2024 M&A Market Sees $3.2T Deal Value Surge Despite 14% Drop in Volume

The league table data from Statista and corroborated by London Stock Exchange Group-sourced metrics indicate a reshaping of the global M&A advisory landscape in 2024. Although overall deal value improved after weaker recent years, volume declined—suggesting that while fewer deals are closing, more of them are large or mega-transactions. This dynamic benefits firms with capacity in mega-deal execution.

Kirkland & Ellis’ dominance among legal advisers by value and volume demonstrates how an elite firm with broad global reach can leverage megadeals (≥ US$10 billion) to surpass competitors that do more deals in number but less in scale or value. Skadden’s rise to second (from fifth in 2023) reflects strategic wins in larger deals despite lower deal count. Latham & Watkins’ slight fall in rank despite high deal volume further emphasizes how value weight is shifting toward headline transactions.

On the financial adviser side, Goldman Sachs remains at the top globally (2019-2024), but JP Morgan made significant gains in 2024—advising on large value transactions that helped narrow fee income disparities. Boutique/advisory firms are increasingly visible, especially in sectors such as financial services and technology, where specialization and ability to handle regulatory complexity are increasingly rewarded.

Regionally, U.S. deals continue to account for almost half of the global deal value (45 %) while European-target deals and Asia-Pacific continue to lag behind or grow modestly. Non-U.S. legal firms like Freshfields are present in upper rankings, but there is still a strong U.S. bias in the top legal advisory firms. Also, sectors like technology and financial services are driving deal value growth, while smaller deals (< US$500 million) are declining.

Strategic implications: For investment banks and law firms, winning a few mega-deals has outsized impact; scale and sector specialization matter more than sheer deal count. Clients likely are increasingly selecting advisors with proven track records in handling high-stakes transactions. Non-U.S. firms must build cross-border capacity to break U.S. strongholds. Finally, dealmakers should expect regulatory, geopolitical, or financing headwinds to create volatility—risk and opportunity coexist in shifts toward consolidation and mega-transactions.

Open questions: What cyclicality should be expected in deal value vs volume? Will legal-financial advisory alignment shift (e.g., will boutique legal firms grow in value share)? How will regulatory changes in antitrust or cross-border politics affect mega-deals? And to what extent resource constraints (capital, legal/regulatory bandwidth) will limit smaller advisors from scaling?