Rabat – Morocco accounted for 3 percent of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) private equity investment activity by value in 2016, coming in 5th in the MENA region.
The 2016 annual study of the MENA Private Equity Association, launched in partnership with Deloitte and Thomson Reuters, shows that Morocco represents 7 percent of the volume of investments in the region, far from the levels shown by the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.
In 2016, the UAE emerged as the largest market in terms of deals volumes, with 34 percent of investments concentrated in the country. The Emiratis managed to attracted 62 percent of the value invested going to firms in the country, hitting a 7 percent increase compared to 2015.
Lebanon came second with 16 percent, followed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia with 8 percent each.
Overall, funds raised amounted to USD 582 million, dropping by 41 percent compared to 2015. This was the lowest figure raised since 2011, according to the MENA Private Equity Association’s report.
The association said that this sharp decline in funding occurred mainly due to the economic climate and regional geopolitical factors affecting external investor perceptions.
With 244 transactions concluded in the region, total investment value also fell by 24 percent to USD 1.13 billion. This was attributed to a drop-off in the number of deals that had an investment value disclosed, which itself was due to a more challenging investment environment, as well as a mispricing between buyer and seller expectations.
