Author
Harsh Batra
Harsh Batra
Despite the dramatic events over the past fortnight, M&A remained resilient across the Middle East. Looking at the numbers, we saw a notable drop in energy transactions, longer deals timelines, and more joint ventures rather than cancellations.
On a global level, the latest M&A data compiled by LSEG suggests that a fresh wave of geopolitical conflict in the Middle East has not dampened the global dealmaking boom. Driven by AI, global deal volume surpassed USD 1.2tn in Q1, setting a new historical record.
This week’s standout deals are:
- XRG and OMV completed the Borouge–Borealis combination alongside the acquisition of Nova Chemicals, creating a global polyolefins platform anchored in Abu Dhabi and positioning the emirate as a central hub in the reconfiguration of global petrochemicals value chains.
- Brookfield and Qatar Investment Authority agreed to form a USD 20bn joint venture to invest in AI infrastructure in Qatar and selected markets, marking one of the largest capital deployment platforms in the region tied to digital infrastructure and sovereign-backed technology scaling.
- Kuwait Finance House finalised the acquisition of up to 100% of Ahli United Bank, closing a landmark cross-border banking consolidation that reshapes the GCC financial landscape and strengthens Kuwait Finance House’s position as a regional Islamic banking leader.
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Deals Tracker
Outbound M&A
- Germany | Other move from ADNOC was the completion of its Covestro acquisition, closing one of the region’s defining chemicals deals and deepening its push into higher-value downstream markets
- Canada | Mubadala exited CoolIT in a near-$5bn deal, cashing out of the liquid-cooling specialist as demand for AI-linked data centre infrastructure continues to accelerate
- Germany | QIA backed BASF’s coatings carve-out, supporting the standalone future of the business as strategic investors continue to target specialised industrial assets
- India | Emirates NBD cleared another step in its RBL Bank acquisition process, moving the Indian banking deal further along the regulatory path
- Italy | A Qatari fund acquired Kering’s Milan building, underlining continued Gulf appetite for trophy real estate in core European luxury markets
- Multiple (Asia) | Masdar and TotalEnergies formed a $2.2bn renewables JV in Asia, expanding their regional clean energy push through a larger shared investment platform
- UK | Sidara completed its acquisition of Wood, bringing the engineering group into its platform and expanding its scale across global energy and infrastructure services
- Uruguay | QatarEnergy and Chevron acquired Shell’s offshore assets in Uruguay, expanding their exposure to frontier exploration acreage in Latin America
- USA | 2PointZero unit to buy US gas pipeline developer
- USA | Kingdom Holding buys BEV stake
The rumour mill
- Egypt | Shell is weighing further investments in Egypt, including new wells and field development.
- Qatar | QCB has rolled out liquidity support measures to ease funding pressures in the banking system.
- Saudi Arabia | Arabia Insurance and United Cooperative Assurance have called off their proposed merger.
- Saudi Arabia | Gulf sovereign wealth funds led by PIF are in talks to provide up to $24bn to back Paramount’s proposed Warner Bros Discovery takeover.
- Saudi Arabia | LIVA and Malath have ended merger talks without reaching an agreement.
- Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are pressing ahead with planned multibillion-dollar energy deals despite the war backdrop.
- UAE | EWEC has received four bids for Abu Dhabi’s 3.5GW Al Nouf 1 solar IPP.
- UAE | Mubadala Energy has secured a fourth Andaman block, expanding its gas position in Indonesia.
Job moves
IPOs
- Egypt | Cairo plans to temporarily list 20 state-owned companies on the Egyptian Exchange by end-April.
- Egypt | Geos and Hedgestone Investment are targeting IPOs on the Egyptian Exchange by the end of Q3 2026.
- Kuwait | Trolley has proceeded with its share sale and listing on Boursa Kuwait.
- Saudi Arabia | Marble Design’s board has approved its migration from Nomu to the Main Market (TASI), marking a step up in its capital markets positioning.
- Saudi Arabia | Ninja is proceeding with IPO plans in Riyadh despite regional tensions.
- Saudi Arabia | Petrolube has won CMA approval for a 9m-share IPO on TASI.
- Saudi Arabia | PIF is in talks to anchor SpaceX’s planned IPO with a possible $5bn investment.
- Saudi Arabia | Subscription has opened for April’s Sah Sukuk issuance, carrying a 4.50% return.
- UAE | Sharjah Islamic Bank plans to raise AED2.59bn through a rights issue.
- Kuwait | Burgan Bank has won central bank approval for a KWD50m rights issue.
- Saudi Arabia | MSGA Investment has received CMA approval to float 11.11m shares on Nomu.
Fundraising
- Egypt | EBRD is considering up to $223.5m of financing for the country’s first utility-scale battery storage projects.
- Egypt | ITIDA and Plug and Play have supported 61 Upper Egypt start-ups, unlocking $3.7m of funding.
- Egypt | Lucky has raised $23m in a Series B round to fund its expansion across North Africa.
- Jordan | Jordan’s central bank has issued JD200m of long-term bonds.
- Kuwait | Beyout Holding’s subsidiary Real Estate House has secured a KWD2.23m loan from Kuwait International Bank.
- Morocco | GoSwap has secured seed backing from Azur Innovation Fund to expand its battery-swapping network.
- Morocco | ZSystems has raised $1.65m in a seed round, taking total funding to $2.7m.
- Qatar | EnergyX has secured institutional backing in Doha to accelerate its global clean-building expansion.
- Qatar | Estithmar Holding has issued the fourth tranche of its QR3.4bn sukuk programme.
- Qatar | QCB has issued QR3bn of Government Ijara Sukuk on behalf of the Ministry of Finance.
- Qatar | WHOOP has raised $575m in a Series G round with backing from QIA, Mubadala and 2PointZero, supporting its GCC expansion.
- Saudi Arabia | Aramco Ventures has backed US-based Via Separations in a $36m funding round, signalling continued outbound bets in climate tech.
- Saudi Arabia | GAGA has raised $2.5m in a pre-Series A round led by Phoenix Venture Partners.
- Saudi Arabia | Maison Safqa has secured a $620,000 pre-seed round backed by Sanabil 500.
- Saudi Arabia | MESC has renewed and increased its credit facilities with Alinma Bank to SAR250m.
- Saudi Arabia | Scientific and Medical Equipment House has renewed SAR260m of credit facilities with Bank Albilad.
- Saudi Arabia | SVCP has received CMA approval for an SAR80m rights issue.
- UAE | Blackstone has invested $250m in ADGT, a newly launched UAE payments and data intelligence platform.
- UAE | CarniStore has secured an AED45m strategic minority investment from Emirates Growth Fund.
- UAE | Dubai Aerospace Enterprise has signed $2.8bn of multi-currency revolving facilities, including a Shariah-compliant tranche.
- UAE | estaie has raised a 7-figure pre-seed round led by PlusVC and Orbit Ventures.
- UAE | Mezza has launched with seed backing from angel investors.
- UAE | Phoenix Venture Partners has reached the third close of its debut fund.
- UAE | zypl.ai has closed a $5.5m bridge round at an $80m valuation.
