Morgan Stanley and Ernst & Young were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financial advisers in the global technology, media & telecom (TMT) sector for 2020 by value and volume, respectively. Morgan Stanley advised on 78 deals worth $340.9bn, which was the highest value among all the advisers. Meanwhile, Ernst & Young led in volume terms having advised on 109 deals worth $22.2bn. While most sectors have been left struggling due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, TMT showcased resilience and a of total 9,764 M&A deals were announced in the sector during 2020, marking an 16.9% increase over the 8,354 deals announced during 2019, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

According to GlobalData’s report, ‘Global and Technology, Media & Telecom M&A Report Financial Adviser League Tables 2020’, deal value also increased by 33% from $809bn in 2019 to $1.1 trillion in 2020.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Ernst & Young was among the only two firms (the other firm being Goldman Sachs) that managed to advise on more than 100 deals. However, it failed to secure a ranking among the top ten advisers by value.

“Morgan Stanley was also among the only two firms (the other firm being Goldman Sachs) to surpass the $300bn mark. The firm advised on seven mega deals that were worth more than or equal to $10bn. Ernst & Young also managed to advise on three billion dollar deals worth greater than or equal to $1bn, but lacked any mega deals.

“Interestingly, Goldman Sachs held second spot both in terms of value and volume and was the only firm to advise on more than 100 deals while also surpassing the $300bn mark.”

JP Morgan occupied the third position in GlobalData’s ranking of financial advisers for M&As in the global TMT sector by value with 68 deals worth $225bn, followed by Bank of America with 63 deals worth $209.1bn.

Morgan Stanley occupied the third position by volume, followed by PwC with 70 deals worth $34.7bn.