Overseas acquisitions by Qatar accounted for 33% of outbound merger and acquisition (M&A) in the Middle East during 2016, followed by those in Saudi Arabia and the UAE accounting for 28% and 20% respectively, according to Thomson Reuters.
The region’s outbound M&A however fell 24% to $14.7bn in 2016, the year which, however, saw robust expansion in syndicated lending and debt capital market (DCM) help investment banking fees in the Middle East expand 18% to $820.8mn.
The year also saw regional debt issuances at $77.8bn, bolstered by the moves of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, the report said.
Regarding investment banking fees, syndicated lending fees increased 50% year-on-year to $444mn, a nine-year high; while DCM fees more than doubled to $134.1mn.
However, fees generated from completed M&A transactions declined 20% to $200.9mn, the lowest annual total for M&A fees in the region since 2012. Equity capital markets (ECM) underwriting fees also fell 51% to $41.8mn, a 12-year low.
HSBC earned the highest investment banking fees in the Middle East during 2016, a total of $43.4mn for a 5.3% share of the total fee pool. Rothschild topped the completed M&A fee rankings with 16% of advisory fees, while HSBC was first for DCM underwriting.  Syndicated lending fees accounted for 54% of the overall Middle Eastern investment banking fee pool, the highest annual share since 2004. The completed M&A advisory fees accounted for 24% of fees in the region, while debt and equity capital markets underwriting fees accounted for 16% and 5%, respectively.
“The value of announced M&A transactions with any Middle Eastern involvement reached $46.9bn during 2016, 16% less than the value recorded during 2015 and the lowest annual total in the region since 2013,” Nadim Najjar, managing director, Middle East and North Africa, Thomson Reuters, said.
The Middle Eastern equity and equity-related issuance totalled $2.6bn during 2016, a 55% decline year-on-year and the lowest annual issuance total in the region since 2004, the report said, adding ECM underwriting was led by Samba Capital with $13mn in fees, or 31% share.
As for ECM, eight initial public offerings raised $891.7mn and accounted for 35% of 2016 ECM activity in the region, while follow-on offerings accounted for the remaining 65% of activity. Emirates NBD took first place in the 2016 Middle Eastern ECM ranking with 32% market share.
Regarding M&A, the $14.1bn merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank was the largest deal to be announced in the region during 2016; it is the largest domestic Middle Eastern deal of all time. Boosted by the deal, domestic and inter-Middle Eastern M&A increased 151% year-on-year to $22bn.
Financials was the most active sector, accounting for 35% of Middle Eastern involvement M&A, followed by energy and power and real estate.