(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Lani Rose R Dizon |
The Peninsula
Doha: As many as 72 mergers and acquisition (M&A) deals have been announced or closed in the GCC in December, according to a KPMG report. It may be noted that 2021 was a historic year for deal-making activities as global M&A hit record high volumes last year and breached the $5 trillion mark for the first time.
In the GCC, KPMG's latest 'Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Tracker' report noted that M&A deals in December were seen in various sectors including technology, media, and telecommunications (17), financial services (17), consumer and retail (16), energy and power (11), real estate (6), healthcare (3), and industry and materials (2).
A total of 59 deals were associated with a GCC acquirer nation including Kuwait (5), Bahrain (2), Qatar (3), UAE (34), Oman (3), and Saudi Arabia (12). While there were 44 deals which have been recorded with a GCC target nation including Kuwait (5), Bahrain (2), Qatar (2), UAE (24), Oman (1), and Saudi Arabia (10).
Locally, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has closed a $112.6m energy and power investment deal with Rolls-Royce SMR, for a 10 percent equity share, as the UK-based company builds a new technology solution for small modular reactors to deliver affordable and low-carbon nuclear power.
QatarEnergy has also announced that it has entered into agreement with Shell to acquire 17 percent stake in two Shell-operated oil and gas exploration blocks (Block 3 and Block 4) in the Egyptian Red Sea.
Similarly, Saudi Arabia's ADES Arabia Holding, has also announced a $170m deal to acquire Qatar-based Emerald Driller Co, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US-based offshore drilling firm Vantage Drilling.
The top 10 disclosed M&A deals in the GCC region in December was led by the $15.5bn landmark gas pipeline deal between Saudi Aramco and the US-based BlackRock. It may be noted that the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) has signed the multi-billion dollar lease and leaseback deal with a consortium led by BlackRock and Hassana Investment Company, in one of the world's largest energy infrastructure deals.
As part of the deal, Aramco will hold a 51 percent majority stake in Aramco Gas Pipeline Company and sell a 49 percent stake to investors led by BlackRock and Hassana.
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