Egypt places 2nd in M&A transactions during 2021 after US

Doaa A.Moneim , Sunday 27 Feb 2022

Egypt ranked second most attractive country for merger and acquisitions (M&A) deals in 2021, after the US, growing by 486 percent to post $9.9 billion over 233 deals, according to an info graph the cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) published on Sunday.

File Photo: Laboratory worker supervises the production of vials of China s Sinovac vaccine against the coronavirus, produced by the Egyptian company VACSERA, Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 1, 2021. AFP

The data showcased in the info graph came from a recent report released by Baker McKenzie in February.

The info graph showed that December 2021 was the top performing month for M&A deals in the Egyptian market in terms of their value, recording $653.8 million, while October was the strongest month in terms of number of deals struck with 31 deals.

It also revealed that the healthcare sector was the largest sector that attracted the lion’s share of the deals in 2021 with a total value amounting to $1.6 billion.

On a regional level, the report revealed that M&A transactions in the Middle East accelerated in 2021 by 51 percent, with the number of deals increasing to 665, up from 2020’s 439.

Also, the total value of M&A deals brokered in the region grew by 58 percent, recording $89.8 billion, up from 2020’s $56.7 billion.

Meanwhile, another report published by Netherlands-based EY Consultancy estimated the total value of M&A transactions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region at $99 billion in 2021, considering it the best year on record.