Even as geopolitical alliances shifted and a rush for anything AI gripped the world, the same four names appeared among the top two rankings for deal value and deal count, just as they had in 2024, as per Mergermarket’s FY25 global and regional M&A rankings.

Corporates took a cold hard look at how best to deploy their balance sheets – undergoing transformational acquisitions to achieve scale and new markets, while others ruthlessly sold non-performing assets in what is fast becoming routine corporate hygiene.

Amid this deal making bonanza, Kirkland & Ellis broke all past records with USD 1tn in deal value under its belt – setting a gold standard for legal deal volumes. Latham & Watkins kept its silver from the previous year, while Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz jumped six spots to take the coveted bronze.

Kirkland & Ellis, with its enviable volume haul, recorded a 61% year-on-year (YoY) jump from 2024. Its largest transaction, coming only in December 2025, was its sell-side advice to Warner Bros Discovery – the target of a hotly contested c.USD 100bn battle between Paramount Skydance and Netflix.

Latham & Watkins, with USD 934bn in value across 861 deals, played on the other side of the aforementioned transaction, providing buyside counsel to Paramount Skydance, with whom it has worked with on previous deals, as per Paramount’s corporate profile on Mergermarket.

Also boarding a sell-side role in the Warner Bros Discovery race, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz posted a 168% jump in value to USD 716bn, nudging its chest over the line to secure a podium position, narrowly pipping Skadden Arps Meagher Slate & Flom to the post, which had USD 715bn in deals.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (USD 490bn, up 94.3% YoY) and Cravath Swaine & Moore (USD 443bn, up 116.1% YoY) broke into the top 10 for deal value, displacing Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Davis Polk & Wardwell (now at 12 and 15, respectively).

Even as deal volumes soared in a dual hunt for scale and corporate clarity in a more uncertain world, tariff shocks and the potential impact of AI weighed more heavily on mid-market processes, with total deal count for FY25 slipping 3.3%.

On that basis, DLA Piper’s haul of 1,373 deals is a remarkable achievement, even at 120 less than its 2024 tally – and firmly placed it in first place on this metric. Goodwin Procter, with 917 deals, stood next in line; it was followed by Latham & Watkins, with its 861 deals.

Europe

• Freshfields jumped a spot to take the gold with USD 314bn while Latham & Watkins dropped a spot but earned the silver with USD 283bn
• DLA Piper took the gold for deal count, though its haul declined by 66 to 792 in 2025
• In the UK, Kirkland & Ellis earned top spot with USD 126bn across 90 deals
• In DACH, Freshfields took the crown with USD 115bn across 70 deals
• In France, Clifford Chance jumped to the top with USD 63bn
• In Iberia, Freshfields topped the deal value race with USD 36bn
• In Italy, Clifford Chance leapt to first with USD 52bn
• In the Nordics, Latham & Watkins surged to the top with USD 40bn
• In MEA, Latham & Watkins led value with USD 122.2bn across 50 deals

Americas

• Kirkland & Ellis (USD 926bn) and Latham & Watkins (USD 838bn) kept the gold and silver for volume rankings, while Wachtell Lipton Rosen and Katz (USD 712bn) took the bronze – mirroring global winners
• Goodwin Procter led the deal count rankings with 792 transactions
• Kirkland & Ellis also kept its gold in the US as well as regionally in the Northeast, South and West
• In the Midwest, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom jumped three spots to land on first
• In Canada, Stikeman Elliott lead the value charts with USD 105bn with 152 deals

APAC

• In APAC excl. Japan, Clifford Chance stood first by volume with USD 113bn across 84 deals
• King & Wood Mallesons claimed second place with USD 96bn across 140 deals
• AZB & Partners secured third with USD 73bn from 143 transactions
• For deal count in APAC excl. Japan, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas retained its crown with 200 deals
• In Japan, Nishimura & Asahi kept its top position by value with USD 134bn with 215 deals
• In Australasia, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer topped the deal value rankings with USD 38bn across 107 transactions
• In China, Clifford Chance held its lead by deal value with USD 86bn across 35 transactions
• In India, AZB & Partners led by deal value with USD 71bn with 140 deals
• In South Korea, Kim & Chang retained both the volume (USD 45.2bn) and deal count (132) crowns

Private equity buyouts

• Kirkland & Ellis took the top spot by volume and deal count with USD 438bn across 276 deals
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett took the volume silver, with USD 216bn across 85 deals

Private equity exits

• Latham & Watkins took top spot by volume and deal count with USD 171bn deals across 63 deals
• Kirkland & Ellis came second on volume and landed the top spot on deal count (USD 115bn; 97 deals)