Ashurst and Latham & Watkins were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the retail sector for Q1-Q3 2021 by value and volume, respectively. Ashurst advised on four deals worth $27bn, which was the highest value among all the firms. Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins led in volume terms having advised on 15 deals worth $9.5bn. A total of 1,433 M&A deals were announced in the sector during Q1-Q3 2021, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

According to GlobalData’s report, ‘Global and Retail M&A Report Legal Adviser League Tables Q1-Q3 2021’, deal value for the sector increased by 80% from $95bn during Q1-Q3 2020 to $171bn in during Q1-Q3 2021.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The majority of the top ten advisors reported double-digit deal volume, but less than $10bn in total deal value. In contrast, the majority of the top ten advisors by value reported single-digit deal volume, but more than $10bn in total deal value.

“As a result, most of the top ten advisers by value did not feature among the top ten list by volume. Ashurst, despite leading by value, did not find a place among the top ten advisors by volume. Similarly, Latham & Watkins, which led by volume, also did feature among the top ten advisers by value.”

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld occupied the second position in terms of value with one deal worth $21bn, followed by Clifford Chance with eight deals worth $14.9bn, Weil Gotshal & Manges with 12 deals worth $14.5bn and Jones Day with 12 deals worth $14.3bn.

Weil Gotshal & Manges occupied the second position in terms of volume, followed by Jones Day. Kirkland & Ellis ranked fourth in terms of volume with 12 deals worth $3bn, followed by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison with 11 deals worth $10.9bn.