South Sigma
Menu
Start a conversationContact

Your strategic partner for growth and solutions across the Gulf region.

South Sigma works alongside owners, management teams and investors on regional expansion and the solutions it demands, from advisory and valuation to partnerships and acquisitions.

Start a conversation See the four practices
Map of thirteen cities joined by lines: Erbil, Damascus, Baghdad, Basra, Kuwait City, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Manama, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat.36°E40°E44°E48°E52°E56°E22°N26°N30°N34°NKuwait CityRiyadhDammamManamaDohaAbu DhabiDubaiMuscatJeddahDamascusBaghdadBasraErbil
Regional reach, from Erbil to Muscat.

Four core practices. Choose one to see when to call us and what we do.

We help owners and management teams plan, forecast and control the company's finances, and test new projects before money is committed.

ActualForecastTodayUpsideBaseDownside
Illustration: a cash flow forecast with base, upside and downside cases.

When to call us

  • You are planning a new project or line of business and need a feasibility study before money is committed.
  • Your cash position is hard to predict and you need a forecast you can rely on.
  • Budgets and management reports arrive late or do not tell you what you need to know.

Typical work

  • Financial strategy
  • Feasibility studies
  • Cash flow forecasting models
  • Budgeting and management reporting
  • Cost review
Ask about a feasibility study

We value businesses, shareholdings and assets, and set out the method and assumptions so that the figure can be tested.

Concluded rangeDiscounted cash flowTrading multiplesTransaction multiplesNet asset valueLower valueHigher value
Illustration: value ranges by method and the range concluded. Not client data.

When to call us

  • You are buying, selling or bringing in an investor and need a value you can support in negotiation.
  • Your auditors need a purchase price allocation, an impairment test or a valuation of share-based payments.
  • Shareholders or the parties to a dispute need an independent valuation.

Typical work

  • Business and equity valuation
  • Pre-revenue and early-stage company valuation
  • Purchase price allocation
  • Impairment testing
  • Valuation for litigation and shareholder disputes
See all valuation advisory services

We advise owners who want to sell, buyers who want to acquire and companies raising capital, from the first decision on strategy through to completion.

LonglistShortlistApproachesOffersCompletion
Illustration: how a search narrows from longlist to completion.

When to call us

  • You want to exit your business, in full or by selling your stake, and need the right acquirer.
  • You want to acquire a business and need help finding, assessing and pricing it.
  • You need to bring in an investor, raise or restructure debt, or fund a project.

Typical work

  • Exit advisory and acquirer search
  • Transaction strategy and structuring
  • Due diligence
  • Investor search
  • Project finance and debt restructuring
See all transaction advisory services

We help international companies enter the Gulf region through a strategic partnership, the acquisition of a local business or their own presence.

PartnerAcquireBuild
The three routes: partner, acquire or build.

When to call us

  • Your board wants to enter the region and needs to choose a country and a route.
  • A local group has proposed a joint venture or a distribution agreement and you need an independent view.
  • You want to buy a local business to gain customers, staff and an established operation from the first day.

Typical work

  • Market-entry options assessment
  • Partner search and screening
  • Joint venture business plan and commercial terms
  • Target search for a market-entry acquisition
  • Launch plan for your own presence
See the three routes into the region

Services in detail

Each practice and everything it covers.

Indicative: where each practice usually applies as a business develops.

Valuation advisory

For boards, shareholders, finance teams and investors who need a value with the method and assumptions set out.

For transactions

Values to support a price, an investment decision or a board approval.

  • Business and equity valuation
  • Debt and equity investment appraisal
  • Fairness and solvency analysis
  • Purchase price allocation

For financial reporting

Valuations your finance team and auditors need for the accounts.

  • Pre-revenue and early-stage company valuation
  • Share-based payment valuation
  • Impairment testing

For portfolios and disputes

Values for groups of holdings, complex instruments and contested matters.

  • Business portfolio valuation
  • Complex financial instrument valuation
  • Valuation for litigation and shareholder disputes
Ask about a valuation for your auditors

Transaction advisory

For owners planning an exit, buyers, and companies raising capital or debt.

Exits and stake sales

For owners and partners who want to sell all or part of the business.

  • Exit strategy and sale readiness
  • Valuation and price expectations
  • Acquirer search and screening
  • Sale of the whole business
  • Sale of a partner's or shareholder's stake
  • Negotiation support to completion

Acquisitions

From the decision to buy through to completion and integration.

  • Transaction strategy and structuring
  • Target search
  • Due diligence
  • Valuation and pricing
  • Transaction documents, prepared with your lawyers
  • Integration planning

Capital, debt and deal support

Finding investors and lenders, and the numbers behind the case.

