Meed | M&A market boosted by energy deals

M&A market boosted by energy deals

24 October 2024

The mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region received a significant boost on 1 October, when Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) finally secured agreement from German chemicals firm Covestro for a takeover worth €14.7bn ($16.1bn).

Assuming it is completed, it will be the largest acquisition to date by Adnoc, which is no stranger to large M&A transactions. Indeed, just 10 days later, the UAE energy giant said it had received all the necessary approvals to complete its purchase of a 50% stake in another chemicals producer, Fertiglobe, from Dutch-listed OCI, taking its total shareholding in the business to 86%. That €3.6bn deal had been announced in mid-December 2022.

Adnoc has been chasing the Covestro deal for some time, steadily ramping up its offer from an initial €55 a share to the eventual €62 a share.

On current projections, it looks set to be the biggest M&A deal involving a Mena company this year. Data compiled by LSEG Data & Analytics, part of the London Stock Exchange Group, points to it being among the 10 largest M&A deals anywhere in the world this year.

Rebounding trend

Overall, there were $46.6bn-worth of M&A deals involving a Mena company in the opening half of the year, according to LSEG. This was a 48% increase on the same period of 2023, by LSEG’s metrics, and was similar to the levels seen in 2020-22.

Of that, $28.6bn were deals involving a target company outside the region – the highest level for outbound deals in the first half of a year since 2007.

There were a further $17.6bn-worth of deals involving a Mena target company from January to June, of which $11.2bn were being pursued by acquirers from outside the region.

Deals with both a local acquirer and target amounted to $6.3bn – down 12% year-on-year and now at a seven-year low.

Beyond the Covestro transaction, there have been at least nine other deals worth more than $1bn so far this year. These include a $1.1bn deal for Austrian aircraft leasing company Macquarie AirFinance to buy a portfolio of 23 aircraft from Kuwait’s Alafco Aviation Lease & Finance. The deal was announced in February and followed a similar deal in 2023 between the two companies.

Others include a deal by Adnoc Logistics & Services to acquire oil tanker operator Navig8 for up to $1.5bn in a two-stage transaction; Microsoft’s investment of $1.5bn for an undisclosed stake in the UAE artificial intelligence (AI) company Group 42; and a $2bn investment by Alat, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, in convertible bonds issued by Chinese technology company Lenovo Group.

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has also been on the acquisition trail, announcing a $2.7bn investment in Greek renewable energy company Terna Energy in July. The same month, it also announced a deal with Italian firm Endesa to invest €817m for a 49.9% stake in a portfolio of 48 solar power plants with a total capacity of 2GW.

In September, Masdar announced a plan to buy energy developer Saeta Yield for $1.4bn, adding 745MW of wind and solar generating capacity in Spain and Portugal.

As with the Adnoc/Fertiglobe deal, other big transactions announced last year have been completed this year. Among them is the $1.4bn merger of Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed Al-Yah Satellite Communications Company and Bayanat AI, which was unveiled in December and completed on 1 October.

There were $46.6bn-worth of M&A deals involving a Mena company in the opening half of the year

Not always a done deal

Not all announced deals go through, however. In April, Dubai-based engineering consultant Dar Al-Handasah Shair & Partners Holdings (Sidara) approached London-listed John Wood Group with a takeover offer. By late May it had made a fourth and final offer valuing the Aberdeen-headquartered firm at £1.6bn ($2.1bn). However, in early August Sidara backed out saying “in light of rising geopolitical risks and financial market uncertainty” it no longer intended to make a firm offer.

Even with such setbacks, the UAE has been the most active market for M&A deals in the first half of the year. Of the announced deals involving a Mena target, $9.7bn-worth have been for a UAE firm, according to LSEG. Saudi Arabia is in second place, with $3.1bn of the total.

On a sectoral basis, the financial services industry has accounted for most of the deals involving a Mena target, with $6.3bn of the total. Technology and telecommunications companies accounted for a further $3.2bn, while deals involving materials and industrial companies totalled $2.8bn and energy and power company deals were worth $1.6bn.

According to professional services firm Ernst & Young (EY), the region’s sovereign wealth funds, such as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), the UAE’s Mubadala and Saudi Arabia’s PIF, have continued to lead the deal activity in the region, as they push ahead with government-directed efforts to diversify their home economies.

While the likes of Covestro and Terna are European, overall, it is the US that is the main destination for outbound M&A deals, according to EY. However, there have been some major deals announced involving other parts of the world too. In March 2024, Mubadala and Adia joined a consortium that spent $8.3bn to acquire a 60% stake in Chinese shopping mall manager Zhuhai Wanda.

