Top legal advisers by value and volume in global consumer goods sector in H1 2020 revealed

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Latham & Watkins were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the global consumer goods sector in the first half (H1) of 2020 based on deal value and volume, respectively, according to GlobalData.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised on 11 deals worth $18.5bn, which was the highest among all the advisers. Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins led in volume terms having advised on 17 deals worth $5.8bn during H1.

Aurojyoti Bose, financial deals analyst at GlobalData, said: “Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was the only adviser that managed to surpass the $10bn mark during the COVID-19-hit H1, maintaining a significant lead over its peers. The firm advised on five billion-dollar deals worth greater than or equal to $1bn and its involvement in these big-ticket deals helped it top the list by value.

“Latham & Watkins, on the other hand, had to settle for seventh place in terms of value – despite attaining top spot by volume – due to its involvement in only one billion-dollar deal and its comparatively low-value transactions.”

Kirkland & Ellis occupied second position by value with 13 deals worth $9.5bn, followed by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz with six deals worth $8.1bn. Baker McKenzie occupied second position by volume with 16 deals worth $5.7bn, followed by White & Case with 16 deals worth $1.3bn.

The number of deals announced in the global consumer goods sector decreased by 24.3% from 2,588 in H1 2019 to 1,959 in H1 2020. Deal value decreased by 49% from $144.5bn in H1 2019 to $73.7bn in H1 2020.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, which topped the consumer goods sector deals league table by value, stood at eighth position (by value) in GlobalData’s recently released global league table of top 20 M&A legal advisers.

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Latham & Watkins, which topped the consumer goods sector league table by volume, occupied third position (by volume) in the global league table.

GlobalData’s league tables are based on the real-time tracking of thousands of company websites, advisory firm websites and other reliable sources available on the secondary domain. A dedicated team of analysts monitors all these sources to gather in-depth details for each deal, including adviser names.

To ensure further robustness to the data, the company also seeks submissions from leading advisers through adviser submission forms on GlobalData’s website.