The report also found that Freshfields’ London rival Linklaters led the Emerging Market rankings for announced deals.
According to the study, worldwide M&A fell 13 per cent to US$996.8 billion, which is the slowest first half for M&A since 2009. Cross border activity also declined by 34 per cent. Emerging markets suffered a dip in activity of 7.1 per cent.
Chinese targets once again drove M&A activity in emerging markets, with emerging markets as a whole accounting for 29 per cent of M&A.