Law firm Pinsent Masons has been ranked the most active legal advisor in Scottish merger and acquisition (M&A) deals which have been completed in the first three quarters of 2014.
The value of the 316 M&A and equity capital market Scottish deals between January and September saw a massive 72.6% rise, up from £11.3 billion to £19.5 billion on the same period last year, according to Experian Corpfin’s Deal Review and League Tables.
While deal value rocketed, the number of transactions dropped by 9.2% from 348 to 316, with those deals corresponding to 8.18% of UK transactions and 8.43% in real terms.
The Experian Corpfin rankings placed Pinsent Masons with 12 deals completed so far in 2014.
Pinsent Masons partner and Head of Office Aberdeen, Roger Connon, said: “The tables reflect what has been a busy period for our business across our three Scottish offices. We have entered the last quarter of 2014 in a strong position and look forward to ending the year on a high with further deals pushed over the line.
The Experian Corpfin report found volumes in Scotland were dominated by the financial and insurance services sector, which accounted for 47% of transactions; next most active was the manufacturing sector with a 19% of Scotland’s deals.
Financial services was also the largest sector value-wise, being responsible for £11.685 billion worth of transactions.
The largest deal in Scotland saw the UK Government dispose of a 7.8% stake in banking and financial services group Lloyds Banking Group, for £4.2billion.
Richard Brown, Head of Corpfin, said: “What we’ve seen this year has been an increased number of high value, cross border transactions, set against static or falling deal volumes in the UK. So far in 2014, the number of outbound deals has increased to a level not seen since before the credit crunch, highlighting increased proactivity and confidence by UK firms on the acquisitions trail overseas.”