Top ten consumer sector M&A financial and legal advisers for 2018

Goldman Sachs has dominated the latest M&A league table of the top ten financial advisers for the consumer sector based on deal value during FY2018, according to GlobalData.

The US bank advised on 50 deals worth a combined $112.3bn, including the industry’s top deal, Dr Pepper Snapple’s merger with Keurig Green Mountain for $18.73bn.

JP Morgan came in second, recording 41 deals worth $100.7bn. With 20 deals valued at $58.3bn, Bank of America Merrill Lynch came a distant third.

GlobalData financial deals analyst Nagarjun Sura said: “Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan had a clear lead over the other financial advisers in the league table, both crossing the $100bn deal value mark. However, legal advisers had closer competition for the top spot. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton could barely edge past White & Case to lead the table.”

The consumer sector saw an increase in deal value and volumes in 2018 compared with 2017. The total value increased by 6.51% from $253.2bn in 2017 to $269.7bn in 2018. Volumes witnessed a 16.82% rise from 3,122 in 2017 to 3,647 in 2018.

In addition, Goldman Sachs topped the consumer league table of M&A financial advisers, as well as the top spot in the global league table of top 20 M&A financial advisers released by GlobalData recently.

US international law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton led the chart of top ten legal advisers, in terms of value. It provided legal services for 20 deals worth a combined $57.6bn. The firm was ranked sixth in the global league table of top 20 legal advisers.

Three out of the top five legal advisers in the consumer league table were associated with the industry’s top deal. Kirkland & Ellis came sixth in terms of value, but led the volume chart with 50 deals.

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.

The company also seeks submissions through adviser submission forms on GlobalData, which allow both legal and financial advisers to submit their deal details.