BEST BANK
ABN Amro
BEST DEBT HOUSE
ABN Amro
BEST EQUITY HOUSE
Lehman Brothers
BEST M&A HOUSE
Goldman Sachs
ABN Amro‘s dedication to its domestic market makes it a reliable firm in all aspects of finance and capital market activity. Its income is higher than that of any of its local rivals and its return on equity is nearly 23%.
The award for best debt house was a tough call because ABN Amro, Citigroup and UBS have all had a hugely successful year. All three can boast a wide range of issuer clients and a variety of innovative transaction structures. The European syndicated loan market is fiercely competitive but this did not stop ABN Amro maintaining its dominance. In bonds, it tops the league table again by volume, participating in high-profile deals such as the first CMBS transaction in the Netherlands for KFN, the first Dutch structured covered bond and an inaugural 30-year issue by the Kingdom of Netherlands.
In equities, ABN Amro Rothschild continues to demonstrate a strong presence in primary market activity, including its lead manager role in TBG’s €1.1 billion accelerated bookbuild. But Lehman Brothers snatches the award this year. It topped the equity league table and was involved in most of the big deals last year, including ASMI’s $150 million convertible bond, the only convertible for a technology company in Europe during 2004; the Dutch finance ministry’s sale of KPN stock and TomTom’s €540 million IPO, the largest Dutch IPO since 2000. In the secondary markets, it has strong trading positions in key stocks such as KPN and ABN Amro and respectable research activities.
Dutch M&A volumes have been modest over the past 12 months but Goldman Sachs is difficult to compete with in terms of the range and size of deals it handles. It played a key role in most of the notable deals in the Netherlands during the period. It advised 3i on the €1.8 billion sale of telephone directory company Yellow Brick Road and can boast other clients such as VNU, ISG and New Skies Satellites.
