Linklaters loses top deals spot

Linklaters has lost the leadership of both the worldwide and UK-announced rankings for mergers and acquisitions advisers, according to the latest figures from Thomson Financial.

Clifford Chance has risen to the top of the heap in the UK, while both Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Sullivan & Cromwell have overtaken Linklaters on the worldwide tables.

Linklaters total value of deals in the UK slumped 38.1 per cent on the same period last year. Globally, the firm's deal value is down 58.6 per cent.

Sullivan & Cromwell stole the top spot from Skadden for announced deals in the US worth $77bn. (£46bn). Skadden dropped to second place with $63.4bn (£38bn) of deals.

Both firms' total value of deals has dropped on the same period last year. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Latham & Watkins and Shearman & Sterling are the big winners in the US, all doing substantially better than in 2002.

Skadden has recorded strong figures in the UK. Along with Clifford Chance, it is the only firm in the top ten to record a better set of figures than last year, with deal value rising 54.6 per cent to $11.6bn (£6.9bn).
Jones Day Gouldens' astonishing rise can be attributed to this being the first year of combined figures for the merged firm.