Linklaters tops M&A league
The second quarter European M&A results show Linklaters retaining its premier position after the firm notched up an additional 68 deals at a value of $42bn (£27.5bn)
Linklaters has now completed 120 M&A deals at a total value of $76.4bn (£50bn) since the beginning of January.
Linklaters has already acted on some of the more significant European deals in the past six months, such as Allied Domecq's $796m (£521.6m) acquisition of Malibu.
The firm is acting on the largest deal to be announced this quarter, the $18.4bn (£12.1bn) acquisition of Lattice Group by National Grid. Linklaters is advising Lattice, with Ashurst Morris Crisp and Shearman & Sterling, while CMS Cameron McKenna and Leboeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae represent National Grid.
Freshfields silenced its critics by catapulting through the ranks, moving from seventeenth to second place. The firm completed 41 deals in the second quarter at a value of $33.9bn (£22.2bn). Since the beginning of the year, Freshfields has completed 58 deals at a combined value of $41.3bn (£27bn). Freshfields corporate partner James Davis said: “League tables are a better reflection of activity when they cover a longer rather than a shorter period. Clearly, large-scale M&A activity is at a relatively low level, but there's plenty going on and we're producing a good work flow.”
Herbert Smith, with the help of Gleiss Lutz, has moved up the rankings in the last quarter, completing 20 deals at a value of $10.5bn (£6.9bn) in Europe. The completion of Shell's acquisition of Enterprise Oil assisted, with Herbert Smith acting for Enterprise. This was the biggest deal of the last quarter, valued at £3.5bn. Slaughter and May advised Shell, but fell from seventh to ninth position in the tables, despite the fact that the UK represented the most active M&A market in Europe. The firm still managed to complete 22 deals worth $14.9bn (£9.8bn).
Herbert Smith corporate partner Michael Walter said: “The M&A market is coming back in a robust way. We're seeing a far greater deal flow that will eventually push us up through the rankings.”
Norton Rose fell from fourth to sixteenth place, although it completed an additional 14 deals, whereas Allen & Overy increased its deal flow by 48 deals.
UK target or UK acquirer ultimate parent |
|
Rank |
Legal adviser |
Ranking value including net debt of target $bn (£bn) |
Market share |
Number of deals |
1 |
Linklaters |
27.140 (17.786) |
31.0 |
36 |
2 |
Allen & Overy |
23.493 (15.396) |
26.8 |
33 |
3 |
Slaughter and May |
14.881 (9.752) |
17.0 |
23 |
4 |
Cravath Swaine & Moore |
14.163 (9.281) |
16.2 |
3 |
5 |
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer |
13.494 (8.843) |
15.4 |
22 |
6 |
Clifford Chance |
12.918 (8.466) |
14.8 |
21 |
7 |
Hengeler Mueller |
11.973 (7.846) |
13.7 |
2 |
8 |
Ashurst Morris Crisp |
11.853 (7.768) |
13.5 |
41 |
9 |
Weil Gotshal & Manges |
11.041 (7.235) |
12.6 |
16 |
10 |
Sullivan & Cromwell |
10.761 (7.052) |
12.3 |
8 |
|
Source: Thomson Financial. Based on deals completed 01/01/2002-30/06/2002, excluding equity carveouts, open market repurchases and withdrawn deals |
|
European target or European acquirer ultimate parent |
|
Rank |
Legal adviser |
Ranking value including net debt of target $bn (£bn) |
Market share |
Number of deals |
1 |
Linklaters |
76.439 (50.093) |
29.7 |
120 |
2 |
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer |
41.256 (27.036) |
16.0 |
58 |
3 |
Shearman & Sterling |
39.813 (26.091) |
15.5 |
23 |
4 |
Allen & Overy |
38.625 (25.312) |
15.0 |
68 |
5 |
Clifford Chance |
36.950 (24.214) |
14.4 |
59 |
6 |
Hengeler Mueller |
31.963 (20.946) |
12.4 |
20 |
7 |
Cravath Swaine & Moore |
29.286 (19.192) |
11.4 |
7 |
8 |
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton |
27.154 (17.795) |
10.6 |
24 |
9 |
Slaughter and May |
26.902 (17.630) |
10.5 |
33 |
10 |
Sullivan & Cromwell |
21.054 (13.797) |
8.2 |
25 |
|
Source: Thomson Financial. Based on deals completed 01/01/2002-30/06/2002, excluding equity carveouts, open market repurchases and withdrawn deals |
|