Sullivan & Cromwell and White & Case were noted to be the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the global construction sector in the first half (H1) of 2020, based on deal value and volume, respectively. Sullivan & Cromwell advised on four deals worth US$24.2bn, which was the highest among all the advisers. Meanwhile, White & Case led in volume terms having advised on 13 deals worth US$21.3bn during H1, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Aurojyoti Bose, Financial Deals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Despite advising on relatively fewer deals, Sullivan & Cromwell emerged as the top legal adviser by value in H1 2020. Its involvement in big-ticket deals helped the firm top the list. The company managed to advise on three billion-dollar deals, worth greater than or equal to US$1bn, out of which one was a megadeal worth greater than or equal to US$10bn.

“Meanwhile, White & Case was among the small number of advisers to showcase double-digit deal volume, but it had close competition in terms of value. The firm was involved in two billion-dollar deals.”

Kirkland & Ellis occupied the second position by value with eight deals worth US$22.9bn, followed by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer with seven worth US$22.5bn. Jones Day occupied the second position by volume with 11 deals worth US$807.5m, followed by Latham & Watkins with ten deals worth US$5.1bn.

The number of deals announced in the global construction sector decreased by 14.1% from 1,345 in H1 2019 to 1,155 in H1 2020, according to GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database. Despite the decline in volume, deal value increased by 13.9% from US$85.9bn in H1 2019 to US$97.8bn in H1 2020.

Sullivan & Cromwell, which topped the construction sector deals league table by value, stood at sixth position (by value) in GlobalData’s recently released global league table of top 20 M&A legal advisers. Similarly, White & Case, which topped the construction sector league table by volume, occupied fifth position (by volume) in the global league table.