Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 9th May 2017: 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 sponsored by Intralinks, 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, Citigroup Global Markets Ltd won best Middle East Financial Advisor in the Energy, Mining & Utilities sector, PwC was awarded top Middle East Financial Advisor in the Financial Services sector whilst Rothschild won best Middle East Financial Advisor in the Consumer sector. Second titles were awarded to EY who also led the rankings for top Middle East Financial Advisor in the Pharma, Medical & Biotech sector and Rothschild who led the Middle East Financial Advisors in the Industrials sector. Bank of America Merrill Lynch won best Middle East Financial Advisor in the Telecoms, Media & Technology sector.

Of the legal advisor nominations, the top Middle East Legal Advisory firm was awarded to Clifford Chance. In the sector rankings, White & Case led the Energy, Mining & Utilities sector, Clifford Chance won best Middle East Legal Advisor for the Financial Services sector and Allen & Overy led the Middle East Legal Advisor rankings in the Consumer Sector. Meanwhile, Clyde & Co. won top Middle East Legal Advisor in the Pharma, Medical & Biotech 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 Middle East Loan Bookrunner award was won by National Bank of Abu Dhabi whilst the Middle East Bond Bookrunner Corporate award was presented to Emirates NBD Capital and Bank of America Merrill Lynch was awarded top Middle East Bond Bookrunner in the Government category. The top Middle East Sukuk Bookrunner was KAMCO Investment Company.

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.”

Winners:

Regional M&A Finacial Advisor : EY

Regional M&A Legal Aadvisor: Clifford Chance

Sector Awards:

Middle East Energy, Mining & Utilities Financial Advisor: Citigroup Global Markets Ltd

Middle East Financial Services Financial Advisor: PwC

Middle East Consumer Financial Advisor: Rothschild

Middle East Pharma, Medical & Biotech Financial Advisor: EY

Middle East Telecoms, Media & Technology Financial Advisor: Bank of America Middle East

Middle East Industrials Financial Advisor: Rothschild

Middle East Energy, Mining & Utilities Legal Advisor: White & Case LLP

Middle East Financial Services Legal Advisor: Clifford Chance

Middle East Consumer Legal Advisor: Allen & Overy LLP

Middle East Pharma, Medical & Biotech Legal Advisor: Clyde & Co.

Middle East Telecoms, Media & Technology Legal Advisor: Baker McKenzie

Middle East Industrials Legal Advisor: King & Wood Mallesons

Fixed Income Awards:

Middle East Loan Bookrunner: National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC

Middle East Bond Bookrunner Corporate: Emirates NBD Capital

Middle East Bond Bookrunner Government: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Middle East Sukuk Bookrunner: KAMCO Investment Company

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.