Author
Harsh Batra
Harsh Batra
It has been a turbulent week in the Middle East.
Attention is centred on hopes for a swift easing of the conflict with Iran and M&A is already feeling the impact.
Data compiled by Bloomberg show that, although we have not yet seen any deal cancellations, the war has already extended timelines, and dealmakers are now placing greater emphasis on more focused due diligence.
This week’s headline transactions included:
- Nebras Energy signed an agreement to acquire ENGIE’s stakes in two power assets in Qatar. The acquisition will be carried out through its subsidiary Ras Laffan Operating Company and includes a 40% stake in Qatar Power and indirect interests in Ras Girtas Power, increasing Nebras’ ownership to 95% and 65%, respectively.
- Dubai Aerospace Enterprise agreed to acquire Macquarie AirFinance for $7bn. The combined company will have a fleet of 1,029 owned, managed and committed aircraft serving 191 airline customers across 79 countries.
- Tasnee agreed to sell its subsidiary Al-Rowad Industrial Transformation to Tahweel Holding for SAR 700m. The disclosed transaction value was based on Tahweel Holding’s net asset value on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
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Deals Tracker
Outbound M&A
- Belgium | SAL agreed to acquire Aviapartner Liège for $32.8m, giving the Saudi logistics group an operating foothold at a key European cargo hub.
- Belgium | Another outbound move from SAL was signing an agreement to acquire 100% of ground handling company Aviapartner Liège for SAR 123m.
- France | Alba entered into an exclusive agreement with American Industrial Partners to acquire 100% of Aluminium Dunkerque, the EU’s largest primary aluminium smelter.
- Guernsey | Lesha Bank to acquire aircraft lessor Amedeo Air Four Plus in an all cash deal implying an enterprise value of £751m, or about $1bn, as it looks to expand Lesha Aviation Capital’s fleet and invest in new technology aircraft.
- Ireland | Dubai Aerospace Enterprise is going to acquire Macquarie AirFinance for $7bn, a deal that will create a combined fleet of 1,029 owned, managed and committed aircraft.
- Italy | 2PointZero Group completed a $191.7m majority acquisition of ISEM Packaging Group, taking 60.8% of the company while Peninsula Capital and minority investors retain 39.2%.
- United States | A subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s 2PointZero bought an undisclosed stake in health tech company Whoop, whose subscription based wearable platform has raised more than $400m since launch.
- United States | IHC’s Judan agreed to acquire a 50.1% stake in Alpha Wave Global, marking its first investment since launch and bringing in a US asset manager with stakes in OpenAI and other AI companies.
- United States | QIA joined a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT to acquire AES for $15 a share in cash, valuing the clean energy company at $10.7bn in equity and about $33.4bn including debt.
The rumour mill
- Egypt | O B Financial Holding’s B2C is considering acquiring up to a 25% stake in Brown Nose Coffee, with the final price yet to be determined.
- Egypt | Scatec plans to build a wind turbine factory and a solar powered desalination plant as it looks to double its investments in Egypt.
- Egypt | The sale of Gabal El Zeit wind farm is nearing completion at a reported valuation of $416m.
- Egypt | Valuation talks have begun for Banque du Caire’s planned EGX listing.
- Qatar | Widam Food signed an MoU with Hassad Food on a potential share swap or merger involving Hassad’s wholly owned Aalaf Qatar, with any deal still subject to due diligence, valuation and approvals.
- Saudi Arabia | Al Dawaa is closing four international subsidiaries in Germany and Dubai as it moves their operations back under its main Saudi entity.
- Saudi Arabia | First Avenue signed a development deal with Jadwa Al Shorfa Real Estate Fund.
- Saudi Arabia | Quantum Switch Tamasuk is weighing strategic options for its Saudi business, including a potential sale, with sources saying the assets could be worth more than $500m.
- Saudi Arabia | Sadirat decided not to proceed with its planned investment in FAAD Industrial Fund after the offering failed to raise the minimum threshold needed to launch.
- Saudi Arabia | Saudi Fisheries extended the sale process for its 51% stake in Al Haridah by two months.
- Saudi Arabia | Saudi Industrial Export scrapped its planned acquisition of Advanced Energy for Trading and Contracting after due diligence and feasibility studies fell short of expectations.
