In Q1 2020, the financial services sector saw an overall rise of 4.62% in deal value from US$131.25bn in Q1 2019 to US$137.3bn in Q1 2020. Deal volume decreased in this period by 3.72% from 1,075 deals in Q1 2019 to 1,035 in Q1 2020, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Goldman Sachs leads by value

Goldman Sachs has dominated the M&A financial advisers league table based on deal value in the first quarter of 2020. The US-based multinational investment bank secured the top spot based on a total advised deal value of US$70.55bn. However, in terms of deal volume, it came second behind Piper Sandler & Co with 11 deals.

GlobalData, which tracks all M&A, private equity/venture capital and asset transaction activity around the world, confirmed that Credit Suisse occupied the second position with five transactions worth US$39.8bn.

Ravi Tokala, Financial Deals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The financial services sector recorded three megadeals (>US$10bn) and ~21 deals with more than US$1bn value, which resulted in over 4.62% increase in the year-on-year overall deal value in Q1 2020. Goldman Sachs emerged as the top financial adviser in the sector, mainly driven by its involvement in two out of three such deals.”

Goldman Sachs, which topped the league table of M&A financial advisers in financial services sector, also stood at the first position in GlobalData’s recently released global league table of top 20 M&A financial advisers.

Piper Sandler & Co tops by volume

Piper Sandler & Co secured number one position in the latest global M&A financial advisers league table based on deal volume in Q1 2020. The firm advised on 20 deals worth US$5.47bn. JP Morgan occupied the third position with 11 transactions worth US$37.69bn.

Ravi Tokala comments: “Despite advising on the highest number of deals, Piper Sandler & Co did not reach the top ten in terms of value due to its involvement in low-value transactions such as CenterState Bank’s merger with South State and Pacific Premier Bank’s acquisition of Opus Bank.”