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Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) announced during the first nine months of 2021 with some degree of MENA involvement totaled $68.6 billion, a 17 percent increase from the same period last year and just $660 million short of the full-year total last year, according to global data provider, Refinitiv.
M&A involving a MENA target reached $46.8 billion, up 2 percent compared to the same period last year, and the highest number of deals on record in the first nine months of a year.
The largest M&A with a MENA target this year is the $12.4 billion deal of Saudi oil producer Aramco selling a 49 percent stake in its pipelines business to the US based EIG Global Energy Partners, the data provider said in a report.
A newly formed unit called Aramco Oil Pipelines Company will lease usage rights in the Saudi oil giant’s stabilized crude oil pipelines network for 25 years.
Saudi Arabia was the most targeted nation with $19.5 billion in M&A activity, equivalent to 42 percent of target M&A in the MENA region, Refinitiv said.
In another high-profile M&A deal, Kuwait's Agility and DSV Panalpina signed an agreement for DSV to acquire Agility’s Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) business for $4.07 billion. The combination is expected to create a top-three global freight forwarder based on revenues.
According to available data with Refinitiv, inbound M&A reached its highest year-to-date total since records began in 1980, with activity reaching $24.8 billion and exceeding 2020’s full-year total.
Outbound M&A rebounded from 2020 reaching $17.5 billion, a 254 percent increase from the same period last year and the highest year-to-date total since 2009.
Energy and Power was the most active sector with $22.8 billion in deal activity, representing a 102 percent increase from last year.
JP Morgan topped the league table in the first nine months of 2021 with $27.8 billion in related activity or a 41 percent share of the market. Morgan Stanley and HSBC came second and third with 29 percent market share, respectively.
(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz)
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© ZAWYA 2021
