Executive Summary
- The GCC witnessed yet another eventful quarter within the M&A realm, recording a total of 48 successful transactions across the six countries, (Q1 2023: 55). These transactions were heavily concentrated in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who collectively accounted for 86% of the total transactions that closed throughout the quarter. This is followed by Kuwaiti targets, who captured 8% of the total pool of transactions closed, while the remaining portion is equally divided amongst Bahraini, Omani and Qatari targets. It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia was the sole market to witness a growth in the total number of transactions closed year over year, while the remaining markets recorded zero to negative growth throughout the period.
- Moreover, these transactions spanned across an array of sectors however investors particularly expressed a vast level of interest in the Consumer Staples, Industrials, and Information Technology sectors, which is evident as 42% of the transactions that closed revolved around players within the aforementioned sectors.
- Furthermore, GCC companies continued to attract interest from foreign buyers, who have sealed a total of 16 transactions throughout the quarter. This further exemplifies a solid level of international interest in the GCC market, as foreign buyers closed a total of 13 transactions involving GCC targets throughout Q1 2023. The UAE reigned the charts throughout both quarters as it captured an average of 66% of the total number of transactions that closed throughout the respective periods.
