GlobalData’s latest league table named Kirkland & Ellis and A&O Shearman as the leading legal advisers for mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East and Africa in the first half of 2026, measured by deal value and deal count respectively.
Using its Financial Deals Database, GlobalData said Kirkland & Ellis ranked first by value, with advisory roles on transactions totalling $33.4bn.
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A&O Shearman was first by volume, working on eight deals.
In the value ranking, A&O Shearman was second with $8.2bn in advised deals.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was next with $6.2bn, followed by Meitars Law Offices with $5.9bn and Cravath Swaine & Moore with $4.7bn.
In terms of deal volume, White & Case was second with seven transactions.
Baker McKenzie advised on five deals, while Meitar Law Offices and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom were credited with four deals each.
GlobalData lead analyst Aurojyoti Bose commented: “The total number of deals advised by A&O Shearman doubled in H1 2026 compared to H1 2025 and its ranking by volume improved from sixth position to the top position.
“Meanwhile, the total number of deals advised by Kirkland & Ellis remained the same in H1 2025 and H1 2026, but the total deal value increased significantly, driven by its involvement in the $33.4bn deal for the acquisition of AES by a consortium of acquirers. Kirkland & Ellis went ahead from occupying the 21st position by value in H1 2025 to the top the chart by this metric in H1 2026.”
GlobalData’s league tables are based on the real-time tracking of thousands of company websites, advisory firm websites and other reliable sources available on the secondary domain. A dedicated team of analysts monitors all these sources to gather in-depth details for each deal, including adviser names.
To ensure further robustness to the data, the company also seeks submissions of deals from leading advisers.
