RIYADH: With 45% of all registered deals in the first half of 2025, Saudi Arabia became the most active private equity market in the Middle East and North Africa. The Kingdom reported 13 agreements, an 8 percent year-over-year rise, surpassing the UAE, which reported 12 transactions, a 25 percent year-over-year decrease, according to MAGNiTT’s MENA Private Equity Report.
The two markets’ expanding dominance in the MENA investment scene is demonstrated by the fact that they accounted for 86% of all regional PE transaction activity. In general, the region’s transaction volumes continued to shrink; for the third consecutive half-year reduction, overall activity fell 38 percent year over year to just 29 percent.
The disclosed deal value decreased by just 11% to $2.88 billion from the first half of 2024 as funds moved to more substantial, high-conviction projects. Scale-ready SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and high-conviction strategies, not withdrawal, are leading the MENA region’s PE recalibration,” stated Farah El-Nahlawi, manager of MAGNiTT’s research department. “The growing dominance of $100M+ deals signals a maturing landscape ready to absorb larger pools of capital,” she added.
The Kingdom’s venture capital growth is in line with its PE growth. Saudi Arabia topped MENA VE activity in early 2025, generating $860 million, a 116 percent year-over-year increase, because to sovereign backing and growing interest from foreign investors, according to a separate analysis by MAGNiTT.
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