Friday, August 27, 2010

For Big Firms, It’s Been Light in August

A wave of deals in what is typically a sleepy summer month is keeping bankers and analysts very busy. Yet the giants in M.&A. advisory work have seen their shares of the market slump in August, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Goldman Sachs, at the top of the league table for August with 27 global deals worth $97.7 billion, has had a decline of 6.9 percent in the dollar value of deals for the month, compared with the month a year ago, Thomson Reuters says. That came even amid a 28 percent increase in the number of deals on which Goldman advised.
Morgan Stanley — the second-leading adviser in August — has had a 17 percent drop-off from a year ago. JPMorgan Chase saw a decline of 2.2 percent, while Citigroup experienced a 16.9 percent fall .
Among the top banks, only Barclays Capital has enjoyed a pickup in deal activity, with a 3.3 percent gain from August 2009, enabling it to move up to seventh place in the league table for the month from 12th a year ago.
More but smaller deals, of course, mean more, but smaller fees for the investment banks. And the bulk of the advisory fees are typically not paid until the transaction closes, many months from now.
At that point, August will be just a fading summer memory.
Go to Related DealBook Column by Andrew Ross Sorkin »Go to Related Article from DealBook

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