The Finance World Magazine| Edition: April 2023

Dulsco Group acquires Advance Global Recruitment Ltd
Dulsco Group has acquired
Advance Global Recruitment
(AGR), a Scotland-based
firm specializing in energy
recruitment. The acquisition brings
specialist oil, gas and renewables
expertise, international reach, and
builds on Dulsco Group’s capabilities in
this space. Dulsco Group, with a history
of nation-building services in the UAE
dating back to 1935, is a leading provider
of integrated People, Environment,
and Talent solutions. The purchase
of AGR will accelerate growth in the
UAE and new international markets.
Lumina Capital Advisers acted as the
lead financial adviser to Dulsco LLC
during the acquisition process. AGR
will continue to be led by Stuart Hunter
as CEO, along with their management
team in all locations.
Abu Dhabi’s IHC completes
acquisition of 70% stake
in Arena Events
Abu Dhabi’s International
Holding Company (IHC) has
completed the acquisition
of a majority stake in
Arena Events Group, an event and
entertainment services business, for
$65M. The company was previously
listed on the AIM market of the
London Stock Exchange, IHC said
in a statement. The acquisition is
part of IHC’s strategy to increase its
portfolio through mergers, acquisitions
and strategic investments in sectors
such as property, agriculture, health
care, food and beverages, utilities,
and manufacturing. The CEO and
managing director of IHC said there
is an opportunity for rapid growth
in the events sector as the industry
begins to reopen.
GCC Banks Set to Ride Consolidation Wave Pursuing
Expansion and Revenue Growth
The consolidation trend in
the financial industry across
the GCC is expected to
persist as banks strive to
create institutions with greater scale.
This move will help boost revenue,
achieve cost synergies, and support
the diversification of Gulf economies
away from oil. Moody’s Investors
Service noted that large GCC lenders
are also looking to increase their
market dominance to drive mergers and
acquisitions. These banks are aiming
to capture large-scale transformation
project finance business in the GCC,
while also competing more aggressively
outside their domestic markets. These
strategic objectives will continue to
drive banks to seek consolidation
opportunities to increase their scale.
M&A deal volume in MENA up 13% in 2022 on
higher investor confidence
The Middle East and North
Africa (MENA) region saw a
13% increase in merger and
acquisition (M&A) deals in
2022, primarily driven by the UAE, according
to the EY MENA M&A Insights
2022 report. The report attributed the
“unprecedented” 754 deals to higher
investor confidence brought about by
improving market conditions, elevated
oil prices, business-friendly reforms,
and easing government travel restrictions.
Domestic deals represented
51% of the total M&A volume, while
outbound deals led in value at $40.1B
The technology sector accounted for
25% of the total deal volume, and the
UAE dominated the lists of target and
bidder countries by value.
April 2023 www.thefinanceworld.com 53