British investment firm Energy Capital Group has bought a majority stake in Saudi industrial cleaning company Redland Industrial Services Arabia (Risal) for $250 million, an adviser on the deal said.

Abdulrahman Al Turki Group (Atco), the Saudi industrial conglomerate that wholly owned Risal, sold the 51 per cent stake for $250 million said Beirut-based CFH, which advised Atco on the deal.

Energy Capital Group is described on its website as an investment firm focused on generating long term profits by investing in the global energy sector. It has a Middle East presence through a Bahrain subsidiary.

Mergers and acquisitions in the Mena region hit a rough patch in the wake of the financial
crisis as an era of leverage-led buyouts waned and several high-profile investments suffered heavy losses.

The amount of fee income raised by investment banks from mergers and acquisitions was $165.1 million in the first three quarters of 2011, down nearly 41 per cent from the same period last year, according to Thomson Reuters data.-Reuters