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13: M&A Zing (Ep. 12) – Searching the Gulf: Adam Giansiracusa on UAE’s Untapped SME Goldmine
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Welcome to Episode 13 of M&A Zing - the weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search-funders and hold-co builders in the UK, Europe *and beyond*.
This week we head to the United Arab Emirates to meet Adam Giansiracusa, founder of *Oryx Legacy* and one of the first traditional searchers dedicated to acquiring SMEs in the GCC.
Adam explains why Dubai’s 4-5 % GDP growth, low taxes and 90 % expat population create first-mover conditions for deal-makers—plus how he’s navigating sparse data, WhatsApp sourcing and multi-national workforce cultures to find the right company before year-end.
Episode Timestamps*
[00:00] Intro & Search-Fund News
* Frontier Development Capital launches £80 m Regional SME Debt Fund (UK)
* Ithaca Capital returns 40 % of its fund inside Year 1 (EU)
[00:40] Why the UAE? A £600 bn “Greater-London-sized” economy
[02:02] Meet Adam Giansiracusa—from Monitor Deloitte to BCG Dubai
[05:24] Five years inside a family-office PE firm: lessons in ops & strategy
[10:00] Self-funded vs. backed search: proof-of-funds & bank-lending realities
[14:10] Oryx Legacy thesis—education, healthcare, B2B services & tourism
[18:35] Macro tailwinds: 1,000 newcomers/day, flight-to-safety capital flows
[23:16] Fund-raise recap (⅔ global LPs, ⅓ GCC family offices)
[28:05] Intermediated deal flow: only *three* active brokers in the UAE
[31:30] Proprietary hacks—Apollo, Google Maps & gov-licence scraping
[38:55] Diligence hurdles: pre-tax books, multi-entity structures & culture
[44:10] Geopolitics, oil prices & why Dubai often *benefits* from instability
[47:30] 12-month goal: identify target, enter diligence, close inside Year 2
[49:55] Adam’s advice: secure a local anchor early & embrace emerging markets
[52:40] Contact Adam ([email protected]) & wrap-up
*Guest Bio: Adam Giansiracusa*
Adam is the founder of Oryx Legacy, one of the first search funds focused on buying a single SME in the United Arab Emirates. After Monitor Deloitte and an MBA at Harvard, he joined BCG in Dubai, then spent five years as Chief-of-Staff at Safanad, a global family-office PE firm with major investments in schools, healthcare and real estate. He’s now leveraging that toolkit to pioneer ETA in the Gulf.
---
About M&A Zing
*Host* – Gareth Hawkins (CEO & Co-Founder, BizCrunch; exited founder & M&A investor)
Every week we tackle real-world SMB-M&A challenges—especially for UK, European and now GCC deal-makers.
Join the BizCrunch Community
Early-access to livestreams * Live post-show Q&A * Networking with other buyers & investors
https://www.bizcrunch.co/community
Featured News
* Frontier Development Capital closes £80 m Regional SME Debt Fund to target succession deals under £10 m EV.
* Ithaca Capital Partners distributes 40 % of Fund I within 12 months of closing.
Thanks for Watching / Listening!
If you enjoyed this episode please *like*, *subscribe* and turn on notifications. Questions? Drop them below—or join our private community for the AMA.
#MergersAndAcquisitions #SearchFunds #GCC #SME #BizCrunch
This week we head to the United Arab Emirates to meet Adam Giansiracusa, founder of *Oryx Legacy* and one of the first traditional searchers dedicated to acquiring SMEs in the GCC.
Adam explains why Dubai’s 4-5 % GDP growth, low taxes and 90 % expat population create first-mover conditions for deal-makers—plus how he’s navigating sparse data, WhatsApp sourcing and multi-national workforce cultures to find the right company before year-end.
Episode Timestamps*
[00:00] Intro & Search-Fund News
* Frontier Development Capital launches £80 m Regional SME Debt Fund (UK)
* Ithaca Capital returns 40 % of its fund inside Year 1 (EU)
[00:40] Why the UAE? A £600 bn “Greater-London-sized” economy
[02:02] Meet Adam Giansiracusa—from Monitor Deloitte to BCG Dubai
[05:24] Five years inside a family-office PE firm: lessons in ops & strategy
[10:00] Self-funded vs. backed search: proof-of-funds & bank-lending realities
[14:10] Oryx Legacy thesis—education, healthcare, B2B services & tourism
[18:35] Macro tailwinds: 1,000 newcomers/day, flight-to-safety capital flows
[23:16] Fund-raise recap (⅔ global LPs, ⅓ GCC family offices)
[28:05] Intermediated deal flow: only *three* active brokers in the UAE
[31:30] Proprietary hacks—Apollo, Google Maps & gov-licence scraping
[38:55] Diligence hurdles: pre-tax books, multi-entity structures & culture
[44:10] Geopolitics, oil prices & why Dubai often *benefits* from instability
[47:30] 12-month goal: identify target, enter diligence, close inside Year 2
[49:55] Adam’s advice: secure a local anchor early & embrace emerging markets
[52:40] Contact Adam ([email protected]) & wrap-up
*Guest Bio: Adam Giansiracusa*
Adam is the founder of Oryx Legacy, one of the first search funds focused on buying a single SME in the United Arab Emirates. After Monitor Deloitte and an MBA at Harvard, he joined BCG in Dubai, then spent five years as Chief-of-Staff at Safanad, a global family-office PE firm with major investments in schools, healthcare and real estate. He’s now leveraging that toolkit to pioneer ETA in the Gulf.
---
About M&A Zing
*Host* – Gareth Hawkins (CEO & Co-Founder, BizCrunch; exited founder & M&A investor)
Every week we tackle real-world SMB-M&A challenges—especially for UK, European and now GCC deal-makers.
Join the BizCrunch Community
Early-access to livestreams * Live post-show Q&A * Networking with other buyers & investors
https://www.bizcrunch.co/community
Featured News
* Frontier Development Capital closes £80 m Regional SME Debt Fund to target succession deals under £10 m EV.
* Ithaca Capital Partners distributes 40 % of Fund I within 12 months of closing.
Thanks for Watching / Listening!
If you enjoyed this episode please *like*, *subscribe* and turn on notifications. Questions? Drop them below—or join our private community for the AMA.
#MergersAndAcquisitions #SearchFunds #GCC #SME #BizCrunch
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