Over the past year, political and economic uncertainty has affected most markets, and M&A deals in the Middle East are no exception. Such deals are sensitive to turbulence, which leads to indecision from corporations in pursuing their acquisition plans. Deals are also taking longer to complete, which is reflected in a lower number of M&A transactions for Q2 2017 compared to the same quarter one year ago.
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For the quarter, the Middle East region closed 50 transactions, including both outbound and inbound deals, 36% below Q2 2016. The value of those completed deals was $6.7 billion, down about 21% from last year. Based on the number of transactions, the second quarter was better than the first, with transactions up by 61%. However, the total transaction value was 57% higher in Q1'17 compared to Q2'17.
In the second quarter, the sector registering the highest value was energy minerals with $5.1 billion across three deals. These three transactions represented 77% of the total transaction volume for Q2 2017. Last quarter, the finance sector led M&A activity with four transactions totaling $12,914 million.
Topping the list of the largest deals announced in Q2 2017 were:
- A private group, led by Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets Ltd, BC Investment Management Corp, AMP Capital Holdings Ltd, and Qatar Investment Authority, acquired a 50.4% majority stake in Endeavour Energy Ltd from the State of New South Wales for $5.6 billion via auction.
- Saudi Refining Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co., acquired the remaining 50% minority stake not yet owned in Motiva Enterprises LLC from Royal Dutch Shell Plc for $700 million in cash and $1.5 billion in assumed liabilities.
- A private group, led by One Foods Holding Ltd, a subsidiary of BRF SA, and Qatar Investment Authority, acquired a 79.5% majority stake in Banvit Bandirma Vitaminli Yem Sanayii ve Ticaret AS from Gorener and Kocman families (63.2%) and Aabar Investments PJS (16.3%) for $270 million.
| Number Of Deals | Aggregated Value ($ MM) | ||||
| Deal Size | Q1 2017 | Q2 2017 | Q1 2017 | Q2 2017 | |
| $ 1 Billion + | 1 | 2 | $ 12,291.10 | $ 5,157.00 | |
| $ 500 M to $ 999.99 M | 1 | 0 | $ 560.32 | $ - | |
| $ 250 M to $ 499.99 M | 4 | 2 | $ 1,776.43 | $ 627.42 | |
| $ 100 M to $ 249.99 M | 2 | 3 | $ 240.09 | $ 685.01 | |
| $ 50 M to $ 99.99 M | 0 | 1 | $ - | $ 69.60 | |
| $ 25 M to $ 49.99 M | 1 | 3 | $ 31.00 | $ 115.65 | |
| $ 10 M to $ 24.99 M | 2 | 3 | $ 31.31 | $ 52.87 | |
| Under $ 10 M | 1 | 8 | $ 0.54 | $ 33.48 | |
| Undisclosed | 19 | 28 | $ - | $ - | |
| Total | 31 | 50 | $ 14,930.79 | $ 6,741.03 | |
Sector Activity and Value
| Target FactSet Sector | Q1 2017 Transaction Value (MM) | Q2 2017 Transaction Value (MM) | Q1 2017 No. of Transactions | Q2 2017 No. of Transactions |
| Energy Minerals | - | 5,157.00 | 1 | 3 |
| Finance | 12,914.74 | 532.14 | 4 | 9 |
| Consumer Durables | - | 357.42 | - | 3 |
| Process Industries | - | 279.00 | 2 | 3 |
| Distribution Services | - | 231.69 | - | 4 |
| Technology Services | 17.59 | 70.59 | 3 | 6 |
| Commercial Services | 367.80 | 49.95 | 6 | 6 |
| Industrial Services | 13.72 | 29.10 | 2 | 2 |
| Retail Trade | 106.61 | 22.87 | 2 | 2 |
| Transportation | - | 6.00 | - | 5 |
| Consumer Services | 485.00 | 5.20 | 2 | 1 |
| Health Services | 560.32 | 0.07 | 1 | 1 |
| Health Technology | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Non-Energy Minerals | 300.54 | - | 2 | 1 |
| Producer Manufacturing | 133.48 | - | 2 | 2 |
| Utilities | 31.00 | - | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 14,930.79 | 6,741.03 | 29.00 | 50 |
Inbound Transactions
In the second quarter, inbound transactions (where the acquirer and the acquired company were both based in the Middle East) represented 42% of total transactions. Of the companies acquired, 43% were based in the UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia with 14%, and Oman with 10%.
