Kuwait's Kamco Invest expects strong M&A deal pipeline this year

The financial company leads Kuwait stc's acquisition of e-Portal Holding Company

Kuwait's Kamco managed and closed transactions worth $4.8 billion in 2021. Bloomberg

Kamco Invest, an independently managed subsidiary of Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco), expects mergers and acquisitions to retain momentum this year, following a strong performance in 2021.

The Mena region witnessed a 40 per cent annual increase in the total number of M&A deals last year, reaching the highest annual total deals reported since records began in 1980, according to Refinitiv’s MENA investment banking review.

There were 661 transactions worth $99 billion in 2021, compared with 397 deals worth $85.2bn in 2020, Ernst & Young said in a report.

Kamco managed and closed transactions worth $4.8bn, including six M&A deals, in 2021.

“The increase in M&A activity within the Mena region indicates the voracious appetite in the market following the pandemic,” Abdullah Al Sharekh, managing director of markets and investment banking at Kamco Invest, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We expect another active year for investment banking across all sectors … this will mainly be driven by corporates seeking to finance their expansions, grow inorganically and enhance their competitive advantage while leveraging on the positive market sentiments.”

Kamco recently led Kuwait Telecommunications Company (stc)'s acquisition of technology business, e-Portal Holding Company. The deal, first announced in December 2021, was initiated with the purchase price of 23 million Kuwaiti dinars ($75.7m).

Kamco assisted stc in identifying, shortlisting, assessing and evaluating potential targets and also advised on obtaining regulatory and corporate approvals, performing the due diligence processes, reviewing transaction documents and liaising with stakeholders, it said in the statement.

“We are proud to have played a strategic role in successfully meeting and achieving the objectives set by stc from deal sourcing to closing … this transaction builds on our successful track record and comes as a continuation to our M&A [merger and acquisitions] activities in 2021,” Mr Al Sharekh said.

Founded in 2005, Kuwait-headquartered e-Portal is a group of companies providing end-to-end ICT (information, communications and technology) and security system solutions. It has offices in various locations such as the UAE, Qatar and Iraq.

The deal will help stc in diversifying its customer base and further expanding its solutions beyond traditional telecommunication services, Kamco said.

The company is currently advising on two merger transactions by amalgamation on behalf of its clients, it said.

These include the merger of Kipco with Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company and the merger of United Real Estate Company with two of its subsidiaries — United Tower Holding and Al Dhiyafa Holding.

Kuwait-listed Kamco had assets under management worth more than $14.6bn as of December 31. Since its inception, it has acted as investment banker to deals worth over $29.2bn in equity capital markets, debt capital markets and M&As.