Goldman Sachs and Robert W Baird were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financial advisers in the global automotive sector in the first half (H1) of 2020 based on deal value and volume, respectively. Goldman Sachs advised on two deals worth US$4.4bn, which was the highest among all advisers. Robert W Baird led in volume terms having advised on four deals worth US$254.5m, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Aurojyoti Bose, Financial Deals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Goldman Sachs was the only firm to advise on two billion-dollar deals worth greater than or equal to US$1bn, which helped it secure top position by value. In contrast, Robert W Baird, which led by volume, had to settle for eighth position by value due to its involvement in low-value transactions.”

Bank of America occupied second position by value with two deals worth US$3.3bn, followed by Rockefeller Capital Management with one deal worth US$3.3bn. Houlihan Lokey secured second position by volume with four deals (deal values were not disclosed), followed by Jefferies with three deals worth US$341m.

The number of deals announced in the global automotive sector decreased by 1.8% from 272 in H1 2019 to 267 in H1 2020, according to GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database. Deal value also decreased by 37.6% from US$24.8bn in H1 2019 to US$15.5bn in H1 2020.