Dubai, UAE – The UAE topped the activity of mergers and acquisitions deals in the Middle East region during 2025, concluding about 207 deals.
This is according to the latest PWC Middle East Deals Report for 2026.
Which revealed an increase in the volume of regional deals by 33% annually, reaching 635 completed deals.
The report stated that local and inter-trade deals were the main driver of mergers and acquisitions activity in the region during 2025.
The number of inter-deals increased to 320.
The UAE (207 deals), Saudi Arabia (169 deals), and the Arab Republic of Egypt (172 deals) emerged among the most active markets in the region.
The expatriate investment activity also recovered, as the number of expatriate investment deals increased from 182 deals in 2024 to 238 deals in 2025.
This represents the first tangible recovery after years of decline.
This reflects renewed confidence in the region’s macroeconomic stability and the depth of the quality of investment opportunities.
The report explained that mergers and acquisitions activity in the Middle East witnessed a noticeable acceleration in 2025, exceeding the state of cautious anticipation that prevailed in the global scene for concluding deals.
Which was characterized by the adoption of a selective approach to capital investment and increasing uncertainty.
The report revealed a 33% annual increase in the volume of regional transactions, reaching 635 completed transactions, returning to 2022 levels.
The region has demonstrated its uniqueness as a market for concluding value-driven deals.
This depends on the strength of its economic foundations, the strength of sovereign balance sheets, and the increasing depth of regional integration.
Which continues to attract more incoming and in-between investments.
This momentum reflects a fundamental shift in the methodology of value creation in the Middle East.
Instead of focusing on volume alone, investors have increasingly tended to use mergers and acquisitions to build capacity and enhance systems resilience.
