- Goldman Sachs has lost the top spot in the M&A rankings for the first half of the year for the first time in five years, according to Refinitiv and Bloomberg.
- Another data firm, Dealogic, still has Goldman at the top.
- Goldman is poised to gain market share if the mega-dealing returns.
That difference, less than $8 billion, or the equivalent of one mega-deal, was a single loss for Goldman Sachs.
For the first time in five years, the Wall Street firm was no longer the top global M&A adviser by mid-year, according to Refinitiv Deals Intelligence data.
According to Refinitiv, JP Morgan ranks first globally with $296 billion worth of transactions, or 23.1% of the market share. By comparison, Goldman’s trading value is about $288 billion, or a market share of 22.5%. Bloomberg data also shows JP Morgan at the topfollowed by Goldman.
But another data provider, Dealogic, Goldman Lead In the first half, it advised JP Morgan on $314.4 billion worth of transactions against $305.2 billion.
Goldman has long taken pride in its status as a leading M&A adviser, and has touted league table crowns in its quarterly earnings calls. Similar to Q1.That quarter, data companies again Opinion divided over rankingsDeallogic ranked Goldman No. 1, Refinitiv behind JP Morgan.
A spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
With rising interest rates making debt more expensive, the economic outlook still uncertain, and the Biden administration tightening antitrust laws, the environment for doing business is undoubtedly difficult.
Global merger activity fell 38% year-on-year in the first half of 2023, the biggest drop since the first half of 2020 when the pandemic hit, according to Refinitiv data. For mega deals, i.e. deals over $10 billion, business slowed further, down 52%.
But if this is the trough of the trading cycle, Goldman will benefit when mega mergers heat up again.
Goldman’s co-head of mergers and acquisitions, Stefan Feldgoys, suggested in April that Goldman Sachs would remain involved once mega-deals were planned, according to insider reports. And that means Goldman earns a higher commission than its competitors, as advisory banks are typically paid a percentage of the deal size.
In a letter sent to Goldman alumni on April 18, Feldgoyes gave reasons for optimism:
“Technology and private equity, the most active sectors at the peak, have remained relatively dormant, with ‘old industry’ sectors such as natural resources and industrials rising to the top. This is very reminiscent of the 2000 post-internet bubble burst cycle when assets were heavy. , the cash flow business became prominent in M&A. ”
“Anecdotally, we’ve also seen a notable increase in conversations about potential deals with customers,” he said.
The remaining top 10 Refinitiv Global M&A Advisors for the first half of the year are presented in a so-called league table.
- bank of america
- Morgan Stanley
- center view partner
- city
- UBSMore
- BMO Capital Markets
- Guggenheim Securities
- Lazard
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