The total value of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the Middle East dropped by 60% y/y to USD 3.6bn in the first quarter of 2011, Emirates 24/7 reported citing the Zephyr Quarterly M&A Report issued by Bureau van Dijk (BvD). In quarterly terms, the value of deals fell by 22%. A total of 119 M&A deals were conducted in Q1, as their number decreased for a second quarter in a row after four consecutive quarters of growth. The largest transaction by value was Centurion Investments purchase of a 40% stake in UAE-based healthcare business NMC Healthcare for USD 1.09bn. Thanks to this deal, the healthcare and education sector attracted most of the investments in the quarter, as the value of transactions rose to USD 1.68bn in Q1 2011 from USD 5mn in the last quarter of 2010. |
Bahrain Middle East Bank made a USD 13mn full repayment of a loan obligation including a USD 1.4mn interest payment taking total repayments by the troubled lender to USD 43mn, the bank said in ... more
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the UAE's largest lender by market value, initiated a USD 17mn fifteen-year Uridashi bond, MENA's first ever, allowing the bank to directly access Japanese ... more
The GCC economies remain insulated from economic and political turbulence in the MENA region and globally but structural challenges continue to constrain sovereign ratings, ratings agency ... more