Egypt has been a MENA M&A hotspot so far in 2022: Egypt recorded 65 M&A transactions worth USD 3.2 bn in the first six months of the year, making it the second-largest M&A destination in the region by value and dealcount, according to a report from EY.

2022 > 2021: This is more than triple the M&A activity seen in 1H 2021 and marks Egypt’s emergence as a “major investment destination,” EY said. The surge was driven mainly by “favorable government initiatives, including granting a special license to foreign investors,” it added.

Egypt has ADQ to thank: Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ’s USD 1.8 bn investment in several publicly-traded companies in April accounted for more than half of the capital raised in M&A transactions during the period.

Expect 2H to look a lot like 1H with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s announcement yesterday kicking off a USD 10 bn investment spree.

Across the region: The MENA region saw USD 42.6 bn worth of M&A transactions during the six-month period, EY said. Dealcount rose 12% y-o-y to 359, as surging oil prices offset the market volatility that caused a fall in dealmaking in other parts of the world.

Number one in the region: The UAE accounted for a third of the region’s M&A activity during 1H, recording 105 transactions worth USD 14.2 bn.

Rounding out the top five: Saudi Arabia (USD 2.8 bn), Morocco (USD 1.8 bn) and Oman (USD 700 mn).

The biggest sectors targeted in M&A transactions for the region in the first half of the year were transportation, consumer products, telecommunications, real estate and power and utilities.