Move follows opening of Dubai office.
Aon Risk Services has opened a new Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) service for private equity, sovereign funds, business-to-business, real estate and infrastructure funds based in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The launch follows last week’s announcement that Aon has opened a new regional headquarters in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
In a statement the broker said the move was a natural development, given the emergence of Gulf-based sovereign wealth funds and companies with both domestical and international explansion plans.
Tim Davies, director, AMAG (MENA), who heads up the service offering, has 20 years experience of global commercial insurance, including the last eight years working with the Private Equity industry.
He said: “With the availability of capital, established sovereign wealth funds and an influx of international private equity firms setting up in the region, Aon is able to offer proactive risk identification, quantification and management at every stage of the deal – pre-transaction, during ownership and upon exit.
"Aon’s M&A service offering is even more valuable in light of the credit crunch, which is forcing banks to place additional focus on the terms under which they provide capital. Advising regionally based corporates on insurance diligence issues as they expand into Asia, Europe and the US is a service we will also provide.”
Latif AlRayes, chairman, Aon Middle East added: “There is an ever increasing need in the Middle East for sophisticated advice in areas beyond the traditional property and casualty issues. This new investment will add a designated risk and insurance due diligence service to the private equity and M&A sectors that complements the extensive and well-established services already offered by Aon throughout the MENA region.”
Mark Roberts, chief executive officer, AMAG (EMEA and APAC) said: “The expansion of AMAG to the Middle East is testament to the growing importance of private equity in the region and confirms the significance of Dubai as one of the world’s key financial centres. Clients in the region will have the full support of the wider AMAG network across Europe, Asia Pacific and the US."
AMAG, which provides risk management and human capital solutions throughout the deal and fund cycle, has a large global footprint with 200 M&A specialists working out of wholly-owned offices in more than 30 countries.
