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Lazard tops bankruptcy deals, global volume down Total value of deals in 2010 was down 6.2 per cent, at $350 billion. Lazard stayed on top despite having missed last year's biggest transaction
Lazard was the world's top bank for bankruptcy and restructuring in 2010, as debt turmoil in the Middle East and a sovereign debt crisis increased the workload for advisors in Europe. Worldwide, the total value of completed deals was down 6.2 percent to $305 billion in 2010, as a vibrant U.S. high-yield bond market helped firms manage their debt burden, Thomson Reuters data released on Tuesday showed. There was an increase in the number of debt restructuring deals in Europe, Africa and the Middle East -- where Lazard also came first -- compared to fewer transactions in the United States and Asia including Japan. But Lazard missed last year's biggest transaction, the $24.9 billion restructuring of state-owned conglomerate Dubai World, which was worked on by Rothschild, Moelis and Deloitte -- respectively 2nd, 3rd and 6th in the league table. The top five spots were dominated by smaller advisory firms. Large banks, which have their own in-house restructuring teams, are often hesitant to take on the work, which could pit them against their own clients if they are creditors. Rothschild was also at the forefront of one of the most sought-after advisory roles to emerge in 2010, after grabbing the mandate to work with the Irish government the year before. Some of the top investment banks such as Goldman Sachs have also been working in Ireland, advising on sovereign debt plans and the banking sector. DC Advisory Partners, formerly known as Close Brothers until it was bought by Japan's Daiwa Securities Capital Markets in 2009, struggled to keep its hold on a market that used to be one of its best-known franchises after losing a series of senior bankers in the last years. The firm tumbled to 19th from 7th place. But Close Brothers alumni dominate the restructuring market, many of whom now work at rival firms. They include Blackstone's top European restructuring banker Martin Gudgeon and his equivalents at Moelis, Matthew Prest and Stephen Aulsebrook.
