Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas top legal firm for deals in H1 2016

MUMBAI: Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas was the top legal advisory firm in the country in the first half of 2016, managing deals worth $6,228 million, a report said.

It was at the 13th spot in the same period a year ago, according to global deal tracking firm Mergermarket.

The firm was followed by AZB & Partners, which handled transactions worth $4,486 million, for January-June 2016. It was in the third place for the same period a year ago.

Vaish Associates ($2,460 million), Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co ($1,920 million), Khaitan and Co ($1,832 million) also figured in the list of top five legal firms in terms of deal value during the first six months of the year.

Meanwhile, AZB & Partners was listed on the top for handling the most number of deals (25) during the first six months of the current year.

Khaitan and Co with 24 deals was ranked second, followed by Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (17), Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (16) and Trilegal (12).

According to Mergermarket, an uncertain environment in 2016 caused by the UK's referendum on European Union (EU) membership and US elections have negatively impacted M&A activity globally.

M&As dropped 26.6 per cent during first half 2016 with deals worth $1.32 trillion compared to $1.81 trillion in the same period a year ago.