The firm advised on 96 M&A deals in 2013, which was 21.8% of market share. The firm was also top of the legal advisors table for deal value in 2013. The value of the deals was R46.107bn.
"Being ranked first in the Dealmakers Deal Flow category for five years in a row is unprecedented," says Willem Jacobs, national head of the firm's Corporate and Commercial practice group. "During this period we have consistently advised on more than one in every five deals involving a listed company. This ranking, together with being top of the table in M&A deal value, reinforces our position as one of South Africa's leading business law firms."
Jacobs says that key sectors to watch for future M&A activity include private equity, mining and minerals, energy, oil and gas, infrastructure and hospitality and leisure. He said Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr was involved in a significant number of large deals throughout Africa in 2013.
DealMakers records every M&A deal or corporate finance transaction entered into by any South African listed company. Details include the date, asset, value and various tombstone parties supplying transactional services. The annual winners are ranked by total value and total number of transactions advised on during the year.
With more than 52 M&A lawyers in South Africa, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr has one of the largest M&A practices in South Africa. The firm's core M&A deal team also includes practitioners from other practice groups with experience in finance and banking, competition, tax, intellectual property, employee incentives, pension and real estate.
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr was also recently announced as South Africa's number one Large Law Firm for 2014 in the independent PMR Africa survey, a title the firm has held for eight years. In addition, the firm was voted as the number one law firm in Africa in the recent Legal Week Client Satisfaction Survey.
The firm, which is a member of the DLA Piper Africa Group, has to date been involved in many significant transactions in a range of sectors on the continent. Very often, the deals involve partnering with the other members of the DLA Piper Africa Group and working together for South African and international clients who benefit from in-depth local knowledge, South African specialist sector expertise and DLA Piper international expertise.
