Harsh Batra
PwC released its mid-year update for the TransAct Middle East report, and it shows a landscape that those who followed Teaser Middle East in the first quarter already know: resilience amid geopolitical uncertainty.
“The first half of 2026 was a test of the Middle East’s deal market resilience. Activity moderated, but the market didn’t lose direction. Capital became more selective; valuations were reassessed and buyers moved towards assets with clearer strategic value. At the same time, sovereign-linked and regional buyers helped keep transactions moving as inbound capital became more cautious. We see here a market turning more disciplined: less dependent on broad momentum, and more focused on national priorities and long-term value creation”, said Romil Radia, Partner at PwC Middle East.
Deal activity comprised 148 transactions in Q1 2026, broadly in line with 146 a year earlier. However, the market had to recalibrate from late February onwards. Not stagnation, but adaptation. The region recorded around 272 deals in the first half, down roughly 8% YoY.
Dealmakers’ responded to the geopolitical crisis with selectivity rather than loss of confidence. The right call: the first is strategic; the second it is not. No transaction crossed the $5 billion mark, with mid-sized deals leading the activity.
Resilience also stayed strong this fortnight. Teaser Middle East caught 32 deals in its curation, with cross-border transactions remaining prominent. Financial Services was the most heated sector, with Logistics & Transportation following next.
This week’s highlights are:
- MGX goes mega on data centres, closing alongside the AI Infrastructure Partnership and BlackRock’s GIP the $40bn acquisition of Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie Asset Management and co-sellers (the largest data centre deal on record).
- Blackstone, KKR and Brookfield agreed a $16bn lease-and-leaseback investment in Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s oil pipeline network, one of the largest private capital deployments ever into Gulf energy infrastructure and a template other NOCs will be watching closely.
- Dubai Aerospace Enterprise completed its $9bn acquisition of Dublin-based Macquarie AirFinance, vaulting the Dubai-owned lessor into third place globally by fleet and cementing the emirate’s push up the aviation value chain.
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Week Summary | From July 21 to August 4, 2026
The Middle East recorded 32 announced deals between 21 July and 4 August, with financial services, logistics & transport and healthcare the most active sectors, accounting for six, five and four transactions respectively.
Capital flowed in both directions across Gulf borders this fortnight, but mostly outward (and in size). Abu Dhabi set the tone, with an MGX-led consortium wiring $40bn to close the largest data centre deal on record for Aligned Data Centers, while DAE’s $9bn capture of Macquarie AirFinance lifted Dubai into the top tier of global aircraft leasing.
Coming the other way, Wall Street’s heavyweights bought themselves a seat at the region’s energy table, as Blackstone, KKR and Brookfield inked a $16bn lease-and-leaseback of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s pipeline.
Rumour mill
- UAE | The dispute for the acquisition of Harvey Nichols are pilling up contenders. Dubai-based Chalhoub Group os competing with Reliance Retail (India) and other several international players, such as Frasers Group, Next and Gordon Brothers. The auction has been complicated by a disclosure from Harvey Nichols to prospective buyers that they need to commit up to £60m of investment to fund the ongoing transformation of the department store group
- Egypt | BP is in the proceedure of a series of divestments. First, it’s West Nile Delta natural gas development in Egypt is receiving bids. Among the contenders there is Dragon Oil, Carlyle Group and Energean.
- Kuwait | BP is also in advanced discussions to sell Lightsource bp to a consortium of private equity firm Qualitas Energy and Wren House
- Saudi Arabia | Etihad Etisalat had disclosed his negotiations with TAWAL over the potential sale of its telecommunications towers. The company said no MoU or binding agreement has been signed
Regulatory
- Saudi Arabia | It took some time, but EU has finally approved the $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts by PIF
- Saudi Arabia | CMA approved AlBilad Investment Co.’s request to offer units of the Saudi Center for Quran Recitations and Prophetic Hadiths Endowment Fund to the public
- Saudi Arabia | European Commision approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the joint acquisition of HUMAIN by Saudi Aramco and PIF
- Saudi Arabia | Saudi Printing and Packaging Co. requested the approval of CMA on a capital decrease, where it would cut capital by 89.42% to SAR 68.97 million from SAR 652.07 million, in a bid to amortize SAR 583.10 million accumulated losses, as per Argaam’s data
Job moves
- Saudi Arabia | Almujtama elected a new board members. Among them, there are Omar Khoja as Chairman, and Fahad Al-Samih as Vice Chair. Other names include Yousef Khoja, Abdulaziz Khoja, Karim Bachite, and Hamad Al-Sourayia.
