• JPMorgan narrowly ekes out Goldman Sachs in global deal value; PwC takes top spot by deal count
• PJT Partners jumps into top-ten global ranking by deal value

Global M&A values rose 33% year-over-year to USD 918bn in the first quarter, driven by the return of large deals north of USD 2bn, based on the latest Mergermarket data. However, the number of transactions worldwide fell 27% to 8,353, making it one of the quietest quarters for dealmakers in nearly two decades.

JPMorgan took the top spot in Mergermarket’s 1Q 2024 global financial advisory ranking by deal value, overtaking last year’s leader Goldman Sachs. The two competitors were neck and neck with JPMorgan pipping Goldman Sachs by around USD 13bn in value. Third place went to Morgan Stanley, after clocking a 178% increase in deal value.

Large-cap listed transactions dominated the headlines and deal flow in 1Q, JPMorgan provided buy-side advise to Home Depot [NYSE:HD] on its recently announced purchase of building material supplier SRS Distribution for USD 18.3bn. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs provided sell-side advise to General Electric [NYSE:GE] on its USD 38.1bn spin off of GE Vernova. Both firms provided sell-side advise to Endeavour Energy Resources in its sale to Diamondback Energy [NASDAQ:FANG] for USD 28.5bn.

A major jump in deal value amongst the global leaders was seen from New York-based PJT Partners, which moved to seventh position from 53rd in 1Q 2023 with a deal value of USD 102bn, a phenomenal 2,321% year-on-year rise. This huge jump in ranking was linked to its sell-side advisory on the GE Vernova spin off and the ongoing sale of US-based Discover Financial Services [NYSE:DFS] to Capital One Financial for USD 35.3bn.

On the deal count rankings, PwC ranked first with 104 deals, replacing last year’s leader Deloitte. In second and third places were JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, respectively, with just one deal between them. JPMorgan jumped up from nine, while Goldman Sachs jumped up from tenth in 1Q 2023. New entrants in the deal count rankings were Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Jefferies, and Lazard.

Regional winners 

In the Americas, Goldman Sachs retained its top spot from 2023 by value with USD 218bn under its belt. JPMorgan (USD 214.5bn) came in second replacing Centerview Partners, which dropped to twelfth position. Evercore, which ranked twelfth in 1Q 2023, came in third with USD 140bn in deal value, a 372% rise compared to the same period last year.

On the deal count front, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs stood first and second. Last year’s leader Houlihan Lokey ended in the third spot.

In Europe, again, JPMorgan was at the top of the table with USD 64bn in deal value overtaking Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which ranked first and second in 1Q 2023. Citi with USD 46.8bn in deal value came in second position. New entrants in the top 10 include Evercore and Jefferies, which replaced Bank of America and Barclays.

In the deal count rankings, Deloitte lost last year’s top position on the leaderboard to PwC.

In Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, UBS Investment Bank managed to clinch the top spot by deal value advising on 16 deals worth USD 12.4bn, up 21% compared to the same period last year. The advisor worked on seven buy-side deals and five sell-side deals. Its largest deal came while advising Australian construction company CSR [ASX:CSR] on its USD 2.9bn sale to Compagnie de Saint-Gobain [EPA:SGO]. JPMorgan took the second spot on the league table by value, exactly the same as a year before. The advisor advised on five deals worth USD 12.1bn.

Meanwhile, PwC retained its top spot with 31 deals for deal count, followed by UBS Investment Bank with 16 deals to its name. Barclays, ranked 26th last year, came in seventh with 11 deals.

Financial advisory winners on buyouts

After a surge late last year, global buyout activity has sunk again.

With interest rates and borrowing costs remaining high, first-quarter buyout activity showed continued weakness worldwide. Global buyout volume dropped 12% to USD 90.5bn in 1Q 2024 compared with a year ago, while the number of buyouts was almost flat at 610.

Jefferies made its way into the top five by value with a gigantic four-digit percent increase. Citi and Evercore jumped into the top ten ranks with triple-digit value growth from 1Q 2024.

PwC and Deloitte remained in the top two by deal count. Goldman Sachs and Jefferies made it in the top ten with 10 and nine deals, respectively.

Financial sponsor exit winners 

Global exit activity declined 12% by deal value in 1Q 2024 compared to 1Q 2023 with USD 70bn across 261 deals. Exit activity is expected to increase as sponsors remain under pressure to provide LPs with returns.

Harris Williams made its way into the top ten global PE advisory exit rankings by deal value where Goldman Sachs stood supreme. Raymond James, RW Baird, and William Blair made it to the top ten, while JPMorgan slipped from first to third place.

Houlihan Lokey remained on top of 1Q 2024 global PE exits by deal count with 21 deals to its credit. Other names on the list, each with nine deals apiece were Raymond James, RW Baird, and Piper Sandler.

Financial Advisor ranking by deal value:

Data correct as of 4 April 9:30 am GMT.

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Please follow the link below to access the complete Global and Regional M&A Rankings 1Q24 report.