Barring an unlikely revival in big-ticket M&A in the second half of the year, the key deal leagues look likely to be remembered chiefly as the BHP/Rio tables, so complete is the grip of the £114bn mining merger bid on the key tables from Mergermarket.
As reported by Legal Week, a starring role for Rio Tinto has helped propel Linklaters to the top of three key benchmarks for major City firms: global, European and UK. As Linklaters also topped the Asia-Pacific ranking, short of a miracle storming of the closed shop that constitutes US M&A, Silk Street has as good as secured a clean sweep. As far as the deal rankings are concerned, the firm now has a near-unassailable position for the year. There are also 13 other ranked law firms, including Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy, Lovells and the Herbert Smith alliance, that have been lucky enough to see their deal profile get the BHP treatment, but Linklaters remains well ahead.
