Skadden is top global M&A adviser in 2009

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom overtook its UK competitor Linklaters LLP to advise on the highest value of mergers and acquisitions in 2009 according to Bloomberg data. Skadden advised on deals worth $354.4 billion, followed by Freshfields, Shearman & Sterling, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Davis Polk & Wardwell. Linklaters ranked sixth. 2009 was the weakest M&A market for years. Deal value fell about 32 percent to $1.7 trillion from from $2.5 trillion in 2008 and $4 trillion in 2007. The two largest US deals of the year were in healthcare: Pfizer's $64 billion purchase of Wyeth, and Merck and Merck's $45.7 billion acquisition of Schering-Plough. Expected deals for 2010 include Exxon Mobil’s pending $41.4 billion purchase of XTO Energy Inc., Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. for $35.8 billion and Kraft Foods’s announced hostile takeover of Cadbury. Table of worldwide rankings in 2009: 1. Skadden (Deal Value $345,395) 2. Freshfields ($322,139) 3. Shearman & Sterling ($267,937) 4. Simpson Thacher ($266,701) 5. Davis Polk ($245,495) 6. Linklaters ($232,286) 7. Allens Arthur Robinson ($299,099) 8. Sullivan & Cromwell ($214,515) 9. Dewey & LeBoeuf ($204,648) 10. Weil Gotshal ($191,663)

Skadden is top global M&A adviser in 2009 businessweek.com Fri, Jan 8, 2010