Mubasher: Deal volumes shrank over the past two years, with some positive signs of activity picking up with expectations to gain momentum towards the end of 2018 and early 2019 as the Middle East market begins to embrace the “new normal”, according to PwC Middle East’s new report “TransAct ME - Deals trends and outlook for the Middle East” published on Wednesday.

Governments in the Middle East are founding an enabling environment to increase investment activity by introducing various transformational reforms including, including recent announced changes in Merger and Acquisition (M&A) regulations and foreign ownership rules.

In Saudi Arabia, the government is currently developing and producing new laws to diversify its economy that hosts an investor-friendly climate for privatisation.

Meanwhile, the UAE’s digitisation agenda for 2021 will create M&A opportunities across a range of sectors, including financial services, transportation and logistics, and retail.

“Organisations looking at M&A to drive future growth will need to have a clear understanding of how the potential partners fit with their long term strategic objectives and the value they are looking to achieve through any acquisition or alliance,” according to PwC Middle East’s report.

“Investors and companies should be looking at deals with a real ‘value creation’ lens and take a more holistic view of how value can be created across the business.  This can include factors other than cost management such as capital optimisation, use of technology and innovation,” Romil Radia, deals market leader and regional valuations leader at PwC Middle East, said.