Titanium Escrow crosses $5 billion milestone amid rising regional deal activity

Khaleej Times

18 hours ago

Titanium Escrow, the Abu Dhabi-based provider of regulated escrow and custody services, has surpassed $5 billion in secured transactions, marking its fifth anniversary as demand grows across the Middle East for sophisticated corporate payment infrastructure for complex, cross-border deals.
Since its launch in 2020, the firm has facilitated nearly 500 transactions spanning mergers and acquisitions, private capital, real estate, and infrastructure. Titanium Escrow operates under the supervision of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) within Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and was among the first participants in its RegLab innovation sandbox to develop the first supervised escrow licensing in the region.
'The continued increase in cross-border capital flows and multi-party transactions has made escrow services a core part of risk management across the deal lifecycle,' said Ibrahim Kamalmaz, Chief Executive Officer at Titanium Escrow.
The announcement comes amid strong momentum in the region's deal landscape. According to EY, MENA M&A activity reached $101 billion across 754 deals in 2024, reflecting a 50 per cent yearon-year increase in deal value. Much of the activity was concentrated in the Gulf, where sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and private equity firms are playing a growing role in strategic acquisitions.
In this context, Titanium Escrow has served as a neutral custodian for a number of notable transactions, including complex digital infrastructure projects such as Brookfield's acquisition of a majority stake in Oman Tower Company (OTC), advised by White & Case, Simmons & Simmons, and Dentons Oman. The deal reflects a growing preference for third-party fund custody escrow to ensure transparency and reduce execution risk in multi-jurisdictional settings.
'Escrow has historically been underutilised in the region, with parties electing to go to London or New York to hold funds. That is now changing as Abu Dhabi is becoming the fundholding jurisdiction of choice for regional matters' Kamalmaz said.
In parallel, Titanium Escrow has also supported a series of high-value acquisitions in the education, healthcare and telecommunication infrastructure sectors in 2025, with total deal value exceeding Dh1 billion — further underscoring its role in enabling social infrastructure investment.
Transactions spanned across sovereign wealth funds, public, and private entities from the UK, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar and many other jurisdictions.
Titanium Escrow's service lines include M&A and corporate escrow, fund custody for private and venture capital, real estate and project-focused escrow, and regulatory or litigation-related holding structures. Its client base spans investment firms, law practices, family offices, and regional corporates.
The firm's progress has coincided with the rapid ascent of ADGM, which has emerged as one of the region's fastest-growing international financial centres. With a strong regulatory foundation, growing fintech ecosystem, and strategic positioning in the UAE capital, ADGM is increasingly seen as a hub for cross-border financial services.
'ADGM has played a vital role in supporting innovation while maintaining regulatory integrity,' Kamalmaz noted. 'Their early support was instrumental in getting us off the ground and building trust in this space.'
Titanium Escrow continues to operate independently from its headquarters in ADGM, regulated by the FSRA, and expects to expand its capabilities in line with evolving market needs.