MENA M&A: appearances can be deceptive | beyondbrics

Even by the standards of the region, 2012 was a turbulent year for the Middle East and North Africa, with wars, uprisings and messy post-revolutionary transitions to contend with. Despite this, it was the best year since 2008 for mergers and acquisitions, with deal value growing by 33 per cent over the year according to S&P Capital IQ.

S&P Capital IQ’s database counts both announced and closed M&As for 14 countries in the region. The growth they record is all the more interesting given that global M&A volumes fell 20 per cent in 2012 from 2011, from $2.5tn to $2tn.

While the MENA region accounts for only 1 per cent of global M&A value, it’s nonetheless a potentially useful indicator of investor sentiment in the region. The chart below shows the data for the past four years.

MENA M&A: appearances can be deceptive | beyondbrics