- Saudi Arabia | The Industry Ministry invited bids for exploration licences covering eight mining sites.
- Saudi Arabia | UCA and AICC terminated their non binding MoU on a potential merger.
Job moves
- Saudi Arabia | Acwa appointed former Air Products executive Samir Serhan as chief executive as part of its planned leadership transition.
- Saudi Arabia | Amsa Hospitality’s chief executive said Amsa Vue should reach occupancy of more than 75% in its first year.
- Saudi Arabia | ANB shareholders are set to elect board members for the coming term on 31 March.
- Saudi Arabia | LIVA extended the term of its acting chief executive.
- Saudi Arabia | Maaden appointed Gilberto Antoniazzi as chief financial officer.
- Saudi Arabia | Naf appointed Basel Al Harbi as chief executive and Abdullah Al Khalifa as managing director.
- Saudi Arabia | Najran Cement confirmed Ataa Bakkar as chief executive.
- Saudi Arabia | National Gypsum’s board accepted the resignation of its chief executive.
- Saudi Arabia | Northern Cement shareholders elected a new board for a four year term.
- Saudi Arabia | SABIC chief executive Abdulrahman Al Fageeh retired and Faisal Al Faqeer was appointed to lead the company.
- Saudi Arabia | SABIC named Faisal Al Faqeer as its new chief executive following Abdulrahman Al Fageeh’s resignation.
- Saudi Arabia | Saudi Enaya extended Nasr Al Din Baba’s term as acting chief executive.
- Saudi Arabia | Shams said it had received a request from shareholders to dismiss the board.
- Saudi Arabia | Shareholders holding 10% in Sadirat are seeking to remove a board member.
- Saudi Arabia | The Saudi Red Sea Authority appointed Maryam Ali Ficociello as chief executive.
IPOs
- Egypt | Egypt’s prime minister reviewed state company restructuring, planned IPOs and an update to the State Ownership Policy, including the transfer of 40 selected companies to the Sovereign Fund of Egypt.
- Egypt | The Egyptian Exchange approved the temporary listing of Misr Life Insurance, paving the way for a minority stake sale of up to 20%.
- Egypt | TSFE is seeking underwriters for the offering of up to 20% of Misr Life Insurance, in a step tied to Egypt’s wider state IPO programme.
- Japan | ADIA, QIA and Visa agreed to anchor SoftBank’s PayPay IPO, committing up to $220m as cornerstone investors in the planned Nasdaq listing.
- Oman | Muscat Stock Exchange listed Oman Gateway Fund as the country’s first listed open ended fund.
- Saudi Arabia | A consortium led by Saudi PIF and Silver Lake launched a tender offer for Electronic Arts’ $1.5bn of notes in the US.
- Saudi Arabia | Bidaya Finance’s sukuk offering appeared on the Saudi Exchange IPO calendar, with the subscription period running from 8 March to 10 March.
- Saudi Arabia | Kesay Clinics decided not to proceed with its Nomu IPO.
- Saudi Arabia | Saleh A. Al Rashed said its retail IPO tranche was 161% covered.
Fundraising
- Bahrain | Investcorp said it had closed more than $1.25bn of commitments for Strategic Capital Partners II and related vehicles, including $1.1bn of fund commitments and $155m of co investment capital.
- Bahrain | Ithmaar Holding shareholders approved capital raising initiatives including a rights issue.
- Egypt | EBRD is providing a loan of up to €13.7m to Alumil Misr to expand aluminium production in Egypt.
- Qatar | iQtech attracted its first investment round to expand its XR medical training platform.
- Qatar | Qatar Islamic Bank mandated banks for a potential US dollar sukuk issuance, with a five year senior unsecured deal expected to follow.
- Saudi Arabia | Impact46 started the offering period for Bidaya Finance’s sukuk, which targets SAR 200m with a three year tenor and a 7.1% annual return after zakat.
- Saudi Arabia | Muhlah closed a SAR 28.25m seed round led by BIM Ventures and Japan’s SBI Group to scale its sharia compliant consumer microfinance platform.
- Saudi Arabia | Riyadh Valley Company and SparkLabs launched a $20m venture fund linked to King Saud University.
- Tunisia | STEG is seeking a €40m EBRD loan for a 50 MW solar project paired with 20 MWh of battery storage.
- UAE | Omniyat priced a $600m five year sukuk.
