Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz led the first-quarter league tables in principal announced deal value while Goodwin Procter maintained its hold on deal volume. Meanwhile, global M&A continues to tumble, dropping 44% from the first quarter last year and 23% from an already lethargic Q4 of 2022.
According to data from Refinitiv, Wachtell led all firms in principal global M&A deal value in Q1, with $84.25 billion in value across 17 deals, easily outpacing second-place Kirkland & Ellis ($58.78 billion over 120 deals). Sullivan & Cromwell finished third, with $53.56 billion over 26 deals, White & Case was fourth with $48.52 billion over 73 deals, and Davis Polk & Wardwell rounded out the top five in deal value with $46.43 billion over 18 deals.
