Illustration: David Plunkert
Was it all a bad dream?
A busy 2011 might have left mergers and acquisitions lawyers wondering whether the Great Recession was just a plot device in Margin Call. Global M&A activity rose to $2.2 trillion in 2011, making it the strongest year since 2008, mergermarket reports. The picture was even rosier in the United States, which had $820.6 billion in deals; here, it was the strongest year since 2007. Energy, mining, and utilities work was especially robust, as was cross-border deal making.
Worldwide project finance work hit new peaks, with 945 deals closing in 2011, up 8 percent from 2010, according to Dealogic. Total value rose 13 percent, to $405 billion. Left out of the sunny scenarios: capital markets lawyers, who saw proceeds from global equity capital markets work fall 28 percent from 2010. For these attorneys, it turned out, 2011 was more like Groundhog Day.
Previous Corporate Scorecard coverage :: 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008
THE FEATURES
| THE CHARTS BY CATEGORY | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPOs & EQUITIES | MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS | PRIVATE EQUITY |
| PROJECT FINANCE | CORPORATE DEBT | SECURITIES |
| MUNICIPAL BONDS | REITs | BANKRUPTCY |
