Equity window stays shut across MENA while private capital and leverage keep flowing

The IPO window might be (mostly) closed, but capital is moving anyway across MENA+. MENA equity issuance just posted its worst first half since 2020 — and on the same tape, PIF and Brookfield closed a USD 2 bn private equity vehicle, FAB lined up USD 1.5 bn to lever up Indian diaspora deposits, and CBD reset its AT1 stack without breaking stride. And on the one occasion this month that a window did open (in Casablanca) the book came in 43.75x covered.

MENA equity and equity-linked fundraising fell 71% y-o-y to USD 2.1 bn in 1H 2026, the weakest first-half showing since 2020, according to LSEG data carried by Zawya. Deal count fell 55% to 13 as the Iran war sent GCC issuers back to reassess listing and follow-on plans.

IPOs took the bigger hit: Eight listings in 1H, down from 25 a year earlier, with proceeds of USD 1.1 bn — the lowest first-half tally since 2021.

The UAE still showed up: Sharjah Islamic Bank was the region’s largest follow-on issuer, raising USD 701 mn through a AED 2.59 bn rights issue in March as a move to shore up capital buffers and support asset growth, with Sharjah’s government behind it. Emirates NBD Capital topped the regional ECM bookrunner table with a 38% share off three issues worth USD 779.4 mn.

Morocco got its first listing of the year, and it was a blockbuster: Medtech group T2S Group Holding made its debut on the Casablanca Stock Exchange on Monday after an offering that was 43.75x oversubscribed with MAD 48.13 bn of demand, African Markets reports. Retail accounted for 98.98% of subscribers; institutions bid for close to half the shares requested. The listing values T2S at c. MAD 4.9 bn (c. USD 520 mn).

The issuance included a MAD 350 mn capital increase alongside a MAD 750 mn secondary sale by Trone Investment Holdings, priced at MAD 223 a share across 4.93 mn shares. Helios Investment Partners invested in 2021, built T2S into an integrated medtech platform through four bolt-ons, and has now taken a partial exit into the listing while remaining the largest shareholder at 42%.

Brookfield Asset Management reached a USD 2 bn first close on its PIF-anchored Middle East private equity fund, with other institutional investors coming in alongside the sovereign wealth fund, according to a press release. Brookfield is committing USD 500 mn of its own capital to the vehicle.

Brookfield Middle East Partners will invest across Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, with at least 50% of capital earmarked for the Kingdom. The mandate is wide — buyouts, minority growth equity, and other structures across financial services, business services, consumer, industrials, technology, and healthcare. PIF and Brookfield agreed to set up the fund back in October 2024. As part of the arrangement, Brookfield will also launch its Brookfield Academy in the Kingdom to develop local investment talent.

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is preparing to put up to USD 1.5 bn behind non-resident Indians buying into India’s foreign-currency deposit program, Bloomberg reports, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. The UAE’s largest lender is targeting Middle East-based customers and is in talks with Indian banks that could provide standby letters of credit to back the financing.

The leverage is chunky: FAB would let NRI customers borrow against their foreign-currency deposits in India, where some banks are offering five-year deposit rates of up to 7.75%. A customer putting USD 1 mn into a deposit plan could borrow USD 9 mn from FAB — a USD 10 mn deposit built off USD 1 mn of the customer’s own money.

B Investments wants a bigger slice of the education platform it bought into three months ago. A consortium led by the EGX-listed investment firm plans to lift its combined stake in the Scientific Research, Education and Development Company — the entity behind the European Universities in Egypt (EUE) brand — to more than 40%, from around 25% now, Al Borsa reports, citing unnamed sources.

There’s more coming: B Investments is weighing three to four additional education plays — a mix of K-12 schools and universities — on the back of rising demand and expected growth in student numbers, the sources said. The push sits inside a broader strategy of building out high-growth sectors, including food and beverage, education, and healthcare.

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Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) has issued USD 600 mn of perpetual additional tier 1 (AT1) capital securities and redeemed an existing USD 600 mn AT1, according to a statement from advisor Dentons. The new paper carries a fixed-rate, resettable coupon of 6.625% and is listed on Euronext Dublin and Nasdaq Dubai.

Saudi game developer Ash Games raised USD 1.5 mn in a seed round led by Merak Capital and Impact46 through the Merak Gaming Fund, according to a press release. The money goes toward scaling the production pipeline, expanding the team, and getting Saudi-developed titles in front of a global audience.

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