09 May 2017
· 2nd Middle Eastern M&A Awards announces top names in regional M&A

· EY tops the regional M&A financial advisor rankings

· Clifford Chance is named regional M&A legal advisor of the year

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Mergermarket, the world’s leading news and intelligence service for mergers & acquisitions, last night announced the winners of its second annual Middle Eastern M&A Awards, recognising top banks and law firms supporting M&A in a range of sectors including ‘Consumer’, ‘Energy, Mining & Utilities’, ‘Financial Services’, ‘Industrials & Chemicals’, ‘Pharma, Medical & Biotech’ and ‘Telecoms, Media & Technology’.

Of the financial advisor nominations, Mergermarket named EY as the best regional M&A financial advisor and in the sector rankings, Citi won best financial advisor in the Energy, Mining & Utilities sector, PwC was awarded top financial advisor in the Financial Services sector whilst Rothschild won best financial advisor in the Consumer sector. Second titles were awarded to EY who also led the rankings for top financial advisor in the Pharma sector and Rothschild who led the financial advisors in the Industrials sector. Bank of America Merrill Lynch won best financial advisor in the Telecoms, Media & Technology sector.

Of the legal advisor nominations, the top regional legal advisory firm was awarded to Clifford Chance. In the sector rankings, White & Case led the Energy, Mining & Utilities sector, Clifford Chance won best legal advisor for the Financial Services sector and Allen & Overy led the legal advisor rankings in the Consumer sector. Meanwhile, Clyde & Co. won top legal advisor in the Pharma Sector, Baker McKenzie topped the rankings for the Telecoms, Media & Technology sector and King & Wood Mallesons won first prize for the Industrials sector rankings.

In the Fixed Income space, the Loan Bookrunner award was won by National Bank of Abu Dhabi whilst the Bond Bookrunner Corporate award was presented to Emirates NBD and Bank of America Merrill Lynch was awarded top Bond Bookrunner in the Government category. The top Sukuk Bookrunner was KAMCO.

Speaking on the night, Matthew Robinson, Events Director EMEA at Mergermarket, commented:

“Our league table rankings for M&A and debt capital markets gives us a unique insight to the innovative work conducted on behalf of clients across the region. With an increase in entries this year, we’re thrilled to celebrate the achievements of all those firms who entered. And congratulations to all tonight’s winners.”

The Awards were preceded by Mergermarket’s 2017 Middle Eastern M&A and Private Equity Forum, which was attended by leading MENA transaction professionals, who examined deal trends in the region and shared ideas on the outlook for M&A in the Middle East. The Forum was hosted in strategic partnership with Baker McKenzie, EY, AIG, Standard Bank, Instinctif Partners and iDeals Solutions.

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© Press Release 2017