Rothschild & Co’s 2025 track record shows a house that is no longer just the region’s most active independent M&A adviser but an increasingly indispensable capital markets partner, capable of matching regional ambition with sophisticated cross-border execution.
The firm now includes some 70 bankers across Abu Dhabi, Doha, Tel Aviv and, since last year, Riyadh – an office that has already yielded its 14th assignment for Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ) and a seventh for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. By combining this local proximity with longstanding family ownership, the firm has become a natural adviser to regional sovereign wealth funds navigating volatile geopolitics and shifting liquidity cycles.
This footprint underpinned one of 2025’s headline equity stories – VEON’s $2.3 billion de-Spac (special purpose acquisition company) of Kyivstar with Cohen Circle – which created the first purely Ukrainian company to list on Nasdaq. Rothschild & Co acted as lead financial adviser and capital markets adviser, refining the equity narrative, negotiating non-redemption agreements that limited redemptions to 25%, and orchestrating a roadshow to more than 60 emerging market and telecom investors. The transaction demonstrated the bank’s ability to move shareholder registries from short-term Spac specialists to long-horizon fundamental owners.
By combining local proximity with longstanding family ownership, the firm has become a natural adviser to regional sovereign wealth funds navigating volatile geopolitics and shifting liquidity cycles
Debt advisory was equally prominent. In the spring, ADQ tapped US institutional money with a $2 billion dual-tranche 144A/Reg S bond. Rothschild & Co provided independent market read-outs, calibrated pricing in the face of “Liberation Day”-related rate turbulence, and optimised syndicate strategy to secure tight spreads for both five- and 10-year tranches. Additionally, the firm steered The First Group through the amend-and-extend of a $135 million, 10.5% sukuk – evidence of its growing role in Islamic capital markets at a time when refinancing windows are still uneven.
We have consistently achieved the best outcomes for clients across different markets. In a fast-moving market where agility is critical, this proximity has enabled us to address complex challenges and deliver on key mandates
Saeed Al Awar
The advisory-financing bridge was perhaps most visible in September, when Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) agreed to acquire Spanish desalination specialist GS Inima for around $1.2 billion. Rothschild & Co oversaw a six-month, multi-jurisdictional due-diligence exercise covering more than 50 assets, prepared a detailed multi-currency financing model and aligned the acquisition’s capital structure with TAQA’s ambition to source two-thirds of its water output from reverse-osmosis technology by 2030.
Behind these mandates sits a revamped operating model. In June, the firm folded equity advisory, private capital, family office services and research into a single Global Markets Solutions (GMS) platform, giving Middle Eastern issuers access to public and private pockets of capital. The launch was accompanied by proprietary AI tools that automate acquirer screening and filings analysis, freeing bankers to focus on complex structuring and geopolitical risk assessment.
“We have consistently achieved the best outcomes for clients across different markets,” says Saeed Al Awar, Rothschild & Co’s head of Middle East. “In a fast-moving market where agility is critical, this proximity has enabled us to address complex challenges and deliver on key mandates, including Olam Group’s 65% stake sale in Olam Agri to SALIC [Saudi Agriculture and Livestock Investment Company], and Covestro’s €14.7 billion public takeover offer by ADNOC [Abu Dhabi National Oil Company].”
