KPMG and EY acknowledged at Middle East M&A Awards for 2018

Big Four firms KPMG and EY have taken home awards in the third annual Mergermarket Middle Eastern M&A Awards for 2018, with the event held in Dubai earlier last month.

The awards celebrate success in both legal and financial advisory for M&A activity in the Middle East over the past year. EY received the award for best financial advisor in Telecoms, Media & Technology, while KPMG took home the Pharma, Medical & Biotech M&A Financial Advisor award.

The M&A sector saw significant movement in the first quarter of 2018 across the MENA region, with Mergermarket putting the total value of deals at $9.3 billion. Spread across 33 deals, this number represents the highest value of M&A action seen in a first quarter since 2001.

Mergermarket are a global media platform which specialise in markets ranging from M&A to life sciences. The firm was founded in 2000 and today has the largest team of dedicated M&A journalists and analysts spread across 67 locations worldwide, with headquarters in London, New York and Hong Kong.

Matthew Robinson, Events Director EMEA at Mergermarket, commented during the ceremony; “Mergermarket’s league tables which were released earlier this year gave us an idea of the most active M&A advisors in the Middle East… Tonight’s awards go one step further to recognise the work of corporate law firms and investment banks in getting deals across the line. Congratulations to the winners and all who were shortlisted.”EY have been busy in the technology, media and entertainment and telecom (TMT) sector in the MENA region, releasing an article following the event which confirms the market’s confidence in the TMT M&A sector. According to the firm, the sector since 2013 has seen a sustained level of dealmaking intentions well above average. This is due to the fact that ongoing digital advances in the sector are becoming an industry norm and are driving executives to act.

“More than half of telecom executives, combined, say the impact of digital technology on business models (33%) and threats from digitally enabled competitors (28%) are the key disrupters affecting them,” said Axel Majert, EY’s Global Telecommunications Transaction Advisory Services Leader.

In regard to the firm’s award, Anil Menon, MENA M&A Leader for EY, said; “We expect a busy summer and an active M&A market in FY18. The primary drivers will be private equity players who are net sellers, sector consolidation plays, and regional family businesses who continue to reconfigure their business portfolios.”

Medical M&A

Of the record breaking first quarter of 2018, two of the top ten M&A deals were set within the medical sector. Both deals were done by UAE-based NMC Health Plc., which saw the firm acquire a 49% stake in Fakih IVF Group for $205 million, and a 70% stake in CosmeSurge for a further $177 million.

The head of Mergermarket MENA, Ruth McKee Al Ghamdi, commented on the rising medical trend in the region; “M&A in the healthcare sector in the region is being driven by increasing demands from populations with high numbers of lifestyle-related illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. Social and economic reforms in Saudi Arabia and technology disruption across all sectors are expected to contribute to the MENA deal making landscape in 2018.”

Audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG has also been heavily involved in the M&A sector in both healthcare and life-sciences in the recent past. Medical M&As are among the most active sectors for M&A as organisations look to expand across new sectors, with new technology, or with the availability of new technology.

On Twitter, the firm posted: “Our Head of M&A Simi Nehra picks up KPMG's award for Pharma, Medical & Biotech M&A Financial Advisor at the MergerMarket Middle East M&A Awards 2018, which celebrate the top M&A financial and legal firms in a range of sectors in the Middle East.”