Sullivan & Cromwell and Kirkland & Ellis were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the construction sector for H1 2021 by value and volume, respectively. Sullivan & Cromwell advised on seven deals worth $41.7bn, which was the highest value among all advisers tracked. Meanwhile, Kirkland & Ellis led in terms of volume, having advised on 25 deals worth $22.9bn. A total of 1,957 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 Construction M&A Report Legal Adviser League Tables H1 2021’, deal value for the sector increased by 140% from $126bn in H1 2020 to $303bn in H1 2021.

Ravi Tokala, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis was the only firm that managed to advise on more than 20 deals. However, despite leading by deal volume, it lagged behind its peers in terms of deal value due to its involvement in relatively low-value deals. Surprisingly, it also did not feature among the top five advisors by value.

“In contrast, Sullivan & Cromwell, which advised on fewer but higher value deals, surpassed $41bn. While Sullivan & Cromwell managed to advise on four deals valued more than or equal to $1bn, this also included one deal valued more than $36bn, which offered it an edge and helped it top the list by value. In contrast, Kirkland & Ellis advised on nine deals valued more than $1bn.”

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer occupied the second position in terms of value, with five deals worth $40.7bn, followed by Hengeler Mueller, with one deal worth $36.4bn. Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz occupied fourth position, with six deals worth $29.7bn, and Latham & Watkins ranked fifth, with 13 deals worth $26.9bn.

Advokatfirman Vinge occupied the second position in terms of volume, with 14 deals worth $9bn, followed by CMS, with 14 deals worth $1.5bn. Latham & Watkins occupied fourth position, while and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett occupied fifth position, with 13 deals worth $25.1bn.