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Mergers & acquisitions

TotalEnergies has joined Octopus and Taqa in funding the Xlinks renewables project

TotalEnergies invests $25m in Xlinks

TotalEnergies announced on Wednesday that it has invested £20 million ($25.4 million) to acquire a minority stake in Xlinks, the company overseeing the £22 billion Morocco-UK renewables project.  The French oil and gas major joins fellow investors Octopus Energy and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), the UAE’s largest power producer, which gave a substantial […]

Sarah Jessica Parker in And Just Like That.

More deals likely to follow OSN+ and Anghami merger

The merger last week between OSN+ and Anghami will lead to more consolidation in the region’s streaming sector, industry experts have said. Kuwait’s Kipco-Panther Media Group, which operates as OSN, will combine its streaming service OSN+ with Anghami’s music and entertainment business to create one of the Middle East’s largest streaming platforms. The Europe, Middle […]

Lucy Frazer is likely to conduct a public interest test on the Telegraph bid

UK regulator likely to review Telegraph bid

Lucy Frazer, UK secretary of state for culture media and sport, has written to an Abu Dhabi-backed consortium warning that that she is likely to subject its bid for a leading British newspaper group to a public interest test.  RedBird IMI, led by Jeff Zucker, a former president of CNN, has submitted a bid for […]

Egyptian singer Amr Diab has exlusive content on the Anghami streaming platform

OSN+ and Anghami merge in $50m streaming service deal

Middle East streaming service OSN is set to invest $50 million in music streamer Anghami as part of a deal to merge the two companies. Kuwait’s Kipco-Panther Media Group, which operates as OSN, will combine its streaming service OSN+ with Anghami’s music and entertainment business to create one of the Middle East’s largest streaming platforms. […]

PureHealth has this year acquired Circle Health Group in the UK and Ardent Health Services in the US

PureHealth plans to launch IPO on Abu Dhabi exchange

Healthcare provider PureHealth Holding has announced plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange to fuel its global expansion efforts. The listing, likely to be in December, is subject to regulatory approvals, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. Existing shareholders are Alpha Dhabi Holding and International Holding Company […]

The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. Kirkland & Ellis are arriving in the kingdom just before it enacts the Civil Transactions Law

World’s biggest law firm sets up in Saudi Arabia

Law firm Kirkland & Ellis is to open its first Middle East office in Riyadh ahead of new legislation which aims to make it easier for businesses operating in the kingdom. The office will serve as its regional headquarters. Kirkland & Ellis is the world’s largest international law firm by revenue and completed nearly 800 […]

Mena startup exit shortage

Mena startup exit shortage looming – VC fund CEO

The Middle East faces a looming shortage of startup exits, despite a substantial pool of capital available in the region, according to a leading venture capital fund CEO. In mature markets such as the US, private corporations routinely make multibillion-dollar bids to acquire potential future rivals or emerging startups poised for substantial growth. But this […]

Borouge

Borouge quarterly profit falls 9% on lower sales prices

Net profit at the Abu Dhabi petrochemicals firm Borouge for the third quarter 2023 fell 9 percent year-on-year to $282 million (AED1.04 billion) on a 15 percent drop in average selling prices. However, the company’s profits rose 22 percent quarter on quarter, driven by robust production performance and cost management. Third-quarter revenue fell 11 percent year on […]

M&A insurance can protect businesses if the deal they've signed goes wrong

Insurers take a chance on Mena’s merger market

The Middle East and North Africa is a hotspot for mergers and acquisitions in a tricky global market – which also makes it fertile territory for insurance companies that offer protection if deals go wrong. “A couple of years ago, trying to get a UAE deal insured would have been fairly difficult. Now a UAE […]

A seller with packs of sugar at a market in Cairo. The Egyptian government recently announced it would lower the prices of seven essential commodities

Egypt needs more dollars before devaluation, warn experts

Egypt will devalue its currency further after December’s presidential election, as the country needs more time to increase its dollar reserves and give it a better chance of stabilising its ailing currency, analysts told AGBI. The Egyptian pound is linked to a basket of currencies in which the dollar is dominant. Policymakers have slashed the […]

Seagliders will connect key Neom destinations along 468 km of coastline, carrying both passengers and freight

