JPMorgan Leads Way in Third Quarter Deals

Despite U.S. Presidential Uncertainty, Brexit Hurting M&A Activity

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Oct 20, 2016, 09:13 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Deal, a business unit of financial news and information provider of TheStreet, Inc., (NASDAQ:TST) today announced that JPMorgan Securities LLC led the way in third-quarter mergers and acquisitions deals, despite less overall activity because of concern about the U.S. Presidential Election and Brexit.

"Valuations, like stock markets, are way up at the moment, holding back major deals. However, the number of agreements shows there's plenty of appetite for smaller priced acquisitions. For the rest of the year, regulations and interest rate decisions will guide dealmakers -- that is to say, dealing with uncertainty. Dealmakers may be pushing to get deals done before November to execute in a known environment rather than face unforeseen headwinds with a change of administration." said Andrew Bulkeley from The Deal.

The Deal's exclusive ranking covers top investment banks, law firms, PR advisers, proxy solicitors and Delaware law firms that are engaged in mergers and acquisitions. Data collected captures advisers to target/seller and acquirer/bidder companies involving transactions announced between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2016.

League highlights include:

JPMorgan Securities LLC took first place with 91 deals, in 53 of which it represented sellers. Goldman, Sachs & Co. was second with 77 deals, in 26 of which it represented buyers. Morgan Stanley came in third with 76 deals, in 28 of which it was on the side of buyers. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays Capital tied for fourth 60 deals.
Among law firms, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP was the top counsel to companies, with 75 deals. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP tied for second with 74 deals each. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP ranked third with 48 deals. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz ranked fourth with 46 deals. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP ranked fifth with 43 deals.
Among Delaware firms, Richards, Layton & Finger PA came in first with 53 deals. Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP recorded 30 deals, and Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP consummated 14 deals.
Among PR firms, Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher was first with 79 transactions, in 47 of which it represented sellers. Sard Verbinnen & Co. recorded 61 transactions, in 34 of which it represented sellers. Kekst and Co. ranked third with 30 transactions. Abernathy MacGregor Group Inc. came in fourth with 27 transactions. Rounding up the top five, Brunswick Group LLP was involved in 23 transactions.
Among proxy solicitors, Innisfree M&A Inc. was involved in 44 deals. D.F. King & Co. came in second with 27 deals. MacKenzie Partners Inc. came in third with 18 deals.

The report is available online. For more information about The Deal's M&A coverage, go to www.thedeal.com.

About The Deal's M&A League Tables
Rankings include the names of lead M&A and/or corporate partners at law firms that represented principals and investment advisers. Only deals involving a change of control at a target company with a market value of $100 million or more are included, and only when a key party involved is a U.S. company. Unless the target is a recognized stand-alone operating business, rankings will not include asset sales, unit sales, sales of subsidiaries, spin-offs or joint ventures. Deals with undisclosed transactions values are not eligible. The Deal's M&A League Tables, which come out each quarter, are cumulative across the year.

About The Deal
The Deal (www.thedeal.com) provides actionable, intraday coverage of mergers, acquisitions and all other changes in corporate control to institutional investors, private equity, hedge funds and the firms that serve them. The Deal is a business unit of TheStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: TST, www.t.st), a leading financial news and information provider. Other business units include TheStreet (www.thestreet.com), which is celebrating its 20^th year of producing unbiased business news and market analysis; BoardEx (www.boardex.com), a relationship mapping service of corporate directors and officers; and RateWatch (www.ratewatch.com), which supplies rate and fee data from banks and credit unions across the U.S.

Contact: Jon Kostakopoulos, TheStreet, Inc., 212-321-5561, Jon Kostakopoulos at thestreet.com

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