In a record 12 months for M&A volumes, the big US banks dominated the revenue and volume league tables in Europe while, as usual, Rothschild advised on a higher number of transactions than any other firm.
Goldman Sachs led the overall regional league tables from Morgan Stanley, although it was nip and tuck country by country in 2021. Goldman topped the tables in the UK, Germany and the Nordics; Morgan Stanley edged ahead of it its great rival in France, Spain and Italy.
In the first quarter of this year, Morgan Stanley headed the revenue table while Goldman topped the volume table.
However, Morgan Stanley wins the award this year as the region’s best bank for advisory because of its role in a number of landmark transactions, often reflecting previous work for longstanding corporate clients and a track record of bringing new and innovative ideas to the table.
In March 2021, AerCap Holdings announced an agreement with General Electric to acquire GE Capital Aviation Services in return for approximately $30 billion in consideration, consisting of newly issued AerCap shares, $25 billion in cash and a stake in the combined company, which will be an industry leader across all areas of aviation leasing with over 2,000 owned and managed aircraft.