A&O acts on 472 deals as Thomson Reuters data shows impact of economic crisis on capital markets volume

Allen & Overy (A&O) and Linklaters have topped Thomson Reuters' EMEA rankings for bank roles on debt and equity capital markets (ECM) transactions in 2011 – a year in which the volume of debt issues fell more than 7%.

A&O advised managers on 472 debt issues generating proceeds of $272.5bn (£175.1bn) to head the bank-side rankings across the EMEA region, with Linklaters, Clifford Chance (CC), Davis Polk & Wardwell and Cahill Gordon & Reindel making up the rest of the top five.

A&O also topped the EMEA debt rankings, which include all international and cross-border, non-convertible debt and non-convertible preferred stock transactions, thanks to roles on 125 deals with proceeds of $131.1bn (£84bn).

While the firm's tally meant it retained its spot at the top of the tables, it also reflected the quieter market conditions resulting from the continued uncertainty in the global economy, with the firm advising on 104 fewer deals by manager and 11 by issuer. Overall, Thomson Reuters' research found the total number of EMEA bond deals by manager fell by more than 450 to 5,619 – a drop of 8%, while proceeds dropped by 7% to $3.2trn (£2trn).

A&O City debt capital markets partner Philip Smith said: "All in all, bond activity in 2011 was mixed. Trends included a shift in currency denomination away from the euro because of the eurozone crisis deepening, and a tendency to direct bonds towards the US market, where possible, instead.

"The start of 2012 has seen some emerging markets activity especially and a continued trend to issue the bonds in the US market, while high-yield is showing signs of picking up again," he added.

On the equity side, Linklaters held onto first place in the EMEA manager legal rankings thanks to roles on 30 deals worth $25.3bn (£16bn), significantly more than its nearest rivals Herbert Smith (14), CC (11) and Latham & Watkins (9).

The firm's deal tally included a role on the biggest EMEA ECM deal of 2011 – Glencore's $10.5bn (£6.7bn) initial public offering (IPO) in May, on which Linklaters advised Glencore as issuer, with CC advising the underwriters.

emeacapitalmarketsgraphBy issuer Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer topped the EMEA equity table, working on 14 deals worth $17.8bn (£11.4bn). With the IPO market relatively closed during 2011 due to problems including the eurozone debt crisis, Thomson Reuters' data showed a significant decline in year-on-year activity, with volume falling by 18.6% and combined values by 11.4%.

CC global capital markets head David Dunnigan commented: "We saw a brilliant start to 2011 but I think December was the quietest month I have ever experienced. However, we are now seeing all those deals that did not close in Q4, all across the debt spectrum, coming back to life. The equity capital markets are a bit slower, although we are acting on a couple of European deals launching currently.

"Because January has been so active, I am predicting a good first quarter of 2012. It is difficult to predict beyond that, but I am certainly 
not pessimistic."

Herbert Smith's head of capital markets Steve Thierbach commented: "There appears to be a mismatch between the expectations of sellers and buyers in terms of valuation, and in certain cases that has resulted in transactions not 
going forward."

Lene Malthasen, co-chair of Latham's global capital markets group, said highlights included advising on the first renminbi-denominated bond by a French company – L'Air Liquide – but warned 2012 could be a more challenging year.

She said: "We have a reasonable pipeline, but market developments are hard to predict. Perhaps we will see a dip in volume from 2011, though we expect to continue to take a fair share of the market in our areas of speciality."

Additional reporting by Sofia Lind.