Awards for Excellence 2020
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Morgan Stanley rarely seems to put a foot wrong in Asia. As ever, it seemed to be everywhere last year, a key player on the deals that mattered most.
The sheer weight of transaction volume would have been enough to win the award for Asia’s best bank for advisory.
It headed the tables in Dealogic’s Asia ex-Japan M&A rankings; add Japan to the mix and its lead becomes unassailable. It advised on 85 M&A deals in Asia during the awards period, for a combined deal value of $145.9 billion.
It led the rankings in Singapore and South Korea, came within a whisker of first place in Indonesia and Japan, and placed a strong second in China-originated cross-border M&A.
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Richard Wong |
As ever with Morgan Stanley, it is a case of both quality and quantity. Highlights include its role as financial adviser to Yahoo Japan operator Z Holdings during its $23 billion merger with Line Corporation; and adviser to Germany’s Delivery Hero in its $4 billion acquisition of Korea’s Woowa Brothers.
The latter deal was classic Morgan Stanley, a complex, high-octane operation that created one of the world’s largest food delivery platforms.
Morgan Stanley is at its strongest in northeast Asia, where it is a power hitter in China, Korea and above all Japan, courtesy of its joint venture with MUFG. That enables it to drive deals elsewhere in the region – witness its role as financial adviser to MUFG during its $3.63 billion acquisition of an additional 54.1% stake in Indonesia’s Bank Danamon.
But the truth is that Morgan Stanley has few if any geographic weak points. It is strong across the region: in India with its role on IndusInd’s $2.4 billion merger with Bharat Financial, Thailand with Bangkok Bank’s acquisition of Bank Permata and Singapore in the merger of Ascendas Hospitality Trust with Ascott Residence Trust.
“This past year’s transactions highlight the breadth of our M&A franchise across the region,” says Morgan Stanley’s head of Asia-Pacific M&A Richard Wong.
He adds that a “relentless focus on our clients’ strategic goals allow us to be a consistent leader in Asia.”
