A breakthrough for Middle Eastern mergers? Don’t be so sure

ENAR

When news broke late last month that the total value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the Middle East and North Africa had doubled in the first quarter of 2013, many saw it as a sign that the region’s markets were maturing. Based on data released by consultancy Ernst & Young, (EY), M&A activity in the region reached $14.6 billion, up from $7.3 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Nice numbers on the surface, but when compared to global M&A trends and even more so when put in the regional context, MENA mergers once again look feeble. Still small fish On the global scale, M&A values in the Middle East in the first quarter of 2013 were (as usual) outclassed by deals in the United States and elsewhere, which totaled $479 billion according to Ernst & Young. The announced buyout of Dell, the American Airlines/US Airways merger, and