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| Best Global M&A house: Morgan Stanley |
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| Also nominated: Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan |
Euromoney catches up with Rob Kindler, vice-chairman and global head of M&A at Morgan Stanley, shortly after his return to New York from a celebration dinner for Sanofi-Aventis’s $20.9 billion acquisition of Genzyme, the deal of the year in the healthcare sector. It was noteworthy in several aspects, not least that it began as a hostile, unsolicited offer. Such deals are still quite rare as the recovery in the M&A market begins to gather momentum and acquirers are cautious about being drawn into bidding contests. They are also wary of the reaction of their own shareholders to proposed deals where the target has not been won around to the industrial logic and the outcome is uncertain.
Sanofi-Aventis was clearly pleased with the result of this particular transaction. It chose as its venue for the celebration dinner the palace of Versailles.
Kindler is proud of his firm’s role on the deal, even though Morgan Stanley didn’t initiate it. JPMorgan and Evercore advised Sanofi-Aventis and Morgan Stanley was brought in after the ball was already rolling.