Morgan Stanley clinched the top spot among financial advisers for the 20 largest private equity and venture capital transactions in 2022.

Financial adviser ranking

Morgan Stanley led the pack in the financial adviser ranking in 2022 with five deals totaling approximately $49 billion in transaction value. The firm advised a private equity consortium comprising KKR & Co. Inc., Global Infrastructure Management LLC and Tower Bridge Infrastructure Partners LP in their planned $17.56 billion takeover of an 81.7% stake in Vantage Towers AG from Vodafone Group PLC. It also advised Blackstone Inc. in its acquisition of diversified real estate investment trust PS Business Parks Inc.

BofA Securities Inc. secured the runner-up spot with $44.38 billion of deal credit in five deals, while Barclays Capital Inc. took the third position with five transactions valued at $44.26 billion.

Both BofA Securities and Barclays Capital served as financial advisers to an investor group comprising Brookfield Business Partners LP and Elliott Investment Management LP affiliate Evergreen Coast Capital Corp. in their purchase of Nielsen Holdings PLC for about $16 billion in cash, including debt.

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Legal adviser league

In the legal adviser ranking, Kirkland & Ellis LLP grabbed first place with $55.67 billion in credit across seven deals. It served as legal adviser to Thoma Bravo LP in its $10.4 billion takeover of Anaplan Inc., a San Francisco-based developer of a cloud-based connected planning platform. Kirkland & Ellis also provided legal advice to a consortium led by private equity firms Hellman & Friedman LLC and Permira Advisers Ltd. in their acquisition of software-as-a-service solutions platform Zendesk Inc. for nearly $10.2 billion.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP came in second with $37.37 billion in credit across five deals. Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP took the third spot with three deals totaling $30.64 billion.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as a legal adviser to Blackstone on its purchase of PS Business Parks and the private equity giant's planned acquisition of Resolution Life Group Holdings LP, a provider of life insurance services.

Weil Gotshal & Manges advised Advent International Corp. and British Columbia Investment Management Corp. on their planned purchase of aerospace and defense company Maxar Technologies Inc.