  • Investor search
  • Investor materials
  • Project finance
  • Working capital facilities
  • Debt restructuring
  • Financial modelling
  • Business plan and forecast review
Discuss a transaction in confidence

Exits and stake sales

For owners who want to sell, in full or in part.

Selling a business you have built is a decision most owners make once. We advise owners and shareholders through the whole process, and we identify, screen and introduce acquirers who fit the business, its people and the terms you want.

Full exit

All shareholders sell and ownership passes to the acquirer. This suits owners who are retiring, who have no successor in the business, or who want to realise the value they have built.

Partial exit

One or more partners sell their stake while the others stay. The buyer may be a remaining partner, a new investor or a strategic acquirer. This suits partners whose plans have diverged, and businesses that want a new shareholder alongside the founders.

  1. Objectives
  2. Preparation
  3. Acquirer search
  4. Confidential approach
  5. Offers
  6. Completion

What South Sigma does

  • Establishes what each owner wants from the sale: price, timing, any continuing role, and the future of the staff and the name.
  • Prepares the business for sale: the financial record, a valuation, and a clear account of what an acquirer is buying.
  • Identifies and screens acquirers, including strategic buyers, financial investors and, for a stake sale, the remaining partners.
  • Approaches the shortlisted acquirers in confidence and manages the exchange of information.
  • Compares offers on price, terms and certainty, and supports the negotiation through to completion alongside your lawyers.
  • For a partial exit, helps the partners agree the basis of valuation and the terms between those leaving and those staying.

We run the process in confidence. The business is not named to any acquirer until you have approved the approach.

Discuss a sale in confidence

Market entry and partnerships

Three routes into the Gulf region.

Partner

You enter through a strategic partnership with a local business, such as a distributor, an agent, a licensee or a joint venture partner.

When it fits

  • You want to test demand before committing significant capital.
  • A local business already has the customers, channels or operating capability you need.
  • You can accept shared control in return for a faster start.

What South Sigma does

  • Sets the partner criteria with you, builds a longlist and screens it down to a shortlist.
  • Checks each shortlisted partner in person: ownership, reputation and capacity to perform.
  • Prepares the commercial terms: territory, exclusivity, targets, governance and exit.
  • Writes the joint venture business plan and the first-year operating plan.

Acquire

You enter by buying all or part of a local business that is already trading.

When it fits

  • You need customers, staff, premises and an established operation from the first day.
  • Speed matters more to you than building in your own way.
  • You have the capital and management capacity to integrate a business in a new market.

What South Sigma does

  • Defines the acquisition criteria, builds a target longlist and screens it.
  • Carries out due diligence on the market position, customers, contracts and financial record.
  • Values the business and models the price range.
  • Writes the integration plan for the first 100 days.

Build

You set up your own presence, with your own entity, people and premises.

When it fits

  • You want full control of the brand, the pricing and the customer relationship.
  • No suitable partner or target exists, or the ones that do would cost too much.
  • You can fund the period before the new operation covers its own costs.

What South Sigma does

  • Produces a feasibility study covering demand, competitors, pricing, costs and investment.
  • Compares locations and set-up structures on commercial grounds.
  • Builds the financial model: set-up cost, running cost, break-even and cash requirement.
  • Writes the launch plan: organisation, hiring sequence, suppliers, premises and timetable.
RouteCapital requiredSpeed to marketControlManagement effort
PartnerLowFastSharedLow
AcquireHighFastHighHigh
BuildMediumSlowFullHigh
Indicative comparison. The right route depends on the business and the market, which is what an options assessment tests.

Which route fits? Four questions.

Capital you can commit now
How soon you need to be trading
Control you need over brand and customers
Management capacity for a new operation

On these answers, the route to test first is

Acquire

  • A year or two allows time for an acquisition or a set-up.
  • A majority position is what an acquisition can give you.
  • Some capacity can support a partnership or an integration.

A starting point, not advice. An options assessment tests it against your business and the market.

Discuss your answers with us

If you have not chosen a route

A market-entry options assessment compares Partner, Acquire and Build for your business in the markets you are considering. It sets out the cost, time, control and risk of each route, tests them against your objectives, and ends with one recommendation and the reasons for it. If the evidence shows that none of the routes makes commercial sense yet, the assessment says so.

Ask about an options assessment

The region in figures

Six Gulf economies, measured.