Detailed data is not yet available for third-quarter activity in the Mena region, but the global trends point to a fairly active market. According to LSEG, global completed M&A advisory fees reached $23bn in the first nine months of the year, a 3% increase on the same period of 2023

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Dominic Dudley

Exclusive from Meed

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16 September 2026
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Design completed for Libyan oil field development
16 September 2026

Tender issued for Libyan gas project
17 September 2026
An invitation to bid has been issued for a contract to conduct environmental assessments for the project to expand the Mellitah oil and gas complex in Libya.

The bid submission deadline is 2pm today (17 September) Libyan time.

The scope of the project includes provision of:
- An environmental baseline study (EBS)
- An environmental impact assessment (EIA)
- An environmental management plan (EMP)
The client is Mellitah Oil & Gas (MOG), which is a joint venture of Italy’s Eni and Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC).

MOG is based in Tripoli and operates both onshore and offshore oil and gas facilities.

The joint venture owns and operates six major oil and gas fields across the North African country.

According to the tender documents, the company that is awarded the contract will need to prepare environmental management measures in compliance with:
- Libyan environmental legislation
- Ministry of Environment requirements
- NOC environmental guidelines
- Applicable international environmental standards and best practices
The expansion of the Mellitah oil and gas complex is part of a project estimated to be worth $8bn.

The wider project is known as the Mellitah Complex Expansion & CO2 Management Integrated Development Project.

It has six main packages:
- Onshore package
- Offshore Structure A
- Offshore Structure E
- Subsea pipeline package
- Site preparation work
- Carbon capture and storage facility
Security issues and political instability have been a major problem for Libya’s oil and gas sector since the country’s civil war started in 2011.

Earlier this month, the Mellitah oil and gas complex was forced to shut down temporarily due to a protest over deteriorating public services.

The existing onshore complex includes housing, processing units, storage facilities and export facilities.

It also serves as the launch point for the Greenstream pipeline, which delivers Libyan gas directly to Italy.

The planned expansion of the complex will involve:
- Construction of a new fourth gas processing train
- Construction of a third condensate train
- Construction of a third natural gas liquids fractionation train
- Construction of a fourth sulphur recovery unit train
- Installation of a hydrogen sulphide enrichment unit
- Installation of a sulphur recovery unit
- Construction of other associated facilities
The Mellitah complex is located about 100 kilometres west of Tripoli and is a key energy facility in the west of the country.
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Wil Crisp
Aldar and Mubadala acquire Masdar City Square
17 September 2026

Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company and local developer Aldar have completed the acquisition of Masdar City Square at Masdar City, in a transaction valued at AED918m ($250m).

The deal was executed through their joint venture established in 2024.

Masdar City Square comprises more than 47,000 square metres (sq m) of net leasable area across seven office buildings.

Completed in Q1 2026, the development is 99% occupied. Tenants include Taqa, the Department of Energy, Emirates College and the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

The transaction expands the joint venture’s real estate portfolio in Masdar City, which is now valued at AED4.7bn ($1.3bn).

Masdar City is one of the region’s leading hubs for clean energy, artificial intelligence, advanced research and sustainable urban development.

The joint venture acquired The Link project at Masdar City for AED654m ($178m) in April.

Comprising about 32,000 sq m of net leasable area across five buildings, The Link is fully leased to a portfolio of major tenants, including Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

The asset includes Grade A, Leed Platinum office space, a net-zero-energy headquarters building, a multi-use hall and residential accommodation, supporting its position as a high-performing, integrated component of Masdar City.

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Yasir Iqbal
Dubai announces new 80km highway corridor
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Dubai has approved the construction of the new fourth corridor, a major highway programme aimed at boosting inter-emirate connectivity, increasing road capacity and easing congestion.

The corridor will extend 80 kilometres, from Al-Faya Road in Abu Dhabi to Al-Shanouf Road in Sharjah.

It will include 12 lanes, 72 bridges and 17 tunnels.

The project is expected to reduce travel times by up to 60% and serve more than 3.1 million people, while providing links to Al-Maktoum International airport and Etihad Rail.

It will have the capacity to accommodate 24,000 vehicles per hour in each direction.

The project will be delivered in two phases. The first phase, running from Al-Shanouf Road to Dubai-Al Ain Road, will be delivered at a cost of AED3.5bn ($953m).

The second phase will stretch from Dubai-Al Ain Road to Al-Faya Road in Abu Dhabi.

Hamdan bin Mohammed: In line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to boost investment in infrastructure, I approved the New Fourth Corridor to strengthen Dubai’s road network and enhance connectivity with the UAE’s federal road network.… pic.twitter.com/zlIyY2yKBN

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) September 16, 2026

The scheme adds a fourth spine to a network that has long relied on three main corridors: the E11 (Sheikh Zayed Road/Al-Ittihad Road); the E311 (Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road) and the E611 (Emirates Road), which together carry more than 850,000 vehicles commuting between Dubai and the northern emirates daily.

