Freshfields beats Linklaters on M&A deals

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has knocked rival Linklaters off the top of the European M&A rankings.

According to Thomson Financial's third-quarter league tables, Freshfields took pole position after advising on 211 announced deals with any European involvement worth $323.8bn (£171.4bn).

Linklaters, which topped the third-quarter rankings in 2005, advised on 216 deals totalling $285.8bn (£151.3bn). Linklaters did, however, retain the top spot for deals involving any UK involvement.

Latham & Watkins and German firm Hengeler Mueller catapulted up the European league table. Latham moved up 11 places to finish 11th, while Hengeler jumped 16 places to number seven.

Clifford Chance retained the top spot for completed European deals, acting on 223 deals worth $244.4bn (£129.4bn), a $50.4bn (£26.6bn) increase from the same period last year.