Thomson Reuters, which is amongst the world’s leading sources of information for businesses and professionals has published their quarterly report titled ‘Emerging Markets M&A’ on legal advisors. The report ranks law firms on the basis of their involvement in M&A transactions across emerging markets including India.

In transactions with an Indian element, AZB & Partners leads the rankings, both in terms of M&A deals ‘closed’ and also in terms of M&A deals ‘announced’ during the first quarter of this year. According to the report, AZB was the legal advisor on 15 completed deals valued at a total of $1.2billion (Rs.5,988 crore) and it is currently acting as the legal advisor on 26 deals valued at $13.2 billion (Rs.62,024 crore). The other law firms in the top 5, in terms of deals closed include Singapore-based Wong Partnership and Rajah & Tann, which are ranked 2 and 3, respectively, followed by Khaitan & Co., and Crawford Bayley. In terms of deals announced, AZB is followed by UK based firms Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Herbert Smith and Singapore-based Wong Partnership and Rajah & Tann.

Interestingly, both categories feature a large number of foreign law firms. Of the 19 firms that are listed in the deals ‘closed’ category, 14 are foreign firms with only 5 Indian firms making the list. Also notable is the fact that the list does not name a number of leading Indian law firms including Amarchand, Trilegal and J. Sagar Associates. Indus G&D Law breaks into the rankings at 15, while Luthra has dropped five ranks from last year and currently ranks eleventh. 24 law firms are listed in the deals ‘announced’ category. The Indian law firms listed are primarily the same with the exception of Amarchand which is ranked 21^st (tied). The other notable Indian law firms in this list include Crawford Bayley at 7 (tied), Khaitan at 13, Luthra at 15 and Indus G&D at 16 (tied). Again, foreign law firms comprise nearly 75 percent of the 24 firms listed under this category.

In terms of deals, Bharti Airtel’s, Zain and Warid Telecom, Shree Renuka Sugar - Equipav, Hitachi Construction - Telco, Fortis Healthcare - Parkway Holdings and Investor Group‘s, Venezuela-Carabobo and 21^st Century Infra were some of the prominent M&A transactions featured in the report.

In addition to India, the report focuses on the Latin American, Brazilian, Middle Eastern & North African, South African, Eastern European, Asia Pacific and Chinese markets. The report quantifies the M&A activity in these emerging markets between January and March this year at $ 182.8 billion (Rs.8,575 crore), marking a whopping 107.2 percent increase compared to the first quarter of ’09 and the highest in volume since the second quarter of 2008.

It is relevant to highlight that the Reuters rankings are based on ‘value of deals closed/announced’, which at times may not be the only factor to be considered while determining pedigree and experience of a law firm. Moreover, the performance during a quarter may not always be reflective of the financial year.

The complete report is available here.