After three years of gruellingly cautious optimism, lawyers still have not entirely gotten used to actually being optimistic, despite what has been, by any yardstick, one hell of an H1.

Early statistics suggest global M&A will hit an all-time high this year in value terms, though the prevalence of mega-deals can not quite conceal the fact that deal volume in Europe is still a way off 1999-2000 levels.

The second quarter was also notable as the first three-month stretch for five years in which public bids eclipsed private equity. Then again, it could be that public acquirers and investment banks have simply stolen buy-out houses' bag of tricks, with a string of companies launching consortium bids backed by plenty of debt, often for non-cyclical assets with strong cashflows.