Mena M&A value drops 21% to USD 46.7 bn in 1H despite 2Q rebound — EY

The MENA region was home to USD 46.7 bn in M&As in 1H 2026, down 21% y-o-y in terms of value and 10% in terms of volume, Zawya reports, citing EY’s latest M&A Insights report. A total of 390 transactions were recorded over the period, as geopolitical tensions spilled over. Momentum picked up in 2Q driven by a steady pipeline of domestic and outbound M&As, plus sovereign capital, which was the throughline. EY names GCC sovereign wealth funds Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Mubadala specifically as central to shaping M&A activity across the region in 1H.

Signs of a more selective market: The gap between value and volume points to smaller ticket sizes, with the average transaction coming in at roughly USD 120 mn this year, down from an implied USD 135 mn in 1H 2025. However, that average masks a split year marked by a soft first quarter dragging the half-year number down, while the agreements that did land in the second quarter skewed large.

A 2Q recovery: Transaction value came in at USD 25 bn in 2Q 2026, more than double the USD 12.2 bn recorded in 2Q 2025, with May and June alone accounting for 61% of the quarter’s M&A volume and 79% of its value. Transactions above USD 500 mn made up nearly three-quarters of total value between March and June — when investors came back, they came back big.

Domestic capital did the heavy lifting. Local M&A value exceeded USD 16.0 bn for March-June, more than 4x the same period last year, led by real estate, power and utilities, and tech. Government-related entities were behind much of it, tied to the region’s infrastructure and diversification push.

Outbound held up better than inbound. Regional investors closed 119 outbound M&As worth USD 25.5 bn, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia doing most of the shopping abroad. The two marquee transactions were Dubai Aerospace Enterprise’s USD 7 bn purchase of Macquarie AirFinance and Saudi Electronic Gaming Holding Company’s (Savvy) USD 6 bn acquisition of Shanghai Moonton Technology.

Inbound was the softer side. Foreign buyers pulled back on geopolitical uncertainty, but where capital did land, it went to tech, specifically AI-driven solutions, enterprise digitalization, and software platforms, which dominated inbound agreement value in 2Q. The UAE kept its position as the region’s top inbound destination.

Two other counts tell different stories

LSEG’s own tally put the MENA M&A picture in sharper decline. Transaction value fell 47% y-o-y to USD 48.7 bn in 1H, against a nearly flat M&A count (642 plays, down just 2% y-o-y). LSEG’s broader scope — announced transactions with any MENA involvement, not just completed regional transactions — explains part of the value gap with EY’s number. The same pattern shows up in average transaction size, which fell to roughly USD 76 mn per transaction this year from an implied USD 140 mn in 1H 2025.

PwC’s narrower TransAct Middle East report (pdf) counted 272 M&A agreements in 1H, excluding Morocco and apparently SPAC mergers such as Miotal/Fifth Era. Saudi Arabia led with 74 transactions, while it and the UAE together accounted for 65% of regional volume. PwC didn’t give a total value, but the same shift toward smaller tickets shows up in the numbers. Some 151 disclosed M&As were worth less than USD 100 mn, and only one topped USD 500 mn.

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MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets showed mixed results this morning, with South Korea’s Kospi dropping around 1%, while MSCI’s gauge of Asian equities remained broadly steady. Japan’s stock market is closed today in observance of a national holiday. Meanwhile, US equity-index futures edged lower overall, following fading optimism regarding a US-Iran truce.

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI rose 0.3% yesterday on turnover of SAR 5.3 bn. The index is up 3.4% YTD.

In the green: Saudi Enaya Cooperative Ins. (+9.9%), Saudi Arabian Mining (+5.4%), and Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical (+5.3%).

In the red: Maharah Human Resources (-8.6%), Saudi Manpower Solutions (-7.4%), and Arabian Contracting Services (-4.3%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC fell 0.5% yesterday on turnover of SAR 16.0 mn. The index is down 6.3% YTD.

In the green: Neft Alsharq Company for Chemical Industries (+9.8%), National Building and Marketing (+9.2%), and Naba Alsaha Medical Services (+6.9%).

In the red: Abdulaziz Bin Ahmed Altwijri Trading (-10.1%), Digital Research (-9.8%), and Mufeed (-9.8%).