Neom investment fund backs US futuristic transport firms

The newly launched investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion futuristic giga-project Neom has made its first commitments, backing two US-based transport companies. The Neom Investment Fund (NIF) announced on Wednesday that it had made a $100 million investment in the global autonomous driving company Pony.ai. A joint venture will be set up between the […]

Signage at Bank of America Tower in Manhattan. It topped the GlobalData list

US banks lead pack for M&A advice in Middle East

US banks have been the top advisers for mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East and Africa this year, research has found. Bank of America advised on deals with a combined value of $9.9 billion in the first nine months of 2023, followed by JP Morgan at $7.6 billion and Citi at $6.3 billion. “Bank […]

Saudi National Bank, the kingdom’s biggest lender by assets, made a net profit of $1.34bn in the third quarter

Saudi National Bank profit up 6% on higher income

Saudi National Bank (SNB) reported a six percent year on year rise in net profit for the third quarter of 2023, driven by higher operating income and lower impairment charges. The kingdom’s biggest lender by assets made a net profit of SAR5.01 billion ($1.34 billion) in the third quarter. Total operating income improved by three […]

Saudi Arabia has one of the world’s lower retirement thresholds of 60 years old for both men and women

Saudi Arabia should raise retirement age, study shows 

Saudi Arabia should raise the retirement age to create a sustainable pension system and institute other much-needed improvements, according to a study released this week.  The Global Pension Index by Mercer, a New York professional services company, ranked Saudi Arabia – the leading Arab economy and world’s biggest oil exporter – at 28 out of […]

A listing would be more favourable than a merger or acquisition, said Kibsons CEO Halima Jumani

Food store Kibsons says IPO could be on the table

Kibsons, the family-owned food delivery company in the UAE, has said a potential listing of the business is “absolutely” on the table.  Launched in 2016, it processes over 35,000 orders a week. And founder and CEO Halima Jumani says they are on target to hit $100 million in turnover this year. Jumani, who co-owns the […]

There is a lack of regulation in the green bonds sector, with over a thousand different standards available around the world Video length: 05:10

Explained: Green bonds and how they work

The aggregate listing value of green bonds and sukuks on Nasdaq Dubai stands at around $24 billion, according to Christian Kunz, DIFC’s chief strategy, innovation and ventures officer. Regional conglomerates, as well as global companies, have recently used the exchange to raise funds to finance their green projects. Retail giant Majid Al Futtaim raised $500 […]

UK-GCC M&A mergers acquisitions

Dealmakers expect record year for UK-GCC M&A

The GCC region – in particular Saudi Arabia and the UAE – is seeing a “significant influx” of interest in mergers and acquisitions from UK investors. Lumina Capital Advisers, a mid-market corporate finance company, said record levels of M&A activity are expected this year between the Gulf and the UK, based on a new survey […]

Adnic Allianz SF

Abu Dhabi insurer Adnic takes over Saudi’s Allianz SF

Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (Adnic) is to take a majority stake in one of Saudi Arabia’s top insurance companies as it looks to increase its presence in the kingdom. Adnic announced to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Thursday that it plans to acquire 51 percent of share capital of Allianz Saudi Fransi […]

Abu Dhabi acquisition printing press

Abu Dhabi deal could bolster ‘blank cheque’ companies

The first so-called “blank-cheque” company to list in the Middle East this week signed a deal with United Printing & Publishing, an Abu Dhabi state investment fund business. Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) raise money through an initial public offering and then use the proceeds to acquire other companies. ADC Acquisition Corporation is the UAE’s […]

Dubai real estate value

Dubai real estate is ‘fairly valued’ says UBS

Dubai real estate still offers value for money compared with some of its global peers, a new report by investment bank UBS has claimed. But according to one real estate expert, residents in the emirate could soon be priced out of the market if the ongoing supply and demand imbalance continues. In the year leading […]

Muscat Stock Exchange will offer Oman's biggest IPO

Strong demand for Oman’s biggest IPO in two decades

Oman’s joint-biggest initial public offering is attracting huge interest among retail investors, despite subdued recent activity on Muscat’s bourse, a senior financial industry executive told AGBI. OQ Gas Network (OQGN), a subsidiary of national oil company OQ, will sell 49 percent – or 2.12 billion – of its shares in an IPO. The company this […]