Last year saw the return of M&A as central banks globally cut interest rates, corporates engaged in M&A, and financial sponsors put dry powder to work.

Kirkland & Ellis not only retained its 2023 throne as the number one player by volume globally but also extended its lead over silver medalist Latham & Watkins, according to Mergermarket’s global and regional M&A rankings 2024.

In 2023, Kirkland beat Latham by USD 36bn in total value. Last year, that number jumped to USD 106bn with the gold medalist executing deals worth USD 605bn. In both years, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom came third. Perhaps predictably, Kirkland was first in the US, which remains the world’s deal-making engine.

The firm also demonstrated its prowess as buyside counsel, working on the buyside for almost 70% of its total 803 deals with corporates such as Swiss-based packager Amcor [NYSE:AMCR] and US-based upstream energy player EQT [NYSE:EQT]. Notably, its two largest deals were on the sellside, having advised Mars and Marathon Oil [NYSE:MRO] during their respective sales to Kellanova [NYSE:K] and ConocoPhillips [NYSE:COP].

Latham & Watkins, with USD 499bn in deal volume, took the helm in Europe and stood second in Asia-Pacific. It worked with the buyside on 60% of its 682 deals but its largest deal was its sell-side advise to SRS Distribution in its completed USD 18bn deal with Home Depot [NYSE:HD].

Of the elite top 10 rankings, seven names were the same. Fresh-faced entrants last year were Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and White & Case. Of all those in the top 10, Gibson had the highest year on year [YoY] volume increase – up 42% to USD 283bn. This was driven by the firm’s focus on energy, which contributed to about 33% of its total volume. In terms of deal count, DLA Piper (1397), Goodwin Procter (829), and Kirkland & Ellis (802) maintained their top three rankings from 2023.