Merrill Lynch covers most areas of investment banking and manages to be a master in many of them. Much of its success can be traced to its huge client list and massive volumes of domestic and global business. From capital-raising to M&A, Merrill figures prominently however success is measured.
One thing that sets Merrill apart from the competition is its capacity in equities. It has chalked up 20% of the market share in lead-managing equity and equity-linked products so far in 1997, as well as being extremely strong in add-ons and secondary common stock offerings.
If Merrill’s equity business is good, its debt side is even better. In the rankings it is at the top in global debt, investment-grade debt, global bonds and international bonds. Nevertheless it is constantly looking at developing new products and innovations in order to keep its position as an industry leader.
An integral part of Merrill’s approach is a policy of customizing solutions for its clients, something that it is particularly well positioned to do because it has access, research, and experience in a huge array of products and markets.
Last but not least, Merrill Lynch has had a brilliant year in its M&A advisory business. In 1996 it advised on 16 of the 40 largest transactions – a hard act to follow for its competitors.
Runner-up Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley has continued as a leading player in M&A, equity and debt, being involved, for example, in the $28 billion Sandoz/Ciba-Geigy merger, the $4.5 billion Telefonica offering in Spain and the Ffr2 billion ($345 million) first non-Deutschmark Pfandbrief for Frankfurter Hypothekenbank. It is an innovator in the European high-yield bond market and has sought to introduce book-building as an alternative to rights issues in the UK.
