Barq raises $329.5M, ADES closes Saipem, Tabby hits $6.5B

I'm writing this from Chicago, but I read Saudi deal flow the way I did at PwC and the way I do now as a general manager in Al Khobar: who is writing the check, and what do they get for it. This was a big week, and the headline numbers are not the interesting part.

barq: $329.5 million at Series A

barq closed a $329.5 million Series A at a $1.85 billion valuation. Noon Investments, Sohar International Bank and M20 Fund are the named investors. The company is a SAMA-licensed payments and transfers app founded in 2023 by Ahmed Alenazi, who used to run stc pay. It says it has more than 15 million users from over 210 nationalities and has processed SAR 440 billion.

Those are company figures, so read them as claims. Still, a payments app that reaches that scale in two years tells you how fast Saudi consumers moved off cash. For an investor in Chicago, the point is that a regional bank (Sohar) and a corporate investor (Noon) sit next to a fund. Strategic money sits in the cap table from the first big round.

ADES and Tabby

ADES finished buying Saudi Arabian Saipem for about $285 million. It gets five jack-up rigs and roughly SAR 3.7 billion of backlog. Tabby raised $233 million at $6.5 billion, led by Blue Pool Capital, with HSG, Wellington Management and Arbor Ventures. Tabby says it has been profitable since 2023. I'd want to see that in audited numbers before leaning on it, but it is the right claim to be making.

The debt side

Four deals were credit rather than equity. Jadwa gave Rize a SAR 187.5 million Murabaha facility against its rental contracts. Tarabut raised $50 million from Riyad Bank, X-Tech Fund (managed by SAB Invest), GIB Saudi Arabia, Zamil Group and Kanoo Ventures. Quantic will put up to SAR 750 million through Lendo for SME working capital. BRKZ took $18 million of growth debt from Stride Ventures alongside a $13 million Series B led by Wa'ed Ventures and 500 Global.

If you are a founder, this is the part to copy. Revenue that sits on a contract, like rent or a supplier invoice, can be financed without giving up equity.

What I'd watch next

Whether the debt keeps outpacing the equity. Tarabut's financing and Tabby's round both still need regulatory approvals, so the closing announcements are worth a look. If next week's rounds are small and mostly seed, this was a September peak and not a new run rate.