Dubai's Arqaam says working on several M&A deals

Arqaam Capital chief executive officer Michael Van Uffelen speaks during the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit in Dubai, October 28, 2009.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Investment bank Arqaam Capital is working on a multi-billion dollar M&A deal in the Gulf Arab region, one of six deals it is looking to conclude, as activity picks up, its director said on Wednesday.

"We are working on a number of mandates, some in-country and some cross-border. We are in discussions with a number of clients in a variety of sectors," said Michael van Uffelen at the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit.

The size of the deals range from small firms valued at between $10-15 million to a multi-billion dollar transaction in the Gulf Arab region, and span a number of sectors, he said declining to give further details.

The remaining five deals are focused in the Gulf Arab region, the Middle East and North Africa, with some extending "slightly further", he said.

"Some could happen faster than six months, some not at all ... but we would hope that the majority of these happen."

Cross border M&A activity in the Gulf Arab region has been negligible, with the largest acquisition carried out in 2007 when Qatar Telecommunications QTEL.QA bought a 51 percent stake in Kuwait's Wataniya (NMTC.KW) for about $3.7 billion.

In September, an Indian-Malaysian consortium bid to buy a 46-percent stake in Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain (ZAIN.KW) for $13.7 billion, but any deal is far from completion.

In addition to its core business of capital markets, Arqaam recently launched an asset management business seeding two funds, with one focused on the Gulf and Middle East and North Africa regions and the other focused on regional credit.

"Once we build up a sufficient track record will be inviting investors to join those funds," Uffelen said, declining to say how big the funds were.

Dubai-based Arqaam, which has around 60 staff, has offices in London and also focuses on corporate finance, brokerage and custody services.

(Additional reporting by Amran Abocar, Rachna Uppal and Chris Wickham; Editing by Rupert Winchester)