Read the November 2024 MEED Business Review

Diversification goals drive mergers and acquisitions surge; Abu Dhabi adapts to emerging opportunities; Region emerges as a hotspot for big-ticket project finance deals

The GCC is abuzz with merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. In the first six months of 2024, 10 of the highest-valued M&As in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region took place in the GCC, and the UAE and Saudi Arabia recorded a combined 152 M&A deals worth $9.8bn. The November issue of MEED Business Review takes an in-depth look at how the ambitions of regional governments to diversify away from oil and gas and embrace newer areas of the economy is driving this M&A boom.

We also examine how the Mena M&A market is being boosted by energy deals, such as those being pursued by UAE energy giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). In October, the firm received the necessary approvals to complete its purchase of a 50% stake in chemicals producer Fertiglobe from Dutch-listed OCI, taking its total shareholding in the business to 86%, and also secured agreement from German chemicals firm Covestro for a takeover worth €14.7bn ($16.1bn). The latter looks set to be the biggest M&A deal involving a Mena company this year and could even be among the 10 biggest M&A deals in the world in 2024.

The latest issue also includes detailed analysis of the region’s project finance market. Major deals such as the $6.1bn financing for Neom Green Hydrogen Company, which closed in 2023, demonstrate that the GCC is a global project finance hotspot, and the region looks set to retain this title thanks to the use of project finance structures across a widening array of sectors, from infrastructure to green energy. And while public-private partnership (PPP) activity has eased back in the Mena region since last year, the number and value of contracts finalised in the first nine months of 2024 means this year is set to be one of the most active for PPP deal-making so far this century.

This month’s exclusive 17-page market report highlights how Abu Dhabi is forging an investment policy that aims to capitalise on all future eventualities. The UAE govenment has raised its growth forecasts and is targeting artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities, while the country’s banks are reaping the benefits of good fundamentals. Adnoc is on an upstream spending spree and is also developing its downstream portfolio. At the same time, the country’s infrastructure sector is on an upward trajectory, water PPP activity is rising, UAE utilities are ramping up capacity procurement, and the construction sector is strengthening through consolidation in the middle of another boom.

Meanwhile, in this month’s issue, the team examines how Kais Saied has been appointed for a second term as Tunisia’s president after winning 90.7% of the vote in the country’s October election, and assesses the impact that the continuation of the Ukraine war will have on the reopening the oil export pipeline that runs from Iraq to Turkiye.

We also look at the GCC railway projects that are drawing global attention, learn why the transmission and distribution sector is heading for a record year and discover how Libya is preparing for its first licensing round in more than 15 years.

The November issue is also packed with exclusive interviews. Kingdom Holding’s CEO, Talal Ibrahim Almaiman, confirms that Saudi Arabia’s ambitious project to build the world’s tallest tower is back on track; Thomas Altmann, Acwa Power’s executive vice-president for innovation and new technology, explains how the Saudi firm is tapping AI to help it win projects; and Tomaz Guadagnin, Engie’s managing director for Flex Gen in Asia, Middle East and Africa, discusses why the French utility developer and investor plans to only bid for projects that align with its strategy and 2045 net-zero target.

We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the November 2024 issue of MEED Business Review.