$2.34tn

Combined GDP of the six GCC economies, 2024

60.9m

People living in the six GCC economies, 2024

$80.1bn

Foreign direct investment into the GCC, net inflows, 2024

2.0×

Combined GCC GDP in 2024 compared with 2010, in current US dollars

GDP by economy, 2024

Saudi Arabia$1,254bnUnited Arab Emirates$552bnIraq$280bnQatar$216bnKuwait$161bnOman$107bnBahrain$47bn

Foreign direct investment, net inflows, 2024

United Arab Emirates$46bnSaudi Arabia$21bnOman$9.3bnBahrain$2.7bnKuwait$0.6bnQatar$0.5bn

Combined GDP of the six GCC economies, 2010 to 2024

0$1tn$2tn20102012201420162018202020222024$1.17tn$2.34tn

Real GDP growth, year by year, 2010 to 2024

Saudi Arabiaaverage 4.0% a year+10%0−10%2010201520202024
United Arab Emiratesaverage 3.2% a year+10%0−10%2010201520202024
Qataraverage 3.8% a year+10%0−10%2010201520202024
Kuwaitaverage 1.3% a year+10%0−10%2010201520202024
Omanaverage 2.8% a year+10%0−10%2010201520202024
Bahrainaverage 3.1% a year+10%0−10%2010201520202024
Iraqaverage 3.8% a year+10%0−10%2010201520202024
Red bars are years of growth; grey bars are years of contraction. All panels share one scale. Averages are simple means of the fifteen annual rates.
View the figures as a table
2024GDP, US$ bnReal GDP growthPopulation, mFDI net inflows, US$ bn
Saudi Arabia1,254.1+2.6%35.321.3
United Arab Emirates552.3+4.0%11.045.6
Qatar216.3+3.1%2.90.5
Kuwait160.9-1.5%4.90.6
Oman107.1+1.6%5.39.3
Bahrain47.2+2.9%1.62.7
Iraq279.6-1.5%46.0-7.6
Six GCC economies2,338.060.980.1

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (GDP, current US$; GDP growth, annual %; population, total; foreign direct investment, net inflows, balance of payments, current US$). Database last updated 8 October 2026. 2024 is the latest year with figures for all six GCC economies. Iraq is shown for reference and is not in the GCC totals; its net inflows were negative in 2024.

Situations we handle

Owners, management teams, investors and companies new to the region.

Owner-managed and family businesses

  • The owners are considering a new line of business and want a feasibility study before they commit.
  • Two partners want to sell their stakes and the others want to stay. They need a fair value and the right buyer.

Corporates and investors

  • A company is making an acquisition and needs due diligence, a valuation and a purchase price allocation.
  • An investor has approached the business. Its owners need a well-supported valuation and clean numbers before the conversation goes further.

International companies entering the region

  • A company already sells into the Gulf through a distributor. Volumes have stalled, and it must decide whether to renegotiate, replace the distributor or set up its own presence.
  • A local group has proposed a joint venture. The company needs an independent view of the partner, the terms and the business plan before it answers.

Working principles

One senior lead from start to finish

The person who scopes your project with you also leads the work and presents the findings. You have one named senior contact from the first conversation to handover.

Independent advice

We recommend what the evidence supports. If it shows that you should wait, change course or stop, the report says so in plain terms.

Assumptions you can test

Every valuation, model and study sets out its method, its inputs and where they came from. Your team, your auditors and the other side can check the working.

Confidentiality

We sign a non-disclosure agreement before you share anything sensitive. We do not name our clients or describe their projects without written consent.

Sectors

Nine sectors, and the kind of work we take on in each.

Retail and trading
Valuing a franchise or distribution business, and deciding whether to sell through an agent or open your own stores.
Financial services and fintech
Valuing an early-stage company for a funding round, and building the financial model behind it.
Education
Feasibility and costing for a new school or training business, and preparing an institution for sale.
Logistics
Cash flow forecasting, cost review, and the case for owning or contracting facilities and fleet.
Energy
Feasibility studies and funding models for projects, contractors and equipment suppliers.
Manufacturing
The case for producing in the region or importing, and the valuation of a plant or product line.
Real estate and construction
Feasibility studies and financial models for developments, and valuation of property-related businesses.
Healthcare
Whether to open a facility alone, with a local operator, or by acquiring an existing provider.
Travel and tourism
Valuation of hospitality businesses, and feasibility studies for new ventures.

About South Sigma

DubaiAbu DhabiRiyadhJeddahDammamDohaKuwait CityManamaMuscatBaghdadErbilDamascus
The region in one line, from Dubai to Damascus. An illustration of its landmarks.

South Sigma is a regional consultancy. We work across the Gulf with businesses that want to grow, whether by running better, raising capital, buying or selling a business, or entering a new market.

