Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom tops consumer M&A law-firm ranking

Core Insights - Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Kirkland & Ellis lead the M&A advisory rankings in the consumer sector for the first nine months of the year, with Skadden topping the value of transactions and Kirkland advising on the most deals [1][3]. Group 1: Transaction Value - Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised on deals worth a cumulative $31.1 billion in the consumer sector [2]. - A&O Shearman ranked second in transaction value, advising on $23.48 billion worth of deals [4]. - Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Stibbe both ranked third, with a combined deal value of $23.1 billion [4]. Group 2: Deal Volume - Kirkland & Ellis advised on 23 transactions, leading in deal volume [2]. - Latham & Watkins ranked second in deal volume with 14 transactions [4]. - Baker McKenzie followed with 12 transactions, while A&O Shearman and CMS both advised on 11 [4]. Group 3: Year-on-Year Performance - Skadden's ranking by value improved from third position in Q1 to Q3 of 2024, despite a year-on-year drop in total deal value during Q1-Q3 2025 [3]. - The firm maintained a significant lead over peers in terms of value due to several large deals [3]. Group 4: Data Source and Methodology - GlobalData's league tables are based on real-time tracking of company and advisory firm websites, with a team of analysts gathering detailed information on each deal [5]. - The data is further validated through submissions from leading advisers to ensure robustness [5].