- UAE | Robo.ai Appoints Dr. Jasem Al-Mansory as Chief Executive Officer of Its Subsidiary Alif Holding
- Saudi Arabia | RATIO appoints Abdulaziz Alamer as acting CEO
- Saudi Arabia | Quara Finance Co’s CEO Faisal Al-Shaikh requested resignation, which was approved by the company’s board
- Saudi Arabia | Hedab Alkhaleej shareholders elect new board. The new members are Naif Al Humaid, Yasser Al Humaid, Nasser Al Humaid, Fahad Al Nassar, and Mohammed Alshaya
- Saudi Arabia | Saudi Company for Hardware (SACO) said its board appointed Wael Jamjoom as Chairman and Rehab Bakhsh as Vice Chair.
- UAE | BlueFive Capital appoints Marwan Elaraby as President for the Middle East and North Africa
IPOs
- Egypt | EGX chairman says up to six temporarily listed state-owned companies could complete IPOs within the next year
- UAE | ADIA invests US$20.9 million as an anchor investor in Manipal Health’s Indian IPO
- Egypt | Misr Life Insurance targets a year-end IPO after receiving approval to float a 20% stake
- Egypt | Capital Med prepares an approximately EGP 2.2 billion EGX IPO for the third quarter of 2026
Fundraising
- Egypt | Banque Misr is preparing a EGP 3 bn fund to acquire leased offices in Fifth Settlement. The bank is targeting a launch before year-end, pending approval from the Financial Regulatory Authority, and will partner with an unnamed developer to invest in completed, occupied administrative buildings that can generate recurring rental distributions
- Saudi Arabia | Insurtech DESAISIV opens a US$8 million growth funding round to scale its enterprise insurance platform
- Saudi Arabia | Alramz Real Estate Co. signed an agreement to establish a Shariah-compliant real estate investment fund, managed by SNB Capital, with a target size exceeding SAR 3.6 billion to develop a mixed-use residential and commercial project in Al Raed District, Al Jawhara Plan in Riyadh
- Saudi Arabia | PIF is among the investors of a new Brookfield’s fund. The asset manager raised $2b toward buying and growing companies in areas such as financial services, consumer and technology in Middle East
- Saudi Arabia | Al Rajhi Capital launched its fifth indirect financing fund, with assets exceeding SAR 1.8 billion. The fund will invest in personal financing portfolios originated by finance companies licensed by Saudi Central Bank
- UAE | Soter Insure closes first tranche of Series B round led by Galaxy Digital; total funding is expected to reach around US$23.5 million after a second close
- Saudi Arabia | Raem raises over US$2 million in seed funding led by Sidra Ventures
- UAE | Longevium raises US$7 million in its first funding round to establish an AI-powered longevity research lab in Dubai
- UAE | Web3 startup Bundle raises US$5.5 million in a pre-seed round co-led by Ethereal Ventures and Further Ventures
- Saudi Arabia | Saudi Energy secures a SAR 15.8 billion seven-year Shariah-compliant Murabaha facility from seven Saudi banks
- Saudi Arabia | PIF-owned Jada commits to Growth Catalyst Fund I, which is targeting US$200 million for growth-stage Saudi SMEs
- UAE | Epic Markets raises US$10 million in a pre-seed round from Karatage
- Saudi Arabia | game developer Ash Games raises US$1.5 million in seed funding led by Merak Capital and Impact46
- UAE | First Abu Dhabi Bank provides nearly US$1 billion of SoftBank’s US$40 billion bridge loan supporting its OpenAI investment
- Egypt | E-commerce operations platform Fincart raises US$2.8 million in an oversubscribed seed round
- Egypt | Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund secures US$90 million in additional commitments, taking the vehicle to around US$148 million and adding Egypt as a target market
- Qatar | SkipCash attracts a strategic investment from Qatar International Islamic Bank
- UAE | Mubadala-backed Clipway closes US$6.4 billion for its inaugural secondaries fund
- Syria | Super-app Labby raises US$10 million from a consortium of UAE and Saudi investors
- Saudi Arabia | B2B commerce and fintech platform SILQ secures US$20 million in Shariah-compliant structured financing from Gemcorp