That concentration has made the route one of the country’s most congested, with peak-hour bottlenecks a persistent problem for residents. The new corridor is designed to divert a significant share of that traffic onto a higher-capacity route, rather than add pressure to the existing network.

The project also aligns with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, which anticipates population growth to 5.8 million by 2040 and calls for the expansion of roads, railways, airports and ports to support that growth and reinforce Dubai’s position as a global trading hub. This is reflected in the corridor’s direct links to Al-Maktoum International airport and Etihad Rail.

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Yasir Iqbal

Engineering progresses on Ras Laffan LNG terminal berths

16 September 2026

Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access

Front-end engineering and design (feed) works are progressing on a QatarEnergy LNG project to build 13 liquefied natural gas (LNG) loading berths at the south export terminal in Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City.

Ras Laffan Industrial City, which lies about 90 kilometres north of Doha, is the world's largest integrated LNG production and export complex, comprising 15 processing trains with a total capacity of 77.5 million tonnes a year (t/y). QatarEnergy began LNG operations at the facility, which houses all its processing trains and export infrastructure, in 1984.

According to sources, QatarEnergy LNG, a subsidiary of state enterprise QatarEnergy, awarded the feed contract for the project to build 13 LNG berths at the south export terminal at Ras Laffan to Australia-headquartered Worley.

The contract was awarded to Worley in the second quarter of this year. Its duration is estimated to be 200,000-250,000 man hours, sources told MEED.

Ras Laffan’s LNG processing and export capabilities will increase by up to about 63% when the three phases of QatarEnergy’s estimated $40bn North Field LNG expansion project come into operation by the end of this decade. Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on all three projects are progressing.

QatarEnergy is understood to have committed nearly $30bn to the first two phases – North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS) – which will lift Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77.5 million t/y to 126 million t/y by 2028.

QatarEnergy awarded the main EPC contracts for NFE in 2021. The project was intended to raise LNG output to 110 million t/y by 2025. The $13bn EPC package – covering the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of four LNG trains, each with a capacity of 8 million t/y – was awarded in February 2021 to a consortium of Japan’s Chiyoda and France’s Technip Energies.

In May 2023, QatarEnergy awarded the $10bn main EPC contract for NFS to a consortium of Technip Energies and Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC). The contract includes two LNG trains, each with a capacity of 7.8 million t/y.

Once fully operational, the first two phases are expected to add 48 million t/y of LNG supply to the global market.

QatarEnergy took the final investment decision on the third phase, North Field West (NFW), this year, awarding an EPC contract estimated at $8bn to a joint venture comprising Technip Energies, CCC and Gulf Asia Contracting in February.

Chiyoda carried out the feed work for the NFW LNG project.

The NFW scope covers the EPC of two LNG trains with a combined capacity of 16 million t/y, as well as associated facilities for gas treatment, natural gas liquids recovery and helium extraction.

In addition to LNG, NFW is expected to produce about 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day of condensate, ethane and liquefied petroleum gas.

With all three phases under EPC execution – and NFE scheduled for commissioning later this year – QatarEnergy is positioning itself to remain one of the world’s largest LNG suppliers in the long term.

READ THE SEPTEMBER 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

Nuclear power ambitions gather pace; Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive despite war; Region invests in raising gas processing capacity.

Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the September 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

> AGENDA: Gulf nuclear revival takes shape

> MARKET FOCUS: Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive under fire

> INDUSTRY REPORT: Gas processing takes centre stage in Mena region

> INTERVIEW: Emsteel persists with business productivity and efficiency

> TUNNELS: The Gulf’s next construction boom is happening underground

To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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Indrajit Sen

Design completed for Libyan oil field development

16 September 2026

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Design work has been completed for a project to develop Libya’s I/R oil field, according to industry sources.

The front-end engineering and design work was completed by a team in the London offices of Italy’s EniProgetti and paves the way for the main engineering, procurement and construction contract to be tendered.

One source said: “At the moment, there is no fixed date for when the invitation to bid for the main contract will be issued, but the project has a lot of momentum and is progressing towards tendering.”

The I/R oil field is located in Murzuq Basin in southwestern Libya.

In June this year, Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) signed a unified operating agreement for the field.

The I/R field is operated by Akakus Oil Operations, which is a joint venture of NOC in partnership with Spain’s Repsol, France’s TotalEnergies Repsol, Austria’s OMV and Norway’s Equinor.

The agreement in June was signed by NOC as well as its concession partners.

NOC said the agreement would unify operational and administrative procedures related to field management, optimise resource utilisation and support production sustainability.