Credit Suisse recognized as 'Best M and A House' in the Middle East

The award is a strong endorsement of the bank's foremost position in M&A advisory and the success of its integrated bank strategy.

Credit Suisse was recognized by pre-eminent international finance magazine Euromoney as the "Best M&A House" at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2009 Middle East Dinner in association with QFC Doha on June 9th. Euromoney noted that the regional market for M&A had been challenging in the 12 month period, "In M&A, transaction volumes were down by about 40% in the 12 months between April 2008 and April 2009 compared to the year before" said Euromoney.

However Credit Suisse has still managed to complete transactions throughout the Middle East. "Credit Suisse takes the award this year with its geographic reach standing out. Credit Suisse's Middle East M&A team completed deals in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia."

"The Euromoney award recognises Credit Suisse's significant investment banking presence in the region", said Bassam Yammine, Co-CEO of the Middle East and Head of Investment Banking and Asset Mangement of the MENA region.

"We continue to invest in our business, attracting high calibre bankers in the MENA region in order to better serve our clients."

he added.

Jeffrey Culpepper, Head of the MENA Investment Banking Department said: "The award illustrates Credit Suisse's premier track record in M&A advisory in the Middle East. The Bank has been actively involved in high-profile transactions that reshaped the regional economic landscape. The award recognises Credit Suisse's strong position as an advisor of choice to corporate clients, financial institutions and sovereign entities."

Anthony Armstrong, Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, MENA, said, "Credit Suisse is well placed to serve a growing demand for M&A advisory in the Middle East. Credit Suisse's M&A experience in the region is evidenced by the diverse range of assignments executed in 2008, totalling 12 transactions worth over $17bn."

In awarding Credit Suisse the Best M&A House in the Middle East Euromoney was particularly impressed with the bank's role in several stand-out deals.

"Notable transactions included Saudi jeweller L'Azurde's sale of 70% to a consortium led by the Bahrain based Investcorp along with East Gate and The National Investor from the UAE in March, advising Weather Investments run by Naguib Sawiris in both sales and acquisitions of assets, and Qtel in its purchase of Indosat for $2.6bn" wrote Euromoney.

Regarded as the benchmark awards for financial services globally, the Euromoney Awards for Excellence are now in their 18th consecutive year. This year's awards process, which began in April, attracted over 600 submissions from the world's leading banks and brokerage houses competing for the awards. Euromoney's dedicated research team and awards panel then rated all the submissions on both quantitative and qualitative factors such as KPI's, financial ratios and innovation over the 12 month period to decide the award winners.

"The global financial crisis has hit all the world's economies hard and the Middle East has been no exception, problems in Kuwait and the UAE have been well publicized. However the intrinsic fundamentals of the region in terms of demographics, mineral wealth and domestic demand remain strong. Most importantly of all, governments around the region have shown real commitment to economic diversification and development and Euromoney sees the long term picture to still be very strong" wrote Euromoney.