Kirkland & Ellis leads GlobalData’s top 20 global M&A legal adviser league table for Q1 2019

Kirkland & Ellis has secured number one position in the latest global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers league table for Q1 2019, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The American law firm advised on 128 deals worth $215.9bn, including the biggest transaction of the quarter – Bristol-Myers Squibb’s acquisition of Celgene for $89.5bn. With a mix of deal sizes, the company also witnessed a significant year-on-year increase of 129.36% in deal value during the quarter.

GlobalData, which compiles the league table using real-time data tracked from all mergers and acquisitions, private equity/venture capital and asset transaction activity globally, confirmed that Simpson Thacher & Bartlett occupied the second position with 40 transactions worth $166.4bn, marking a 48.14% year-on-year increase in deal value.

Ravi Tokala, Financial Deals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “All the top five positions in legal adviser league table are held by the US-headquartered law firms, clearly indicating the kind of supremacy the US-based advisers command in global M&A sphere.”

IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION: Please click here for enlarged chart

Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz advised on 15 transactions worth $165.1bn while Davis Polk & Wardwell worked on 19 deals worth $143.7bn. With 10 deals worth $120.409bn, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson held the fifth position.

For deal volume, Kirkland & Ellis topped the table with 128 deals, followed by Jones Day with 107 deals worth $110.2bn.

The overall deal value stood at $956.40bn in Q1 2019, a decline of 8.24% compared with Q1 2018, and a 20.04% increase from Q4 2018.

In Q1 2019, 13,576 deals were recorded, marking a 37.03% increase from Q1 2018 and a 3.67% rise from Q4 2018.

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