UBS and Rand Merchant Bank were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financial advisers in the Middle East & African region during the first half (H1) of 2025 by value and volume, respectively, according to the latest financial advisers league table by GlobalData, which ranks financial advisers by the value and volume of M&A deals on which they advised.

Based on its Deals Database, the leading data and analytics company has revealed that UBS achieved its leading position in terms of value by advising on $1.6 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Rand Merchant Bank led in terms of volume by advising on a total of four deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Rand Merchant Bank saw its ranking by value improve from the fourth position in H1 2024 to the top position in H1 2025. Apart from leading by volume, Rand Merchant Bank also occupied the third position by value.

“Meanwhile, UBS, which led by value in H1 2025, was not even among the top 10 by this metric in H1 2024. Involvement in only one but a big-ticket deal ($1.6 billion Warba Bank-Alghanim deal) helped it top the chart by value.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that HSBC occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $1.3 billion worth of deals, followed by Rand Merchant Bank with $807 million, Barclays with $801 million, and Clairfield International with $750 million.

Meanwhile, KPMG occupied the second position in terms of volume with three deals, followed by HSBC with two deals, Goldman Sachs with two deals, and Standard Chartered Bank with two deals.