M&A tables: Eversheds holds on to top spot for volume


Linklaters edged ahead of arch rival Clifford Chance to top the half-year UK mergers and acquisitions (M&A) league table by value, while national firm Eversheds retained the number one spot for the volume of deals handled, research has revealed.


The figures - compiled by analyst Mergermarket - showed Linklaters advised on 52 deals, which put it in second place in the volume table, worth 39 billion euro (£26 billion). Clifford Chance's 39 deals were worth 35 billion euro, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was third with 35 deals totalling 27 billion euro.



Advising Pernod Ricard on its £7.5 billion takeover of Allied Domecq and 3i on the £1 billion sale of its 32% stake in Travelex helped mid-sized City firm Macfarlanes jump to tenth place in the value table, up 17 places from its position at the end of 2004. It advised on 20 deals worth 12 billion euro.



Charles Martin, a corporate partner at the firm, said: 'We have had a strong year so far with some particularly notable work. Overall our transactions have been larger in size than in previous years.'


Eversheds advised on the greatest number of deals - 53, worth 3.9 billion euro. DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary bagged third position with 48 deals totalling 3.7 billion euro.



Clifford Chance came top of the European M&A value table, advising on 99 deals worth 98 billion euro, ahead of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which advised on 94 deals totalling almost 79 billion euro.



Linklaters slipped to third but it headed the volume table, advising on 113 deals worth nearly 75 billion euro.



The Mergermarket data showed that while deal activity by value increased by 24% this quarter compared to the first quarter, the volume of deals dropped by 16% to 89. The UK had the most active market in Europe.


Peter Charlton, global head of corporate finance at Clifford Chance, said: 'It's been a busy year, despite a slow start, and we are hopeful that the rest of the year will be buoyant.'