Full Analysis Summary
MENA 2024 M&A Activity
MENA dealmaking accelerated sharply in 2024 despite economic uncertainties.
Mergers and acquisitions reached $69.1 billion across 649 deals in the first nine months, up 23% year-on-year.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) powered this surge, accounting for 500 deals worth $65.9 billion.
This growth builds on a solid 2023 when regional M&A rose 7% to $92.3 billion.
Both West Asian sources describe the rebound as resilient despite economic uncertainties.
They also emphasize that the GCC was the center of gravity for activity and value in 2024 to date.
Coverage Differences
tone/narrative
Arab News (West Asian) emphasizes GCC leadership with the phrasing “dominated this activity,” reinforcing a narrative of Gulf-driven regional momentum. Arab News PK (West Asian) uses nearly identical figures but the phrase “dominated the market,” signaling the same leadership with slightly different market-oriented wording. Both maintain a positive resilience framing by stating the surge came “despite economic uncertainties,” with no contradictions between them.
missed information
Neither source provides a geographic breakdown beyond the GCC’s aggregate figures (e.g., country-by-country contributions within the GCC), focusing instead on top-line regional totals and GCC dominance. This shared focus omits granular distribution across non-GCC MENA markets.
Cross-Border Deal Growth
Cross-border dealmaking was the main driver of growth.
Both sources report EY’s assessment that cross-border transactions accounted for 54% of volume and 76% of value, marking the highest level in five years.
There was also an increase in mid-size deals and a strategic focus on innovation-driven sectors.
These sectors align with long-term economic diversification plans.
Together, these factors explain why activity increased despite a period of uncertainty.
Coverage Differences
narrative
Both Arab News (West Asian) and Arab News PK (West Asian) report EY’s role and stress cross-border activity hitting a five-year high, but neither expands on specific innovation-driven subsectors; the narrative centers on strategy alignment with diversification rather than naming industries.
missed information
Neither source provides an EY sectoral breakdown or examples of the specific ‘innovation-driven sectors’ leading mid-size activity, leaving the reader without subsector detail beyond the strategic label.
Major Gulf Energy Investments
OMV and Borealis agreed to acquire a 64% stake in Borouge for $16.5 billion.
ADNOC bought a 46.94% stake in Canada’s NOVA Chemicals for $6.3 billion.
Saudi Aramco acquired Peruvian fuel distributor Primax S.A.
Arab News describes the Borouge transaction as the UAE’s largest merger and acquisition of the year, emphasizing its national importance.
Arab News PK lists the same transactions without that superlative and includes details about the companies' nationalities and contexts, such as Austria’s OMV and UAE’s Borouge.
Coverage Differences
tone/narrative
Arab News (West Asian) elevates the Borouge deal by calling it “the UAE’s largest M&A of the year,” amplifying its symbolic prominence. Arab News PK (West Asian) presents the same deal set but opts for neutral cataloging—emphasizing the parties and geography—without the ‘largest’ label.
missed information
Neither source specifies timing beyond 2024 or outlines post-deal integration plans and strategic synergies for the highlighted transactions, keeping the coverage at a transaction-summary level.
Gulf M&A Trends and Analysis
Looking ahead, Arab News PK links the M&A momentum to regulatory reforms and strategic policy shifts, describing a “structural upswing” in the region’s deal landscape.
Arab News does not include that policy framing, sticking to metrics, cross-border dynamics, and headline transactions.
The net effect across these West Asian sources is a shared signal of Gulf-led resilience with a nuanced divergence.
One source focuses on transactional evidence and scale, while the other adds a policy-driven narrative for why the upswing might endure.
Coverage Differences
unique/off-topic coverage
Arab News PK (West Asian) uniquely attributes momentum to “regulatory reforms and strategic policy shifts” and characterizes the trend as a “structural upswing,” adding causality. Arab News (West Asian) omits this policy-causality angle and confines its narrative to activity levels, drivers (per EY), and notable deals.
tone/narrative
Arab News maintains a data-forward tone (totals, growth rates, GCC share), while Arab News PK blends data with a forward-looking governance/policy frame, suggesting durability of the upswing.