Latham & Watkins led the global M&A legal advisor rankings by deal value in the first nine months of the year, following the strongest first three quarters for dealmaking since 2021, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group.
The Los Angeles-founded firm scored roles on a number of the blockbuster deals that fuelled the surge in global deal values to $3trn, including Electronic Arts’ $56.6bn take-private by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners and the $53bn merger of London-listed Anglo American with its Canadian rival Teck Resources.
Overall Latham worked on 592 deals worth $488.9bn, just ahead of second-placed Wachtell, which worked on 76 deals worth $472bn and was across the table from Latham on the EA and Anglo-American deals. The firm was also the lead legal advisor to Norfolk Southern on its $87.5bn merger with Union Pacific, repped by Skadden – the biggest M&A deal so far this year.
For its part Skadden, which topped the rankings this time last year, placed third after working on 184 deals worth $397.7bn, while Kirkland & Ellis and Sullivan & Cromwell completed the top five, working on deals worth $383.2bn and $362bn, respectively.
The highest ranking non-US firm was Freshfields, whose role in deals including Merck’s $10bn acquisition of Verona Pharma saw it place sixth in the rankings. The firm worked on deals worth $355.8bn in total, well ahead of A&O Shearman ($203.3bn) and Clifford Chance ($148.5bn), the next highest ranking non-US firms.
A notable entrant among the top 25 firms was Japan’s Nishimura & Asahi, which shot up from 65th place to 23rd off the back of a record M&A market in Japan fuelled by market reforms, growing shareholder activism and a shift in investor interest from China.
The next largest gainers were Covington & Burling and Jones Day, which both jumped 27 spots to 17th and 18th respectively. Covington worked on deals worth $137.8bn, including AstraZeneca’s $1bn acquisition of cancer treatment company EsoBiotec, while Jones Day was just behind at $130.8bn.
At $3trn, worldwide M&A activity in the first nine months was 33% higher than a year ago and the best first three quarters since 2021. Despite the increase in deal value, the number of deals declined by 7% to a five-year low of just under 37,000, as tariff shocks that rattled markets early in the year created a challenging market for small- and mid-cap transactions.
US-targeted M&A accounted for the bulk of dealmaking (47%), though that is down from 50% a year ago and the lowest percentage for US deal-making since the first nine months of 2023.
Asia Pacific dealmaking rebounded strongly in the first nine months, totalling $578.4bn – a 41% increase and the strongest period for M&A in the region in three years. Meanwhile, European M&A increased by a comparatively modest 11% to $554.4bn, a three-year high.
There were 45 deals worth more than $10bn collectively valued at $915.6bn, an increase of 89% compared to 2024 levels and marking the strongest first half for megadeals by volume since records began in 1980.
Technology, industrials, financials and energy and power-related M&A accounted for the majority of deals. Private equity-backed transactions accounted for 22% of M&A activity, down very slightly from 23% at the same time in 2024, although overall value increased to $654.4bn, an increase of 27% compared to a year ago and the strongest first nine months for private equity dealmaking in three years.
Goodwin Procter led the M&A rankings by deal volume, working on 647 deals worth $110.7bn. Latham followed in second place, while Kirkland was third.
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