Top M&A Advisers of 2016 named by Mergermarket
09 December 2016
- Bank of America Merril Lynch won European Financial Adviser of the Year knocking Goldman Sachs from the top spot.
- An audience vote awarded the merger of Lafarge and Holcim the accolade of ‘Deal of the Decade’ for the first time in the history of the awards which is now in its 10th year.
- Rothschild picked up an impressive three awards including European Mid-Market M&A Financial Adviser of the Year.
London, 9 December 2016- Mergermarket, the leading global provider of M&A data and intelligence, announced the winners of the 2016 European M&A Awards hosted at Banqueting House in London. The rigorous, expert judging panel named the 42 winners across the financial, legal, private equity and accountancy sectors at the black-tie gala last night as well as announcing the ‘Deal of the Decade’ for the first time in the award’s 10 year history as voted for by the audience.
Katharine Dennys, EMEA Research Editor commented on the 2016 global M&A landscape:
“Global dealmakers were forced to navigate a sea of change during 2016. Despite a series of political shockwaves, global M&A activity to-date (15,430 deals, US$ 2,95tn) managed to reach its third highest deal value since 2007 (US$ 3.7tn), despite dropping 25.3% by value compared to a record 2015, with 2,602 fewer deals announced. The outlook for 2017 remains uncertain, with the outcome of Brexit negotiations, the nature of Donald Trump’s presidency, as well as the French and German elections, all under questions.”
Financial advisers:
Bank of America Merrill Lynch received the accolade of European Financial Adviser of the Year. The bank advised on a number of impressive mandates including Tencent on its offer for Finland’s Supercell, The UK’s Home Retail Group in its sale to Sainsbury’s and Germany’s Boehringer Ingelhem in its asset swap with Sanofi. The Boutique Financial Adviser prize was awarded to Perella Weinberg Partners which advised Deutsche Wohnen in its defense against a hostile takeover from Vonovia. Rothschild regained their title as European Mid-Market Financial Adviser of the Year.
Legal advisers:
Clifford Chance won European Legal Adviser of the Year having highlighted their deep sector experience in energy, financial services, automotive and aerospace and TMT this year. The Mid-Market Legal Adviser was awarded to DLA Piper.
Private equity:
The judges awarded Lazard the prize for European Financial Private Equity Adviser of the Year having acted for the likes of Bain, Electra, Equistone, Oaktree, Apax and EQT. Latham and Watkins won European Legal Private Equity Adviser of the Year counting The Carlyle Group’s buyout of Hunkemoeller and Eurazeo’s exit of Novacap amongst its 2016 highlights.
Accountants:
EY were awarded Accountancy Firm of the Year and also picked up CEE M&A Financial Adviser of the Year. EY were among only five organisations to be awarded more than one title along with Lazard, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Rothschild picked up an impressive three awards including European Mid-Market M&A Financial Adviser of the Year, France M&A Financial Adviser of the Year and Israel M&A Financial Adviser of the Year.
Winners:
M&A Deal of the Decade – Merger of Lafarge and Holcim
European M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Boutique M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Perella Weinberg Partners
Mid-Market M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Rothschild
Private Equity Financial Adviser of the Year – Lazard
Mid-Market Legal Adviser of the Year – DLA Piper
Private Equity Legal Adviser of the Year – Latham & Watkins
Accountancy Firm of the Year – EY
Legal Advisory Country Awards:
Austria M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Eisenberger & Herzog
Baltic M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Ellex
Benelux M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
CEE M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Wolf Theiss
Denmark M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Kromann Reumert
Finland M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Hannes Snellman
France M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Rothschild
German M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Ireland M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – A&L Goodbody
Israel M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Herzog Foz & Neeman
Italy M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Chiomenti
Norway M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Thommessen
Spain M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Garrigues
Sweden M&A Legal Adviser of the Year –Vinge
Switzerland M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Baer & Karrer
Turkey M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Baker & Mackenzie
United Kingdom M&A Legal Adviser of the Year – Linklaters
Financial Advisory Country Awards:
Austria M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – UniCredit
Baltic M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Swedbank
Benelux M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – ING
CEE M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – EY
Denmark M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Deloitte
Finland M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Nordea
France M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Rothschild
German M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Ireland M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Citi
Israel M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Rothschild
Italy M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – KPMG
Norway M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Arctic Securities
Spain M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – BBVA
Sweden M&A Financial Adviser of the Year –PwC
Switzerland M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Credit Suisse
Turkey M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Pragma
United Kingdom M&A Financial Adviser of the Year – Lazard
About the Mergermarket European M&A Awards:
Mergermarket’s European M&A Awards gather senior dealmakers from across the region at a black-tie gala dinner. Over 40 prizes are awarded for creative advisory work on complex transactions. The rigorous judging process is unique starting with analysis of Mergermarket’s market-leading league tables followed by a shortlist announcement and scrutiny by a panel of expert judges. The awards, now in its 10th year, recognizes outstanding contributions to M&A advisory from the year.
