Middle East M&A Surges 33% as Egypt, UAE, KSA Lead Deal-Making
PwC Middle East's latest TransAct report paints a striking picture: Middle East M&A activity surged to 635 completed transactions in 2025, a 33% increase year-on-year, defying a cautious global dealmaking environment. The UAE (207 deals), Egypt (172 deals), and Saudi Arabia (169 deals) together drove 89% of all regional activity.
The data reveals a structural shift in how Middle Eastern dealmaking works. Intra-regional transactions rose to 320 deals, meaning capital is increasingly circulating between Gulf and MENA markets rather than seeking offshore targets. This reflects the continued build-out of national champions as governments advance domestic capability agendas and prioritize scale, resilience, and investment depth.
Inbound M&A also recovered, rising from 182 to 238 deals — the first material rebound after several years of decline. Sovereign wealth funds and state-backed entities played a pivotal role, providing patient capital for transactions tied to national transformation priorities.
AI emerged as a defining force in regional dealmaking. Rising demand for data processing and compute capacity is redirecting investment toward energy-intensive, asset-backed platforms. Activity across data centers, cloud infrastructure, and advanced computing reflects a structural reallocation of capital — narrowing the divide between technology and real assets.
Corporates led execution with 383 transactions (60% of total volume), while private equity contributed 252 deals, focusing on platforms with resilient demand in healthcare, digital infrastructure, and industrial technology.
Egypt logging 172 deals — nearly matching the UAE — is the headline everyone should read twice. Cairo is quietly becoming an M&A hub, not just a recipient of Gulf capital. For founders building in Egypt, this means exit paths are real and getting closer. The AI-infrastructure convergence angle matters too: sovereign funds aren't just buying tech companies, they're buying the physical assets (data centers, energy) that AI runs on.
Which Middle East countries lead in M&A activity?
The UAE led with 207 deals, followed by Egypt at 172 and Saudi Arabia at 169, together accounting for 89% of all regional transactions in 2025.