Author
Harsh Batra
Harsh Batra
Over the past fortnight, the war’s impact on M&A has become harder to ignore.
Sources say Macquarie has withdrawn from the bidding for a stake in Kuwait’s oil pipeline network, a transaction valued at up to USD 7 billion, making it one of the first known investors to pull out of a Gulf deal because of the war with Iran.
The shockwave has also reached the capital markets. Listings such as the new OMV–ADNOC JV have been postponed, while dealmakers have had to take due diligence a step further. Input cost inflation, margin compression across manufacturing bases and rising insurance costs are now weighing more heavily on deal feasibility and underwriting.
Even so, figures such as Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon remain optimistic on the M&A outlook for 2026. This week’s deals support that view, highlighting the resilience of Middle East dealmakers even against a far more adverse backdrop.
The highlights are:
- ADNOC and OMV signed a major upstream-downstream transaction. The deal structure included the acquisition of Nova Chemicals for USD 13.4 billion, followed by its merger with Borouge and Borealis. The combined entity carries an implied valuation of around USD 30 billion.
- ACWA Power acquired a 32% stake in Shuaibah Water & Electricity Company, reinforcing vertical integration and improving cash flow visibility.
- MEFIC REIT agreed to acquire a portfolio of properties in Jeddah and Makkah for approximately SAR 815 million, further increasing its exposure to two of Saudi Arabia’s most strategic and high-demand real estate markets.
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Deals Tracker
Outbound M&A
The rumour mill
- Qatar | Golden Goose is in talks to sell a 10% stake to the Qatar Investment Authority.
- Qatar | Qatari-backed Irth Capital has offered $47 a share to acquire Papa John’s, according to sources.
- Qatar | QDB has activated financing and advisory programmes for the food and health sectors.
- Saudi Arabia | Germany’s Knauf has received approval to buy a majority stake in United Mining.
- Saudi Arabia | KAFD is exploring a sale of its district cooling assets after receiving non-binding offers.
- Saudi Arabia | Other move from KAFD: the company is seeking around $500m from the sale of its district cooling assets.
- Saudi Arabia | Retal is considering a $151m capital increase to fund the acquisition of a stake in Ajdan.
- Saudi Arabia | SAL has outlined its 2026 priorities, including a SAR 5.3bn capex plan through 2030.
- Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are still pursuing energy deals despite the regional conflict.
- UAE | After announcing Borouge Group International, OMV and ADNOC have delayed the company’s listing as the regional conflict drags on.
Job moves
- Jordan | Airport International Group has appointed Antoine Crombez as chairman.
- Qatar | Commercial Bank has elected a new 12-member board at its AGM.
- Saudi Arabia | LIVA has extended the term of its acting chief executive.
- Saudi Arabia | Riyadh Steel has appointed Abdullah Ali as chief executive officer.
- Saudi Arabia | Shareholders representing 10% of Sadirat’s capital have called for Saleh Al-Rashid to be removed from the board.
- Saudi Arabia | SICO Capital has appointed Ziad Malak as head of investment banking.
- UAE | Cambridge Health Group has appointed Wael Abdallah as chief executive officer.
- UAE | Chestertons has appointed John Stevens as chief executive officer for its MENA operations.
- UAE | Cloudera has appointed Nick Loumakis as vice-president for the UAE and Turkey.
- UAE | DP World has appointed Ahmad Yousef Al-Hassan as CEO and managing director for its GCC operations.
- UAE | Fasset has appointed Behnam Gurban-Zada as executive director for Islamic finance and banking.
- UAE | Flyby has appointed Tomaso Rodriguez as chairman ahead of a planned Series A round and expansion.
- UAE | National Bank of Egypt has appointed Sherif El-Beheiry as CEO of its UAE operations.
- UAE | QBurst has appointed Shivkumar Subramaniam to lead its Middle East expansion from Dubai.
- UAE | Trojan Construction Holding has appointed Ahmed Al Shamsi as group CEO.
IPOs
- Kuwait | Trolley General Trading has completed its IPO and is preparing to list on Boursa Kuwait.
- Saudi Arabia | Ninja is moving ahead with IPO plans despite regional geopolitical tensions.
- Saudi Arabia | Saleh Abdulaziz Al Rashed & Sons debuted on the Saudi Exchange on 11 March, with shares rising more than 14%.
Fundraising
- Bahrain | Bahrain’s central bank said its 12-month Treasury bills issue No. 138 was fully subscribed.
- Bahrain | Bahrain’s monthly Treasury bills issue was fully subscribed, according to the central bank.
- Bahrain | Bahrain’s weekly Treasury bills issuance was fully subscribed, the central bank said.
- Oman | Oman has launched the 82nd issue of its government development bonds.
- Qatar | ShipBee has secured $500,000 in funding for its AI logistics business.
- Saudi Arabia | As oil prices ease on signs of de-escalation, Saudi Aramco has launched a $3bn share buyback.
- Saudi Arabia | Bank AlJazira has completed a SAR 1.46bn AT1 sukuk offering.
- Saudi Arabia | Bidaya Finance has completed its inaugural sukuk offering at SAR 200m.
- Saudi Arabia | Infobrim has secured angel funding at a $3.5m valuation.
- Saudi Arabia | Muhlah has closed a SAR 28.25m seed round led by BIM Ventures and Japan’s SBI Group for its sharia-compliant consumer microfinance business.
- Saudi Arabia | NDMC has closed March’s sukuk issuance under its programme at SAR 15.43bn.
- Saudi Arabia | Red Sea’s board has proposed a SAR 280m rights issue.
- Saudi Arabia | Saudi Networkers’ shareholders have approved a 25% capital increase through bonus shares.
- Saudi Arabia | The CMA has approved Khairat’s 250,000-share offering on Nomu.
- Syria | Proptech start-up Miftah has raised a pre-seed round.
- UAE | Blockchain start-up Utexo has raised $7.5m in a seed round led by Tether.
- UAE | Phoenix Venture Partners has reached a third close of its debut fund.
