According to data released by Dealogic, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has emerged as the biggest market player for transactions in 2015. In a year which saw global M&A volume top $5trn for the first time, Skadden oversaw an unprecedented $1.14 trn worth of transactions, equating to a near 25 per cent market share. The firm's place at the top of the league table is in part thanks to its involvement in the planned $160bn tie-up of Pfizer and Allergen announced on 23 November, the second largest M&A deal in history. 

Close on the firm's heels was rival Cravath Swaine & Moore, with $888.4bn worth of M&A deals and an 18.7 per cent market share, followed in third place by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. All but two of the top 10 firms advising on M&A transactions in 2015 were large international firms based in New York.

Record year for M&A

The growing dominance of Skadden and its New York rivals is in large part due to a record year for top-tier M&A activity. According to data from Dealogic, global M&A volumes rose 37 per cent from 2014 levels to hit a staggering $5.03trn last year. A total of 67 major M&A deals valued at $10bn or above were recorded in 2015, beating the previous record set in 2006 of 48 deals. The total volume of major deals in this category is also the highest annual volume on record, at $1.86trn. Sources: Financial Times; Dealogic