financing Co. Announces Appointment of a CEO
- Saudi Arabia | MRNA appoints Turki Al-Baiz as CEO
- Saudi Arabia | Al-Razi appointed Youssef Al-Arini as Chairman of the Board and Reham Al-Arini as Vice Chairman
- Saudi Arabia | Al-Jouf Cement announces the resignation of a board member
- Saudi Arabia | The announcement of Al-Hilal’s new leadership: Bin Saad as president and Al-Haqbani as vice president.
- Saudi Arabia | Group Five Pipe Saudi Co. Announces Resignation of a Board Member
- Egypt | Nevin El-Taheri appointed as a member of the board of directors of GB Corporation
- Saudi Arabia | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader broadens Riyadh offering with Public Policy and Regulatory practice partner hire
- Egypt | Badawi Appoints New Petrogas Chairman and HSE General Manager
- Saudi Arabia | TADCO managing director steps down, remains board member
- Egypt | Radisson Blu Hotel, Cairo Heliopolis, announces Saad Mohamed Saeed as new executive chef
- Saudi Arabia | Fawaz Al-Thumairi appointed Deputy CEO of the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia
- Kuwait | Future Kid announces the resignation of its board members
- Kuwait | National Industries announces the appointment of a representative from the General Organization for Social Insurance to its Board of Directors
- Saudi Arabia | Industrial means announces the resignation of two members of its board of directors and the appointment of two members to fill the two vacant seats.
- Oman | Raysut Cement announces the appointment of a new CEO for its Internal Audit Unit.
- Middle East | Jonathan Rigg appointed CEO of BitOasis to lead MENA growth
- Saudi Arabia | PIF deputy governor steps in as Savvy Games’ interim CEO
- Egypt | Valu renews Walid Hassouna’s CEO role for three years
- Saudi Arabia | Shmoh Almadi Co. Announces the Resignation of a Board Member
- Saudi Arabia | Al Mohafaza Company for Education Announces Resignation of a Board Member
- Oman | Barka Water and Power announces the resignation of its CEO
- Oman | Central Bank of Oman Strengthens Shari’ah Leadership
- Saudi Arabia | Roshn Group brings on Naaman Atallah as CEO
- UAE | CFI Appoints Federico Cirulli as Chairman as Group Enters Next Phase of Growth
- Saudi Arabia | Saudi Tourism Authority names Ageel Alshaibani as CEO
IPOs
Fundraising
- Saudi Arabia | Gulf fintech Tabby clinches $6.5 billion valuation after latest funding round
- Saudi Arabia | BRKZ Secures $31 Million to Scale AI-Enabled Building Materials Procurement Across Saudi Arabia and the GCC
- Saudi Arabia | Al-Jawf Agricultural Company signs a loan agreement with the Agricultural Development Fund worth 150 million riyals.
- Kuwait | Kuwait International Bank announces pricing of $600 million in senior unsecured sukuk
- Egypt | Al-Oula Real Estate Finance receives EGP 1.25 billion in facilities from Banque Misr
- Egypt | Arab Bank signs a financing agreement with Edita Food Industries worth 600 million Egyptian pounds
- Egypt | The Minister of Investment issues a decision to establish the “Egypt Sub-Fund for Industrial Investment”
- Saudi Arabia | Al Rajhi Bank announces the commencement of the offer of its U.S. dollar denominated tier 2 social trust certificates under its international trust certificate issuance programme
- Saudi Arabia | Arab National Bank completes $750 million dollar-denominated sukuk offering
- Egypt | Nawy Now & Synergy Capital Close USD 12.3M Second Issuance of Ijarah-Based Fund
- Saudi Arabia | Accelerated Solutions signs an agreement to establish an investment fund to develop two data centers.
- Saudi Arabia | Sukna Capital plans to launch a $100 million venture fund
- Oman | PLD Space extends Series C to €288 million with an additional €108 million tranche
