GlobalData plc

04/27/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/27/2021 05:13

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Watson Farley & Williams top M&A legal advisers by value and volume in power sector for Q1 2021, finds GlobalData

27 Apr 2021
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Watson Farley & Williams top M&A legal advisers by value and volume in power sector for Q1 2021, finds GlobalData

Posted in Business Fundamentals

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Watson Farley & Williams were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the power sector for Q1 2021 by value and volume, respectively. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised on eight deals worth US$19.1bn, which was the highest value among all the advisers. Meanwhile, Watson Farley & Williams led in volume terms having advised on 16 deals worth US$280m. A total of 606 M&A deals were announced in the sector during Q1 2021, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

According to GlobalData's report, 'Global and Power M&A Report Legal Adviser League Tables Q1 2021', deal value for the sector increased by 55.4% from US$56bn in Q1 2020 to US$87bn in Q1 2021.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: 'Watson Farley & Williams was the only advisor involved in a double-digit deal volume. However, it lagged behind many of its peers in terms of deal value due to involvement in low-value transactions. Surprisingly, it also did not feature among the top 10 advisors by value.

'Meanwhile, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which advised on half the number of deals advised by Watson Farley & Williams, managed to top the list by value. Involvement in some of the big-ticket deals helped the firm top the list. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised on three billion-dollar deals, which also included one megadeal (deal valued more than or equal to US$10bn).'

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom also occupied the second position by volume followed by Linklaters with eight deals worth US$7.8bn and Kirkland & Ellis with eight deals worth US$5.7bn.

Cravath Swaine & Moore occupied the second position in terms of value with three deals worth US$14.8bn followed by Ashurst with five deals worth US$14.2bn and Herbert Smith Freehills with six deals worth US$11.3bn.