KUWAIT: The value of private equity deals in the Middle East and North Africa fell 4 percent last year as economic growth slowed because of falling oil prices.
Investment dropped to US$1.5 billion, although the number of private equity deals in the region surged to 175 from 72 in the previous year, the MENA Private Equity Association said in a report on Sunday. Fundraising in the year declined 19 percent to US$992 million, with cumulative assets under management totaling US$26.5 billion.
A 50 percent plunge in oil prices over the past two years is hurting economic growth across the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which is home to about 30 percent of the world’s oil reserves, and slowed dealmaking.
