mergermarket, the M&A leading intelligence and data provider owned by the Financial Times, has released the timeline for its 2012 global M&A awards, a coveted industry accolade which has recognised dealmaking excellence for the past six years.
On the 8 October 2012, a list of over 120 firms will be released by mergermarket from which the winners of this year’s European awards will be selected. The shortlist for each of the 46 categories will feature the top firms in each market, and is determined by comprehensive analysis of Q4 2011 – Q3 2012 deal data from the mergermarket database.
This selection process is unique in the industry and ensures that firms only feature on the shortlist if they have been consistently involved in M&A transactions during the period in review.
Once the shortlist has been released, submissions are collected from each named firm and presented to a panel of industry judges who confidentially vote on a winner for each category. Submissions must be received by 26t October 2012.
“A challenging dealmaking environment is becoming a perennial backdrop to the M&A awards,” says Giovanni Amodeo, global editor in chief at mergermarket and chair of the judging committee, ”but the comprehensive and impartial way in which we identify a shortlist for these awards means that whatever the state of the market, the top firms get to present themselves to the judges.”
The latest mergermarket data indicates that European M&A totaled 38.3%of global M&A value in the first half of 2012. Six of the top ten deals announced this year involve European bidders, including Glencore’s blockbuster purchase of Xstrata and Anheuser-Busch InBev’s €15.8bn acquisition of Grupo Modelo SAB.
For the first time, mergermarket and the Financial Times will also award an in-house M&A team with a “corporate acquirer of the year” prize, recognising the role of a strategic investor in this year’s M&A market. “Best European boutique financial adviser” is another new addition, and will be awarded for advisory mandates of an independent corporate finance house. Finally, “IPO of the year” will recognise a successful public listing completed amidst volatile equity markets.
In 2011, Morgan Stanley was awarded Financial Adviser of the Year with Goldman Sachs taking the accolade for European Private Equity adviser. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was awarded the European Legal Adviser title for the first time, beating Linklaters who had held the title for the past four years. KPMG was awarded the prestigious European Accountancy Firm prize, whilst Brunswick Group took the European Public Relations prize.
mergermarket and the Financial Times have announced M&A award winners in the Americas and Asia-Pacific since 2008. There is no shortlist process for either of these regions, and winners are determined by comprehensive analysis of mergermarket deal data. Winners will be announced in mid-December.
