Protiviti, a leading global consulting firm, has revealed it is currently working on several merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory mandates in the Middle East region, which, according to experts, is a reflection of the upsurge in the move towards consolidation in the corporate sector post-pandemic.
The ongoing M&A mandates of the Middle East arm of the Menlo Park, California-headquartered firm included sectors such as financial services, food and beverages (F&B), retail, asset management, industrial automation and telecom services, a UAE-based senior executive of the firm said.
“The current M&A advisory mandates are for businesses based in the GCC and the wider Middle East region and the businesses involved are local family-owned or owned by local institutions, including sovereign funds,” George Thomas, managing director- transaction services, Protiviti Middle East Member Firm, told Arabian Business.
“We work both on the sell-side as well as on the buy-side. Since these are ongoing transactions, the details [of the companies] cannot be disclosed at this stage,” Thomas added.
Thomas said Protiviti in India is also working on multiple M&A opportunities with Indian companies, particularly in the pharmaceuticals sector in the API space.
It was, however, not clear whether this involved any of the Middle East-based companies.
Among the major M&A deals Protiviti was associated with last year was the $1.2 billion ‘fusion’ deal between Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) and Saudi Arabian Fertilisers Company (SAFCO) involving certain agri-nutrient businesses.
Arabian Business previously reported that the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region was expected to see a rebound in corporate M&As in the next 2-3 years, with the cumulative deal size in the coming three-year period set to reach about $100bn.
The surge is fuelled by the post-pandemic drive for consolidation across sectors and large-scale restructuring being planned by companies.
George Thomas, managing director- transaction services, Protiviti Middle East member firm
Thomas said Protiviti Middle East member firms have stepped up hiring of senior professionals with deep corporate finance and advisory experience, as well as industry expertise, to handle the rising number of M&A mandates being handled by the consultancy.
“We are building our transaction services team to support clients across their diverse needs. In addition to the team based in the Middle East, we have a strong transaction services team in India as well that supports the requirements of the clients in the Middle East,” Thomas said.
The senior Protiviti executive said M&A advisory, as well as the broader area of transaction services, will be a key focus area for the firm going forward.
Aside from M&A services, Protiviti also advises companies in the areas of business valuations, due diligence, feasibility studies and other areas across the life cycle of consolidation transactions.
Management experts said the MENA markets are of late witnessing one of the most equitable growth – sales are no longer concentrated among one or two players – resulting in increased competition among companies.
Sandeep Ganediwalla, Dubai-based managing partner of RedSeer Consulting
“In such a situation, the competition is higher than the norm. Given that the pandemic has structurally changed many industries, we expect to see high deal activity in the region,” Sandeep Ganediwalla, Dubai-based managing partner of RedSeer Consulting, told Arabian Business.
“This could be driven by multiple factors – for gaining scale quickly or to enter a new sector or to gain efficiencies,” Ganediwalla said.
The cumulative deal size in the MENA region during 2018-2020 was around $165bn, which included the mega Saudi Aramco-Sabic deal in 2020 pegged at $69bn.
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