Last week Deal Watch checked in with the league tables for big-ticket M&A the first half of 2019, highlighting law firm rankings as the U.S. proved a bright spot in a relatively gloomy stretch for global dealmaking.

This time we'll take a look at the midmarket subsegment, courtesy of data provided by Refinitiv. In sum, it didn't fair any better, the Americas weren't there to save the day and the names of the top firms are a little different.

While Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz dominated it when it came to overall M&A deal value ($446 billion, according to Refinitiv), when it came to midmarket deals (those with a value of $500 million or under), it didn't crack the top 25.

Instead, it was Goodwin Procter, with $9.7 billion in deals, that led the way in deal value in the midmarket subset. Goodwin was followed by Jones Day ($9.3 billion), Latham & Watkins ($8.6 billion), Kirkland & Ellis ($7.5 billion) and White & Case ($7.3 billion).

Last week's overall deal value rankings had Wachtell at No. 1 followed by Kirkland ($387 billion), Davis Polk & Wardwell ($303 billion), Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom ($290 billion) and Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett ($277 billion) rounding out the top five. Kirkland was the only firm that was in the top five in deal value on both data sets.

In terms of the total number of midmarket deals, Kirkland was No. 1 with 264 in the first half of the year, according to Refinitiv, reprising its No. 1 position in the overall M&A rankings by volume. The rest of the top five firms for midmarket deal volume included Goodwin (220), Jones Day (214), DLA Piper (151) and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (138).

The global midmarket was down 13% year over year, according to Refinitiv. The Americas market mirrored that, also dropping 13%, while EMEA dropped 7%, Europe was down 8% and APAC was down 18%.

Enough of the first half of 2019. Here's some of what went on this week in M&A:

VW/Ford/Argo

In the movie “Logan,' the year is 2029 and self-driving trucks dominate the highways. Volkswagen, Ford and Argo AI may be the companies that make the X-Men flick prophetic. VW has infused $2.6 billion into autonomous driving system developer Argo, which already had a partnership with Ford, bringing the valuation of the company to over $7 billion and adding a much-needed second large customer to Argo's roster. Contrary to most self-driving car company ambitions, Argo's system is more focused on commercial, not consumer transport. If all goes well, they will begin testing in select global markets in 2022.

Sidley Austin, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for VW/Hogan Lovells, Schiff Hardin for Ford/Covington & Burling for Argo

Energean/Edison

The words “Italy” and “oil” normally evoke images of olives. Not in this case. Israel-focused Energean will buy the oil and gas division of Italian energy company Edison for $850 million. The initial consideration was for $750 million, but Energean is expected to pay another $100 million in 2022 after oil production begins in the Cassiopeia oil field offshore of Italy. Energean expects the new group to produce the equivalent of over 140,000 barrels of oil per day in 2021 and up to 200,000 once the Israeli fields reach full capacity. Stock price for Energean closed 13.67% higher than its previous high since being listed on the London Stock Exchange 15 months ago.

White & Case for Energean/Clifford Chance for Edison

Fidelity National Information Services/WorldPay

Waiting since March for clearance from its regulatory watchdog, Fidelity National Information Services finally got the green light. Fidelity announced its $35 billion takeover of WorldPay back in the first fiscal quarter, but this week the European Union gave its blessing on the agreement, avoiding antitrust issues that could have scuttled the deal. Fidelity makes software for asset managers and banks, while WorldPay is a heavy hitter in the card processing game.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for Fidelity National Information Services/Willkie Farr & Gallagher for WorldPay

Cisco Systems/Acacia Communications

More videos and more content means you need more networking girth to support it. Tech giant Cisco Systems has agreed to purchase Acacia Communications for $2.6 billion, which comes to about $70 per share for the Maynard, Massachusetts-based optical networking semiconductor company. Acacia was previously a Cisco supplier, and is one of several companies that Cisco has bought up recently as part of a push to beef up its networking capacity arm. 

Fenwick & West for Cisco Systems/Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr for Acacia Communications

Groupe Bruxelles Lambert/KKR & Co. (Webhelp)

Press “one” to go to mergers. Groupe Bruxelles Lambert is in talks to purchase French call center do-it-all Webhelp from U.S.-based private equity firm KKR & Co. for $2.69 billion. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019. KKR purchased Webhelp from another PE firm, London-based Charterhouse Capital Partners, in 2015. Webhelp is a global player in the call center industry, claiming over 50,000 employees in 35 countries. It runs the gambit when it comes to services for the industry, including consulting, technical services and processing capabilities.

Linklaters for Groupe Bruxelles Lambert/Latham Watkins for KKR & Co.

Virgin Galactic/Social Capital Hedosophia

Sir Richard Branson really wants you to go to outer space. His company Virgin Galactic is going public through a merger with Social Capital Hedosophia to create a $1.5 billion company that seeks to win the commercial space race, where it is competing with other billionaire space fans Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin) and Elon Musk (SpaceX) to claim tourism's final frontier.

Latham & Watkins for Virgin Group/Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for Social Capital Hedosophia

Agilent Technologies/Bio Tek Instruments

Are you into cell imaging systems, microplate readers and automated incubators and stackers? This deal is for you. Agilent Technologies is set to acquire Vermont-based Bio Tek Instruments for $1.165 billion, which with anticipated tax breaks will end up being a purchase price of $1.05 billion. Agilent, which entered the cell analysis segment in 2015, has now made several acquisitions to strengthen their position in that particular market. Agilent bills itself as a leader in the “life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets,” according to its website. The company had revenues of close to $5 billion in 2018, compared with $190 million for Bio Tek.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton for Agilent Technologies/Not immediately available 

Hillenbrand Inc./Milacron Holdings Corp.

Cell imaging systems not technical enough for you? Try melt and delivery control systems for plastics. Hillenbrand has entered into an agreement to acquire Milacron Holdings, which manufactures, distributes, and services engineered and customized systems for the plastics technology industry, for $2 billion. Upon closing, Hillenbrand will own 84% of the combined company, while Milacron shareholders will control the remaining 16%. The purchase share price of $18.07 represents a 34% premium over the Milacron's closing share price from July 11.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for Hillebrand/Ropes & Gray for Milacron