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MergerLinks Announces Top Financial and Legal Advisory Firms Across EMEA, UK and North America
December 09, 2025 | Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Dec 9, 2025 – MergerLinks, a leading online platform used by finance professionals to source deal information, promote credentials, and discreetly identify and connect with capital transactions clients and partners, has published its FY2025 Firmwide Rankings, highlighting the top financial and legal mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory firms across EMEA, the UK, North America and other regions. The rankings, which span the period from October 2024 to September 2025 and include 459 firms, reflect global expertise in M&A and are designed to support market discovery and leadership recognition. MergerLinks is part of a leading AI-native private market intelligence company, Grata, a business unit of Datasite, the global SaaS provider of AI-powered workflow collaboration and automation solutions for M&A, investment, and strategic projects.
Top Financial Advisory Rankings
- EMEA: With 291 deals valued at nearly £100 billion, Rothschild & Co emerges as the top financial M&A advisor out of 21 ranked firms, rising from its leading position in 2024.
- UK: Barclays secures the top financial M&A advisor spot among 16 ranked firms, with 21 deals valued at £68 billion, advancing from its previous ranking.
- North America: JP Morgan, with 222 deals valued at £546 billion; Goldman Sachs, with 190 deals valued at £546 billion; and Morgan Stanley, with 150 deals worth £486 billion, maintain their positions as the top financial M&A advisors out of 22 ranked firms, consistent with their 2024 rankings.
Top Legal Advisory Rankings
- EMEA: A&O Shearman, with 205 deals worth about £97 billion; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, with 125 deals valued at £125 billion; and Latham & Watkins, with 238 deals valued at £96 billion, are the top legal M&A advisors out of 31 ranked firms.
- UK: With 87 deals valued at £39 billion, Latham & Watkins is the top legal M&A advisor among 30 ranked firms.
- North America: Among 19 ranked firms, Kirkland & Ellis, and Latham & Watkins lead legal M&A advisory, with 339 deals worth £363 billion, and 445 transactions valued at £415 billion, respectively.
Insights from Grata Leadership
“This year’s rankings paint a clear picture of an M&A market defined by a handful of standout mega-deals amid overall softer volume,” said Nevin Raj, COO of Grata. “They highlight which advisory firms are truly outperforming and helping buyers and sellers navigate uncertainty, accelerate processes, and make confident decisions.”
Insights from Datasite Leadership
“Our M&A adviser rankings reinforce our broader vision of building a connected private-markets ecosystem,” said Merlin Piscitelli, Chief Marketing Officer at Datasite. “We’re focused on giving dealmakers and investors the data and tools they need to move with conviction across the entire investment lifecycle.”
Regional Highlights
Category | Top Firm(s) | Volume | Value |
Financial Advisors in Spain | Ernst & Young | 52 | £3bn |
Legal Advisors in Spain | Cuatrecasas Goncalves Pereira Uria Menendez | 121 72 | £5bn £100bn |
Financial Advisors in Italy | Mediobanca | 35 | £36bn |
Legal Advisors in Italy | BonelliErede Chiomenti | 77 71 | £24bn £44bn |
Financial Advisors in France | Rothschild & Co | 85 | £29bn |
Legal Advisors in France | Bredin Prat | 19 | £15bn |
Financial Advisors in CEE | JP Morgan | 6 | £9bn |
Legal Advisors in CEE | Greenberg Traurig | 15 | £8bn |
Financial Advisors in Benelux | Morgan Stanley | 9 | £26bn |
Legal Advisors in Benelux | A&O Shearman | 45 | £38bn |
Financial Advisors in Nordics | Carnegie Investment Bank SEB Corporate Finance | 22 20 | £7bn £9bn |
Legal Advisors in Nordics | Gorrissen Federspiel | 75 | £10bn |
Financial Advisors in DACH | Morgan Stanley Rothschild & Co UBS | 18 37 32 | £26bn £11bn £22bn |
Legal Advisors in Germany | Hengeler Mueller | 51 | £26bn |
Legal Advisors in Switzerland | Homburger | 18 | £4bn |
Ranking Criteria and Methodology
- Rankings are available for specific geographies, sectors, transaction types, and firm roles.
- To qualify, deals must have a minimum value of GBP 10 million and involve at least a 5% ownership transfer.
- Relative Market Share (RMS) is the metric used to determine all positions and is calculated on a 50/50 volume- and value-weighted basis across all qualifying transactions.
- A firm’s position in the ranking reflects the RMS it achieves within the subset of qualifying deals.
- The FY2025 edition highlights firms with the strongest performance across qualifying M&A transactions.
Additional Information
- For details on MergerLinks ranking criteria or methodology, contact [email protected].
- To submit information for future rankings, email [email protected].
- Learn more about Datasite at www.datasite.com.
About Datasite
Datasite is a global SaaS provider of AI-powered workflow collaboration and automation solutions for M&A, investment, and strategic projects. Datasite’s innovative products drive execution, while generating unique data insights to empower knowledge workers around the world to succeed across the entire project lifecycle. For more information, visit www.datasite.com
About Grata
Grata is a leading AI-native private market intelligence and dealmaking company. Grata provides full market visibility with the most comprehensive, accurate, and searchable data on private companies. For more information, visit www.grata.com
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