Egypt Leads MENA Region For 2012 Mergers, Acquisitions

Egypt saw the most mergers and acquisitions of any country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during the first three quarters of 2012, a new report by UK-based business intelligence agency Merger Markets showed on Sunday.

With $4.6 billion in total deals, Egypt was the most active market for the period, followed by Kuwait at $4.4 billion. Both countries together accounted for 55.5 per cent of total merger and acquisition activity in the MENA region.

France Telecom’s $3 billion purchase of Egyptian mobile carrier Mobinil was the main component of the country’s overall mergers and acquisitions during the first nine months of this year.

Large one-off deals and reinvested earnings have been the main drivers of investment in Egypt as levels of foreign direct investment have plummeted due to political and economic uncertainties within the past two years. In the first quarter of 2012, Egypt saw net FDI of $2.4 billion.

Telecommunications was the region’s most active sector, featuring deals worth a total of $7 billion, representing growth of over 400 per cent on the previous year. The total value of mergers and acquisitions grew by 71 per cent over the first nine months of 2011.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs managed most deals in the region to the tune of $4.9 billion, while law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was the advisor on nine deals amounting $3.5 billion.

Ahram