If there were two areas for any investment bank’s Middle East advisory team to specialise in and prove all-round excellence in last year, they were the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and outbound transactions. JPMorgan excelled on both counts.
In terms of announced transactions, the US bank completed 17 M&A deals across the 12-month period, with a combined value of $25.75 billion, for a 25% market share, according to data from Dealogic. It also led in completed deals, overseeing 10 transactions, with a total value of $18.3 billion.
None of its main rivals came close to competing with those volumes and numbers.
“We witnessed a continued drive in cross-border activity and a strong momentum in consolidation efforts across sectors regionally,” says Georges Massoud, head of M&A for the Middle East and North Africa region at JPMorgan.
He also points to a rising “appetite for regional deals” across the advisory space, particularly on the part of sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors.