Christopher Ezell/Getty Images Saudi Arabia’s PE dealmaking has proven more resilient than VC in the first half of this year, a signal that institutional capital is maturing in the market.
PE deal value in Saudi Arabia reached $834 million in H1 2026, according to PitchBook’s H1 2026 Saudi Arabia Private Capital Report, already surpassing full-year 2025’s $449.9 million, although still trailing the previous peaks in 2023 and 2024
While more capital is being invested, the number of PE deals is still lagging behind 2025’s pace at just 17 deals in the first six months of this year. This is still more resilient than VC dealmaking, where deal count fell 58.6% to 55 in H1 2026, down from 133 during the same period a year ago. The resilience in both buyout and PE growth investment reflects a maturing market where institutional capital continues to find scaled opportunities to invest in.
Most of that activity has taken the form of single-asset deals targeting businesses that were never venture-backed in the first place, further evidence that the market’s private capital market as a whole is institutionalizing. Deal activity in H1 concentrated in established sectors, with B2B the most active, attracting $450 million in investments. B2C and healthcare also had $223.7 million and $159.8 million in deal value, respectively.