Dubai: Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) accounted for more than half of investment banking fees in the first nine months of the year in the Middle East, followed by Debt Capital Market transactions and loans, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Middle Eastern targeted M&A for the third quarter reached $15 billion (Dh55.17 billion), 10 times the activity seen in the same quarter last year. The region concluded deals worth $27 billion during the first nine months of the year.
Telecommunications is the most targeted industry in the Middle East with $12 billion, accounting for 44 per cent of the activity during the first nine months. Kuwait is the most acquired Middle Eastern country with $12.5 billion, accounting for 46 per cent of the activity.
The UAE was the most acquisitive Middle Eastern country in the first nine months of 2010 with 57.8 per cent of the deals.
According to Thomson Reuters data, Kuwaiti companies are the most attractive to Middle Eastern acquirers, with 37 per cent of the activity. Etisalat's acquisition of a 46 per cent stake in Zain Group resulted in the telecommunications sector and Kuwait being named the most targeted industry and country respectively during the third quarter
Morgan Stanley tops
Morgan Stanley topped the M&A activity in the region year to date with deals worth $26.3 billion, BNP Paribas coming in second with $14 billion followed by Barclays Capital with $12.4 billion.
"The first nine months of the year saw banks in the region kept busy with high-profile merger and acquisition transactions in the Middle East. This, along with buoyant loan activity has outshone equity and debt issuance which are both down year-on-year," said Russell Haworth, Managing Director of Thomson Reuters Middle East and Africa.
The analysis of Thomson Reuters Middle East investment banking data for the third quarter shows investment banking fees for the first nine months grew 16 per cent to $444.8 million, compared with the same period last year.
Middle Eastern debt issuance reached $22 billion, down 7 per cent as equity issuance fell 2.3 per cent compared with the first nine months of last year. Loan activity for Middle Eastern issuers and borrowers fell in the third quarter but at $18.9 billion for the year to date it is up 47 per cent compared with 2009.
HSBC topped fees for debt issuance. The bank topped the Middle Eastern bond ranking with 12 issues totalling $4.4 billion. A $3.5 billion bond issued by Qatari Diar ranks as the largest so far this year.
NCB Capital was at the top of the table for equity issuance and Standard Chartered secured the highest fees for syndicated loans.
Equity issuance reached $5.2 billion for the first nine months, down 2.3 per cent year-on-year. Financials was the most active sector followed by Materials and Real Estate.
The most active industry for loan issuance in the Middle East was the financials industry followed by telecommunications.
The largest loan for the year to date was issued by International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) worth $3.58 billion. The bookrunners for the deal included Banco Santander de Negocios SA, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, HSBC holdings and National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
