Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financial advisers for Q1 2021 by value and volume, respectively, according to the Financial Deals Database by GlobalData. Goldman Sachs advised on 114 deals worth $239.8bn, which was the highest value achieved among all the advisers tracked. Meanwhile, JP Morgan led in terms of volume, having advised on 126 deals worth $208.5bn.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan were the only advisers that managed to advise on more than 100 deals and also surpass the $200bn mark during Q1 2021. Interestingly, Goldman Sachs, apart from leading by value, also occupied second position by volume. Similarly, JP Morgan, which led by volume, occupied second position by value.

“In fact, both firms also registered a significant jump in deal volume and value, which helped them secure their top positions. While JP Morgan witnessed deal volume and value increasing by a respective 100% and 63% in Q1 2021, compared to Q1 2020, Goldman Sachs saw 72.7% and 32.6% growth. Goldman Sachs also held onto the top ranking by value in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.”

Bank of America occupied the third position by value, with 64 deals worth $159bn, followed by Morgan Stanley, with 66 deals worth $145.9bn, and Citi, with 68 deals worth US$133.5bn.

Rothschild & Co occupied the third position by volume with 74 deals worth $19.3bn followed by Jefferies, with 73 deals worth $56.6bn. Citi occupied the fifth position by volume.