Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and CMS were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in Europe for Q1-Q3 2021 by value and volume, respectively, according to GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company notes that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised on 74 deals worth $105.8bn, scoring it the top spot in terms of value, while CMS led in terms of volume – having advised on 244 deals worth $20bn. A total 8,590 M&A deals were announced in Europe during Q1-Q3 2021.

According to GlobalData’s report, ‘Global and Europe M&A Report Legal Adviser League Tables Q1-Q3 2021’, deal value increased by 70.8% from $466bn during Q1-Q3 2020 to $796bn in Q1-Q3 2021.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “CMS was the only company in GlobalData’s study that managed to advise on more than 200 deals during Q1-Q3 2021, outpacing its peers by a healthy margin in terms of volume. However, it lagged behind in terms of value due to its involvement in low-value transactions, and did not even feature among the top ten by value.

“Meanwhile, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer managed to top the list by value, despite only advising on 74 deals, due to its involvement in some big-ticket deals. To put this in perspective, the average deal size of the transactions advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer stood at $1.4bn, compared to $82m for CMS. The mega-deal* acquisition of Deutsche Wohnen by Vonovia played an instrumental role in Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s ranking.”

White & Case occupied the second position, in terms of value, with 112 deals worth $100.2bn. This was followed by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, with 53 deals worth $86.9bn; Sullivan & Cromwell, with 16 deals worth $84.6bn; and Clifford Chance, with 100 deals worth $83.7bn.

Baker McKenzie occupied the second position in terms of volume with 146 deals worth $23.1bn, followed by Allen & Overy with 143 deals worth $36.3bn and DLA Piper with 124 deals worth $8.4bn. White & Case occupied the fifth position in terms of volume.

* A mega deal is defined as a deal valued more than or equal to $10bn