Mergermarket’s global rankings for Q1 show the Canadian firm advised on 17 deals over the period with a value of $319.2bn (£160.4bn) including roles on the two largest deals of the quarter — BHP Billiton’s $211bn (£105.7bn) bid for Rio Tinto and Altria’s $106.9bn (£53.7bn) bid for Philip Morris. The Canadian firm also topped the value list for Q1 in 2007 but ended the year ranked 20th, with Sullivan heading the tables.
Sullivan’s Q1 performance saw it advise on 26 deals with a total value of $260.3bn (£130.8bn) to claim second place ahead of Linklaters, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Cravath Swaine & Moore in the top five.
Meanwhile, Jones Day topped the global rankings by volume, advising on 72 deals over the quarter with a total value of $15.2bn (£7.6bn). The firm was almost 20 deals clear of its nearest rival, DLA Piper, which advised on 53 deals, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters and Clifford Chance completing the top five.
The Mergermarket research also showed the total global value of M&A deals fell from $808.2bn (£405.2bn) in Q1 2007 to $767.1bn (£384.6bn) during Q1 2008, with the
Significantly, global buy-out activity fell even more substantially due to the impact of the credit crunch, with the total value dropping from $207.8bn (£104.2bn) in Q1 2007 to $57.4bn (£28.8bn) this year. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett topped the table by value, with roles on four deals with a total value of $5.6bn (£2.8bn), closely followed by Linklaters on $5.4bn (£2.7bn).
By volume White & Case was the most active buy-out firm, with roles on 10 deals with a total value of $2.8bn (£1.4bn), knocking Kirkland & Ellis and Linklaters into second and third place respectively.
Philip Broke, co-head of White & Case’s
Joseph Frumkin (pictured above), managing partner of Sullivan’s M&A practice, told Legal Week: “We have held top positions for several years. It is a happy reflection that our clients continue to choose us for major deal work. It is clearly a more challenging environment for M&A transactions, but it is the nature of the M&A practice that it has its ups and downs. This is just one of the down times.”
