Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and CMS were the top M&A legal advisers in Europe in Q1-Q3 2023, according to GlobalData’s ranking of leading M&A advisers.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer topped the charts when measuring the value of deals, advising on $49.7bn worth of deals during the period, while CMS advised on the most transactions with a total of 166 deals.

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“CMS was the top adviser by volume during Q1-Q3 2022 and was able to retain its leadership position by this metric during Q1-Q3 2023 as well. It was the only adviser with triple-digit deal volume during Q1-Q3 2023,” said GlobalData lead analyst Aurojyoti Bose.

“Meanwhile, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer fell short of only around $300m from touching the $50bn mark in total deal value during Q1-Q3 2023. It advised on nine billion-dollar deals [valued at or above $1bn] during Q1-Q3 2023 that also included one mega deal valued more than $10bn. Involvement in such big-ticket deals helped Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer top the chart by value.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Allen & Overy came second in terms of value, by advising on $37.6bn worth of deals, followed by Kirkland & Ellis with $35.1bn, Linklaters with $27.7bn, and Latham & Watkins with $24bn.

Measured by number of transactions, White & Case occupied second place with 98 deals, followed by Allen & Overy with 87 deals, Baker McKenzie with 83 deals, and Clifford Chance with 60 deals.

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GlobalData’s league tables are based on the real-time tracking of thousands of company websites, advisory firm websites and other reliable sources available on the secondary domain. A dedicated team of analysts monitors all these sources to gather in-depth details for each deal, including adviser names.

To ensure further robustness to the data, the company also seeks submissions of deals from leading advisers.