Firm passes Clifford Chance to lead global and Asia-Pacific corporate markets

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has overtaken Clifford Chance (CC) to lead global and Asia-Pacific corporate markets for the first three quarters of 2012, but the gloomy environment for dealmakers has seen M&A values slide 19% against 2011.

Mergermarket figures show Freshfields advised on 129 announced deals globally in the first nine months of 2012 with a value of $205.2bn (£127bn), enough to put it ahead of CC and Wall Street leaders Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Sullivan & Cromwell.

CC retained pole position in Europe and the UK by M&A deal value, while Linklaters topped both markets in terms of deal count, advising on 143 mandates in Europe.

However, global M&A markets contracted notably in Q3, down 19.7% from Q2 to $436.4bn (£270.7bn), the second lowest quarterly total since 2009, when activity plunged in the wake of the financial crisis.

Europe fared particularly poorly, with a 46% deal value slump on the previous quarter, and a 23.2% fall in deal value this year against Q1-3 2011, despite Glencore's $50.5bn (£31bn) bid for Xstrata in January, on which CC, Linklaters, Freshfields and King & Wood Mallesons all advised. The choppier UK M&A market also fell, with Q3 down 45.4% on Q2, and a 7.1% drop in total deal value to $99.8bn (£61.9bn) for the year to date compared to 2011.

"The global markets are more interesting at present than Europe or UK domestic," said Freshfields City head Mark Rawlinson (pictured). "What is missing in the UK markets is confidence. M&A upticks tend to follow stability in the capital markets, but uncertainties around the euro make any calmer periods feel transient."

The US commanded the largest share of global M&A deals by value, with the region accounting for 34% of deals worth a combined $485.9bn (£301.4bn). However, this represents a 22.7% drop in value over the year to date compared to Q1-3 2011.

Skadden led the US rankings on deal value, having advised on 97 deals worth $130.5bn (£80.9bn) so far in 2012.

Asia-Pacific markets saw a 21.9% increase in deal value on the previous quarter to $89.2bn (£55.3bn), buoyed in part by the China Telecom Corporation's $13.3bn (£8.2bn) acquisition of CDMA Network assets from its parent company. However, there was a 10.1% drop in deal volume in the quarter. The year to date has also seen a 14.7% drop by deal value in the region against the same period in 2011.

CC head of corporate Simon Tinkler called Asia's strong Q3 performance "surprising", given the perceived consumer slowdown, and expected a quieter Q4. He added: "We're still seeing a lot of M&A that involves financial institutions, as there is a lot of balance sheet tidying in the industry, and businesses are adapting to the changing regulatory world."

The energy, mining and utilities sector, while suffering a 7.7% fall in deal value in Q1-3 2012, remained the strongest industry, with $380.8bn (£236.2bn) by value and a 26.6% global market share of M&A by value given a string of big ticket bids in the sector. The consumer M&A market is the only major industry to see an increase so far this year, up 14.3% on 2011 to $169.4bn (£105.1bn).

Tim Gee, head of global M&A at Baker & McKenzie, said: "The third quarter figures speak for themselves; deal making remains constrained in all regions with Asia being no exception and I don't expect any change in outlook. Within that overall picture, the proportion of cross-border and, specifically, emerging market deal making continues to increase." Gee's firm advised on the second highest number of deals in the Asia-Pacific region (48), behind King & Wood Mallesons.

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A hard nine months for deal technicians – views from the market

"There's no shortage of cash out there, so there's no reason why deals can't be done. However, there's a lot of nervousness caused by the political uncertainty in Europe – US clients keep asking about the Euro and building it into their risk profile.robin-johnson

"I'm 100% certain we'll see M&A return to some kind of normality. The current lull has been caused by risk-averse boards but with healthy corporate cash balances – at some point shareholders will start to ask why their money isn't being utilised and the pressure to invest will start to mount.

"We are at a low point at the moment so everything points to an improvement in 2013. However a lot will depend on whether anything goes wrong on a macro-economic level."
Robin Johnson, head of international M&A, Eversheds (pictured)

"Conditions are still tough and announced volumes are still quite low on deals. On the positive side deals are being announced. As Xstrata/Glencore shows, there are still big deals to be done and others that have yet to been announced. There is more work around than there was six months ago. The M&A landscape is looking better but I wouldn't describe it as easy to get a deal not only announced but completed."
Charlie Jacobs, corporate partner, Linklaters

"I feel better about the UK and European markets this year than I did this time last year. We've seen more deals concluding, but businesses are still cautious about doing deals – the Eurozone problems and financing difficulties for corporates are still relevant factors. Our Asia team has been busy- the region hasn't had the same level of downturn as in Europe, but even in that region there are still uncertainties."
Martin Scott, Europe head of corporate, Norton Rose

For more analysis, see Abolish M&A – discuss.

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