M&A Advisory for Industrial, Manufacturing
& Construction Companies in the UAE

UAE manufacturing businesses are typically valued on EV/EBITDA (4x–8x) with a NAV floor based on plant, machinery, and net assets. Construction businesses require backlog-adjusted EBITDA — stripping out margin from work-in-progress and applying a sustainability discount to volatile project margins. DCF is used for longer-term contract businesses. Corvian Advisory applies the appropriate methodology for the sub-sector — and crucially includes a plant and machinery assessment alongside the enterprise valuation to avoid asset-value blind spots.

UAE industrial acquirers include: UAE national conglomerates (ADNOC, IHC, EDGE Group for defence-adjacent manufacturing); Abu Dhabi-linked investment vehicles (Mubadala, ADQ) for strategic manufacturing; GCC PE funds for mid-market industrials; international manufacturers seeking MENA production base entry; and regional construction groups acquiring specialist subcontractors. The UAE's industrial strategy creates a policy-driven buyer universe of state-linked entities willing to pay strategic premiums for priority industrial capabilities.

Backlog is the value of signed, contracted work that has not yet been executed and invoiced. It is the primary indicator of forward revenue visibility in a construction business. Acquirers model backlog carefully — assessing margin quality, client creditworthiness, project risk, and the probability of scope variation or delay. A construction business with 18 months of high-quality backlog is significantly more valuable than one with similar trailing EBITDA but little forward visibility.

Yes. The strategy — targeting AED 300B in manufacturing output — creates: preferential procurement policies favouring UAE-manufactured goods (benefitting existing manufacturers); industrial free zone incentives in KIZAD, KEZAD, and Sharjah that reduce operating costs and attract foreign investors; and strategic acquirer interest from government-linked investment vehicles that support priority manufacturing sectors (food processing, pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, defence). For existing UAE manufacturers, this is an excellent strategic environment to explore a sale or partnership with a government-linked acquirer.

An M&A (enterprise) valuation values the entire business — its earnings, contracts, customer relationships, brand, and intangibles — as a going concern. A plant and machinery valuation values specific physical assets (machinery, production lines, vehicles, equipment) at their market or depreciated replacement cost. For manufacturing M&A, both are needed: the enterprise value determines the purchase price; the P&M valuation determines the asset backing, IFRS 3 purchase price allocation post-acquisition, and insurance/asset-backed lending values. Corvian Advisory provides both — integrated into a single coherent advisory engagement.