The sector registering the largest share of the total transaction value was commercial services with 50% of the transaction value across four transactions, followed by industrial services with 29.1% and retail trade with 22.9%.
Topping the list of the largest inbound deals announced in Q2 2017:
- Al-Baha Investment & Development Co acquired Al Marakiz Al Raqiyah Ltd for $38.7 million in stock. Under the terms of the agreement, Al-Baha Investment & Development Co issued 14.5 million shares to Al Marakiz Al Raqiyah Ltd upon which, its shareholders will own 49.15% stake in Al-Baha Investment & Development Co. Al Marakiz Al Raqiyah Ltd is located in Saudi Arabia and operates shopping malls.
- Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co KSC acquired an additional 20.5% minority stake in National Petroleum Services Co for $29.1 million via, tender offer. Under the terms of the transaction, Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co KSC paid US$2.61 per share for every target share sought. The acquisition allows Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co KSC to enhance its oil and gas investment portfolio. Following the acquisition, Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co KSC increased its stake to 71.03% in National Petroleum Services Co. National Petroleum Services Co is located in Ahmadi, Kuwait and explores for oil and gas.
- Evolvence Knowledge Investments Ltd acquired a 60% majority stake in Cheeky Monkeys Playland from Marka PJSC for $22.9 million. The acquisition allows Marka to secure its return gross in the original equity invested previously in Cheeky Monkeys. The transaction was approved by the Marka board of directors. Cheeky Monkeys Playland is located in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and provides play station services for children.
Outbound Transactions
This quarter, outbound transactions represented 57% of total transactions.
Topping the list of the largest outbound deals announced in Q2 2017:
- A private group, led by Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets Ltd, BC Investment Management Corp, AMP Capital Holdings Ltd, and Qatar Investment Authority, acquired a 50.4% majority stake in Endeavour Energy Ltd from the State of New South Wales for $5.6 billion via auction. Following the acquisition, the State of New South Wales will hold the remaining 49.6%. The transaction received all necessary regulatory clearances from the ACCC and the ATO, and has been approved by the Federal Treasurer following advice from the Foreign Investment Review Board. Endeavour Energy Ltd is a company based in Australia that engages in oil and natural gas production activities in Indonesia. Previously, on January 26, several bidder groups along with Advance Energy were rumored to have submitted bids to acquire 50.4% stake in Endeavour Energy Ltd for a reported amount of $2.9 billion.
- Saudi Refining Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co, acquired the remaining 50% minority stake not yet owned in Motiva Enterprises LLC from Royal Dutch Shell Plc for $700 million in cash and US$1.5 billion in assumed liabilities, subject to adjustments. Motiva Enterprises LLC is a 50-50 joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Saudi Arabian Oil Co. Under the terms of the agreement, Saudi Refining Inc. would make a payment of $2.2 billion to be used to assume Royal Dutch Shell Plc's 50% share of Motiva Enterprises LLC's net debt of $3.2 billion, of which Royal Dutch Shell Plc would $100 million of that amount. The balance would be used as a cash payment. Motiva Enterprises LLC is located in Houston, Texas, United States, and distributes and refines commercial fuels.
- Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Co Bsc's private-equity division and TAG Group SA acquired the remaining 25% stake in McLaren Automotive Ltd, and its affiliate company McLaren Technology Group Ltd from Ron Dennis, the chairman of the target, for a reported deal value of $357.4 million. Following the transaction, Ron Dennis would end his 37-year association with the McLaren Technology Group Ltd and McLaren Automotive Ltd, which would be integrated as McLaren Group. According to news reports on June 29, 2017, Ron Dennis was reportedly selling his remaining shareholdings for $357.4 million to the existing shareholders due to unspecified reasons that dates back in 2014 when Dennis attempted to buy McLaren back from the other investors.
Article by Houda Bouhayat, FactSet
