This report examines how companies in Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) should approach capital raising in current market conditions, and what professional advisory contributes to that process. It is intended for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), founders, investors, and senior management evaluating a transaction within the next 12 to 24 months.
Principal findings
- Capital is abundant but selective. Sovereign, institutional and international pools have deepened substantially, yet allocation discipline has tightened since the 2021 peak. The binding constraint on growth is no longer the availability of funding but the supply of investor-ready companies.
- Policy is generating the pipeline. Vision 2030 targets, a 65% private-sector share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and a 35% Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) contribution, are achievable only through a step change in private capital formation, and state capital is structured to crowd private money in rather than displace it.
- Readiness determines pricing. Non-IFRS financials, related-party structures and reactively assembled data rooms are the most common causes of stalled transactions, and each carries a remediation lead time measured in quarters rather than weeks.
- Process economics are favourable. Advisory costs of approximately (approx.) 5-8% of proceeds are routinely outweighed by the pricing and structural benefit of a competitive process that produces two or three parallel term sheets.
- Instrument selection is a strategic decision. Equity, debt, sukuk and public listing serve different milestones, and their cost, control and disclosure consequences differ materially, including under zakat and tax treatment.
Recommended direction
Management teams should commission a readiness diagnostic 12 to 18 months ahead of any intended raise, govern the transaction as a board-level programme supported by a defined capital roadmap, approach a broad and qualified investor set through licensed advisors and negotiate structure with the rigour normally reserved for headline valuation. Section 8 sets out the full action agenda.
How Insights Can Help
Insights supports companies throughout the capital-raising journey, from transaction readiness and financial modelling to investor positioning, valuation, due diligence, and transaction execution. Our corporate finance consultants help management teams assess the most suitable funding structure, strengthen financial and operational readiness, and develop a clear capital roadmap aligned with their strategic objectives. By combining corporate finance expertise with market insight and transaction experience, Insights helps businesses approach investors with greater confidence, improve their negotiating position, and maximise the value achieved from a capital-raising process.
