Gate Capital Newsletter | Issue 714

Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, has signed an $11 billion lease and leaseback deal involving its Jafurah gas processing facilities with a consortium of international investors, led by funds managed by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock.

Jafurah is the largest non-associated gas development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, estimated to contain 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas and 75 billion Stock Tank Barrels of condensate.

The UAE-based venture capital firm CE-Ventures is part of the $100 million funding raised by US nuclear tech company Aalo Atomics. CE-Ventures is part of the Crescent Enterprises group.

Aalo’s Series B fundraise was led by Valor Equity Partners, and alongside CE-Ventures, there were Fine Structure Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, Crosscut Ventures and others.

Professional.me, an AI-powered recruitment platform, has raised $3.1 million in a seed funding round led by Raha Beach Ventures, bringing its total funding to $4.6 million. The company previously raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed round, also led by Raha Beach Ventures.

Professional.me and Raha Beach Ventures were both founded by Ryan Adams. Raha Beach Ventures operates as a startup studio, providing founders with engineers, designers, financial expertise, marketing, networks, and mentoring in exchange for equity ranging from 35% to 50%, depending on support levels.

The MENA region recorded 425 M&A deals in the first half of 2025, marking a 31% increase in deal volume and a 19% rise in total value to $58.7 billion compared with the same period in 2024, according to the latest EY MENA M&A Insights report.

UAE renewables major Masdar-led consortium has reached financial close for the 2-gigawatt (GW) Al Sadawi solar photovoltaic (PV), an independent power Producer (IPP) project in Saudi Arabia. The consortium partners include GD Power Development Company and Korea Electric Power Corporation. The funding has been secured from eight regional and international lenders, which will cover a substantial part of the total project costs, estimated at $1.1 billion.

Midas, Turkey’s largest investment platform, has raised US$80 million in its Series B funding round, the largest investment to date for a Turkish fintech company. This brings the company’s total funding to over US$140 million.

Midas serves 3.5 million investors with access to Borsa Istanbul, US stock markets, mutual funds and cryptocurrencies through a single platform.

Saudi Arabia’s almost $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund sold its stakes in several U.S.-listed companies – including Meta, Shopify and PayPal – in the second quarter, according to securities filings released on Thursday.

The Public Investment Fund also sold its stakes in Alibaba Group, Nu Holdings and FedEx, the 13F filings show, during a quarter in which U.S. stock markets rebounded from an April drop tied to U.S. tariff policies. PIF’s total exposure to U.S. equities, which include call options that give the state investor a right to buy an underlying asset at a specified price within a specific time period, was valued at $23.8 billion at the end of the second quarter, versus $25.5 billion at the end of the first quarter.

The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) has invested more than AED300 million in developing the Sharjah Collection, a portfolio of seven luxury eco-retreats offering wellness, heritage and nature-based experiences across the emirate. The global wellness tourism sector is projected to exceed US$1 trillion in 2025, according to the Global Wellness Institute, while slow travel is growing at about 10 percent annually.

Advance International Company for Communication and Information Technology (AICTEC) said it established a joint venture (JV) with China-based ZKTeco under the name Noor Technology Co.

AICTEC expects the project to support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals by boosting localization of security and technology industries, increasing local content, creating jobs, and strengthening the Kingdom’s technological and manufacturing base.

Presight, a leading global AI and big data analytics company based in Abu Dhabi, has announced that it has signed an MoU with Dow Jones Factiva, a trusted source of regulatory-grade risk intelligence.

Together, the two industry leaders will explore the co-development of a new class of AI-native risk and compliance solutions designed for financial institutions, regulators, and sovereign entities navigating an era of unprecedented complexity, said the company in a statement.

Saudi Arabia-listed SHL Finance Company has secured a banking facility worth SAR 200 million ($53.3 million) with Saudi Investment Bank. The Sharia-compliant financing will be used to provide new loans to customers, as part of a strategy to boost revenues and support growth.

The company secured the five-year financing by providing a promissory note and an assignment of receivables as guarantees.

Jahez International Company for Information Systems Technology has secured a Shariah-compliant credit facility worth $40 million (SAR 150 million) from the National Bank of Bahrain. The facility, obtained on August 18, 2025, carries an eight-year duration and will be used to finance capital expenditures for the company’s new headquarters.

Founded in 2016, Jahez operates as an online food delivery and on-demand services platform, connecting restaurants, logistics providers, and customers. Beyond food delivery, it offers q-commerce, last-mile delivery, digital solutions, and cloud kitchens across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia is ramping up the adoption of smart technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality across its tourism sector, aiming to redefine the visitor experience and support its broader economic diversification agenda.

Saudi Arabia and Syria have signed an investment promotion and protection agreement, aimed at establishing practical frameworks to strengthen joint investments and develop strategic projects in industry, services, infrastructure, and tourism.

The roundtable addressed avenues of cooperation and opportunities for economic and investment partnerships in priority sectors, focusing on empowering the private sector in both countries, facilitating investment flows, and exchanging technical and knowledge expertise to support investment development and investor empowerment.

Bapco Energies, the integrated energy group leading the transformation of Bahrain’s energy sector, has announced that it has signed a strategic partnership with Lamea National Project to support its objectives and enhance the group’s youth-oriented outcomes.  Under the agreement, a strategic partnership will be established between the two sides to support the objectives of Lamea and enhance its youth-oriented outcomes.

Argaam Macro in a recent report expected Saudi Arabia’s food industries sector to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 6.8% through 2030, driven by rising demand for food products.

In the report released today, August 19, 2025, Argaam Macro revealed that the sector’s size reached about SAR 166.15 billion in 2024, compared to SAR 152.22 billion a year earlier, marking an increase of SAR 13.9 billion, or 9.2% year-on-year.

The food industries sector makes up 10% of the Kingdom’s total manufacturing industries, underscoring its importance as a vital sector contributing to diversifying the industrial base and strengthening national food security.

Al Kuzama Trading Co. announced the signing of a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire a 60% ownership stake in Raed Foods Catering Co., a limited liability company (LLC) operating in the restaurant sector.

Al Kuzama said in a statement on Tadawul that the 70-day MoU is renewable for a similar period, as the final decision to acquire the stake is subject to the company’s valuation, completion of due diligence, and obtaining the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities.

Tihama Advertising and Public Relations Co. signed, on July 30, an agreement with Osama Abdulaziz Al Tawala Law Firm and Legal Consultants to acquire Dan Diamond Real Estate Development and Investment. The deal is valued at SAR 90.72 million.

Dan owns an 181,440 square meter land plot in Al Kharj City, Alkhaldiya district, that is to be developed for commercial and residential purposes, Tihama said in a Tadawul statement.

The Private Department of UAE’s Sheikh Mohamed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan LLC (PD) has closed a syndicated 3 billion UAE dirhams ($813 million) real estate financing deal. The 10-year facility will be used to refinance its bank debt, settle sukuk obligations, and support PD’s general corporate purpose. The facility is secured by a portfolio of real estate assets across Abu Dhabi and Dubai.