Love them or hate them, you can't ignore the power of league tables. Here's the 2004 update from mergermarket, the independent research house:
Goldman Sachs has retained its crown as the leading financial adviser in mergermarket's 2004 pan-European league tables by value, advising on 105 deals worth ?212.6 billion. Goldman has a comfortable ?41.3 billion lead over second place rival Morgan Stanley, which has jumped from eighth place last year, advising on ?171.3 billion worth of deals. By early December, intelligence garnered by mergermarket indicated that
Goldman was expected to keep the top spot in the year-end rankings, followed by Morgan Stanley, unless an unexpected deal announcement occurred. KPMG Corporate Finance has made an impressive leap from sixth place last year to the top of the European league table by volume, advising on 191 deals worth ?14.8 billion. KMPG is a key player in the mid market and has successfully strengthened its presence in this segment throughout the year. Hot on KPMG's tail is Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services which has hurdled from thirteenth to second place, advising on 190 deals worth ?35.8 billion. Lazard has slipped from second place last year, to tenth in the European value table.