Linklaters has held on to the top spot in the Thomson Reuters European equity capital markets (ECM) rankings, with the firm advising managers on almost twice as many deals as its nearest competitor.
The latest figures show the firm advised managers on 20 deals over the first half of 2008, nine more than second-placed Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
However, Linklaters’ deals totalled $14.6bn (£7.2bn) over the six-month period, pushing it from first place by value for the same period last year into third – behind both Freshfields and Davis Polk & Wardwell, which acted on deals worth $29.8bn (£15.3bn) and $17.2bn (£8.9bn) respectively.
On the issuer side, Clifford Chance (CC) has retained the leading position by volume, advising issuers on nine deals worth $6.2bn (£3.1bn), placing it above Linklaters which advised on eight deals worth $36.4bn (£18.7bn).
All of the rankings show the significant impact the downturn in the credit markets has had on capital markets work, with the top 15 advisers to managers acting on 81 ECM deals between them over the first half of this year compared with 176 for the same period the previous year. Linklaters, for example, advised on 56 ECM deals worth $41.9bn (£20.6bn) to claim its place at the top of the value and volume tables last year.
Linklaters global capital markets chief Jim Rice said: “We are all in a situation where the current markets are challenging. Our model of having strength across the board and across wide areas is reaping the dividends.
“The concern is whether there will be fewer deals after the summer break, but I am optimistic. There were a substantial number of deals that did not complete in July, so there is potential for a lot of activity in September.”
The debt capital markets tables show a similar drop in activity with the leading 15 advisers to underwriters working on 1,029 deals compared with 1,570 during the first six months of 2007.
However, the rankings for international debt capital markets remain unchanged at the top with Allen & Overy (A&O) holding onto first place by value and volume - advising managers on 274 issues worth $167.5bn (£86.2bn) for the six-month period ending 30 June.
By issuer Sidley Austin has also retained its position at the top advising on 146 deals worth $118.7bn (£61.6bn).
A&O capital markets partner Boyan Wells said: “It has been a challenging year but there are still a fair number of deals and the feeling is that it should step up again in September. The market will come back.”
