Simpson Thacher & Bartlett closed out a record-breaking year for M&A with three separate deals for corporate clients during the high point of the holiday season.

The firm advised an affiliate of longtime private equity client The Blackstone Group on its $1.9 billion buy of 49 U.S. shopping centers owned by Toronto-based RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, which received counsel from Canada's Goodmans on the transaction. Simpson Thacher also teamed up with Italian firm Legance in advising London-based buyout firm Apax Partners on its $1.14 billion sale of Rhiag-Inter Auto Parts Italia to Chicago-based LKQ Corp., advised by K&L Gates.

And just before Christmas, Simpson Thacher also scored in the basketball arena, representing real estate developer Bruce Ratner's Forest City Enterprises Inc. on the sale of its 20 percent stake in the Brooklyn Nets and its 55 percent slice of their home arena, the 18,000-seat Barclays Center, to joint venture partner Onexim Sports and Entertainment. The $1.7 billion deal, which should close by early 2016, values the National Basketball Association team at $875 million and the arena at $825 million.