Covington & Burling and Kirkland & Ellis were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the automotive sector for H1 2021 by value and volume, respectively. Covington & Burling advised on two deals worth US$8.8bn, which was the highest value among all the advisers. Meanwhile, Kirkland & Ellis led in volume terms having advised on four deals worth US$6.7bn. A total of 404 M&A deals were announced in the sector during H1 2021, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

According to GlobalData’s report, ‘Global and Automotive M&A Report Legal Adviser League Tables H1 2021’, deal value for the sector increased by 181.8% from US$22bn in H1 2020 to US$62bn in H1 2021.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis, apart from leading by volume, was also among the few firms that managed to feature in the list of top ten advisors by volume as well as value. The firm managed to advise on a billion-dollar deal valued at US$6bn, which helped it also occupy the third position by value.

“In contrast, Covington & Burling, despite leading by value, did not manage to secure a place among the top ten advisors by volume.”

Weil Gotshal & Manges occupied the second position in terms of value with three deals worth US$7.3bn, followed by Kirkland & Ellis. Shearman & Sterling occupied the fourth position by value with two deals worth US$6.7bn, which was then followed by Ropes & Gray with two deals worth US$6bn.

Baker McKenzie occupied the second position in terms of volume with four deals worth US$1.2bn, followed by CMS with four deals (value not disclosed). Weil Gotshal & Manges occupied fourth position by volume, followed by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison with three deals worth US$5.7bn.