In Australia, which Mergermarket reports was hit by falling commodity prices, there was a 22.3 per cent fall from last year. This was the biggest year-on-year decline of any country in the region.

The law firm jumped from a ranking of fourth last year, to first this year, based on value of deals in the Asia Pacific, excluding Japan. The firm did 35 deals advising in the Asia Pacific, worth $9.2bn.

Baker & McKenzie did 30 deals worth $13.6bn, and the firm slipped marginally from first to second place on the tables in the past year.

Freehills stayed at third place based on deal count, with 25 deals worth $9.9bn.

Clifford Chance was in fourth place on the tables, up from seventh place, with 24 deals worth $7.6bn.

Following behind, in order of deal count, were Kim & Change, Allen & Overy, the law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co, followed by Gilbert + Tobin and then Linklaters.

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Mergermarket reported that Asia-Pacific M&A for the first half of 2012 saw total deal value come in at US$ 140.1bn, 15.1 per cent off H1 2011’s total (US$ 165bn).

Asia-Pacific’s Q2 2012 total deal value of US$ 71.1bn was up 3 per cent on Q1 2012 (US$ 68.3bn), as it just about bucked a trend of two consecutive quarters of decline that started back in Q3 2011.

But this didn’t stop it from being the region’s second-lowest quarterly total since Q2 2010 (US$ 71bn). 


Fortunes varied across the region but most headed south.

Asian investment (including Japan) into Europe, an oft-cited M&A trend recently, actually fell in Q2 2012; at US$ 13.3bn this was 9.1 per cent down on Q1 2012 (US$ 14.6bn). Although H1 2012 M&A into Eu- rope was at US$ 27.9bn, down 31 per cent on H1 2011 (US$ 40.5bn), this was still the third-highest half-year total in eight years. 


Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom topped the Asia-Pacific legal advisers table by deal value, up from its H1 2011 finish of seventh.