Our work rests on regional knowledge: how each Gulf market differs from the next, how partners and counterparties are assessed, and how transactions are structured and completed here. Clients draw on that know-how, and on our reach among owners, investors and advisers across the region.

Our work falls into four practices: management consulting, valuation advisory, transaction advisory, and market entry and partnerships. Many projects draw on more than one. A family business bringing in an investor, for example, may need a valuation, investor materials and a cash flow forecast.

We work with owner-managed and family businesses, including owners planning a full or partial exit, and with corporates, investors and international companies entering the Gulf region.

Where a project needs legal, tax or audit work, or a step that requires a financial services licence, appropriately licensed advisers carry it out and we work alongside them.

Legal entity
South Sigma Consulting – FZCO
Office
24th Floor, The One Tower, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
P.O. Box 390114
LinkedIn
Coverage
The Gulf region
Practices
Management consulting, valuation advisory, transaction advisory, market entry and partnerships
Web
southsigma.com

Start a conversation

Tell us what you are considering.

We will reply with whether and how we can help. A few lines are enough to begin.

info@southsigma.com
+971 4 273 3526

You can also follow or message us on LinkedIn.

What to include in a first message

  • Your company: what it does and where it is based.
  • What you are considering: a project, a valuation, a transaction or a new market.
  • The practice you think you need, or that you are not sure yet.
  • Your timetable and any decision date you are working towards.

Draft your message here

Fill in what you can, then open the draft in your email app, addressed to info@southsigma.com. Nothing is sent until you press send there.


        

      

    

  





  

    
Privacy policy

    

      
How South Sigma handles personal information.

      

        
This policy is issued by South Sigma Consulting – FZCO ("South Sigma", "we"). It explains what personal information we handle when you visit this website, contact us or interact with our LinkedIn page, why we handle it, and the choices you have. Last updated July 2024.

        
Information you send us

        
This website does not submit forms. The enquiry draft on the contact section stays in your browser until you copy it or open it in your own email app. When you email us, we receive your name, your email address, your company and role, and whatever else you choose to include. We use this information to reply to you, to assess whether we can help, and to follow up on your enquiry.

        
Information collected when you visit

        
Like most websites, the server that hosts this site may record technical details of each visit, such as the pages requested, the date and time, the browser and operating system, the referring page and the IP address. This information is used to keep the website secure and working, and to understand in aggregate how it is used. We do not use it to identify individual visitors.

        
Our LinkedIn page

        
We have a company page on LinkedIn. When you visit, follow or interact with it, LinkedIn collects and uses your personal information under its own privacy policy, and LinkedIn is primarily responsible for that processing, including any cookies and tracking technologies it uses.

        
We see what you choose to make visible to us there: your profile name and public profile details, your comments and reactions on our posts, and any messages you send to our page. We use this to reply to you and to communicate with people who follow us. If a conversation that starts on LinkedIn becomes an enquiry, we handle it in the same way as an email enquiry.

        
LinkedIn gives page owners aggregated statistics about visitors and followers, such as numbers of views and broad categories of industry or job function. We cannot identify individuals from these statistics.

        
To exercise your rights over information held by LinkedIn, the most direct route is LinkedIn's own privacy settings and contact channels. You can also contact us, and we will help where we can, including by removing content from our page.

        
Client work

        
If you become a client, we handle the personal information needed to carry out the engagement, under the terms agreed with you in writing. Those terms, and any non-disclosure agreement between us, apply alongside this policy.

        
Who we share information with

        
We do not sell personal information. We share it only with service providers who host our website and email and who act on our instructions, with licensed advisers working on your project where you have agreed to this, and with authorities where the law requires it.

        
How long we keep it

        
We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purpose it was collected for, or for as long as the law requires us to keep records. If you ask us to delete an enquiry, we will delete it unless we are required to keep it.

        
Security

        
This website is served over an encrypted connection. We apply technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information against loss, misuse and unauthorised access. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so please do not send highly sensitive information by email before we have agreed how to exchange it.

        
Automated decisions

        
We do not use automated decision-making or profiling on this website.

        
Your rights

        
Subject to the data protection law that applies to you, you may ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, ask us to restrict or stop using it, and withdraw any consent you have given. To make a request, email us at the address below. We may need to confirm your identity before we act on it.

        
Links to other websites

        
This website links to our LinkedIn page and may link to other websites. We are not responsible for how those websites handle personal information, and their own policies apply.

        
Changes to this policy

        
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always the one shown on this page, with the date it was last updated.

        
Contact

        
Questions and requests about privacy: info@southsigma.com, +971 4 273 3526, or South Sigma Consulting – FZCO, 24th Floor, The One Tower, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, P.O. Box 390114.