Egypt is prime MENA target for inbound M&A; EFG Hermes tops ECM league table for second year in a row: Egypt was the second-highest target of inbound M&A in MENA last year in terms of value, but accounted for one of the lowest regional shares of the M&A market in terms of volume, according to Refinitiv’s 2019 MENA Investment Banking Review. Our share of M&A transactions dropped to 2% from 8% in 2018. Across the region, energy and power continued to take up the lion’s share of M&A at 77%, with financials coming in second at 15%.

Proceeds from equity capital markets (ECM) issuances in Egypt dropped 69% y-o-y, whereas Saudi Arabia’s proceeds soared 1,860% y-o-y thanks to blockbuster transactions including Aramco and Arabian Centres. The top ECM transaction in Egypt was Rameda Pharma’s IPO in December, which reeled in USD 109.3 mn. Proceeds from our debt capital market (DCM) eased 5% y-o-y, closing 2019 just shy of USD 10 bn, with the government’s USD 4 bn eurobond issuance in February of last year accounting for the largest DCM transaction.

Our friends at EFG Hermes retained their spot at the top of the MENA ECM league table in 2019. The homegrown investment bank accounted for 5% of the total regional market across five transactions, edging out Saudi Arabia’s Sambacapital by raising some USD 1.336 bn. ECM fees soared 95% y-o-y in 2019, according to the report. Standard Chartered PLC was the top DCM bookrunner last year, and HSBC Holdings was the top M&A financial advisor in the region.