BRAZIL: Pharma deals on the upswing
Transactions involving pharmaceutical companies are on the rise in Brazil, with a 66.7% jump in deal volume in the January-May, 2015 period compared with the same five months in 2014. International investors have increased their share of deals in the segment, meanwhile, with 70% of acquisitions year-to-date led by foreign buyers compared to 50% between January and May, 2014.
MEXICO: Venture capital investment grows
Investment led by venture capital firms has grown by a whopping 685.2% in the first five months of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, according to TTR data. The combined value of venture capital transactions between January and the end of May this year was USD 34.63m compared to USD 4.41m for the same period of 2014. 
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Rankings / League Tables
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Latin America Ranking – 2015
Financial Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)
Banco BTG Pactual leads TTR’s Latin America financial advisory ranking by deal volume for the first five months of 2015, up from its second-place position at the same time last year, with 12 transactions worth just over USD 10bn combined. Banco Santander follows with nine transactions worth nearly USD 6bn, compared to its seven deals worth USD 657m at the end of May, 2014. The top two nudged last year’s leader, Banco Itaú BBA, to third place in the ranking, with its eight deals worth a combined USD 5.2bn. Banco Bradesco comes in at a solid fourth in the five-month ranking, advising on five deals worth more than USD 9bn, up from the number six spot with USD 3.55bn in transactions at this point last year. Pulling up the rear of the top-10 at the end of May, Deutsche Bank’s three deals are worth USD 10bn in aggregate, putting it only slightly behind the leading bank in Latin America by combined value. The German bank fell five spots in the ranking by volume, only to more than double its combined deal value from its six transactions worth a respectable USD 3.6bn at the close of May, 2014.
Legal Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)
Jones Day holds a wide lead in TTR’s Latin America legal advisory ranking with 15 deals worth a combined USD 2.4bn, nearly doubling its eight deals at the end of May last year, which had put it in second place behind Baker & McKenzie. Baker & McKenzie then had 15 deals worth USD 1.7bn; now it has advised on five worth USD 653m. Baker & McKenzie is tied with Holland & Knight in second place by volume, the latter falling to third only on account of the firm’s lower combined deal value of USD 295m. Sullivan & Cromwell, fourth in the chart by volume with four deals, leads by combined value of USD 4.78bn. Sullivan was absent from the top-10 at this point in 2014, as was Holland & Knight.
Brazil Ranking – 2015
Financial Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)
With Brazilian banks dominating the leading positions of TTR’s Latin America financial advisory chart, the corresponding Brazil ranking looks much the same in the top slots. BTG Pactual, which leads in Brazil by deal volume and aggregate value with eight transactions worth USD 9.8bn, has overtaken Banco Itaú, and thus swapped positions with its rival, compared to this time last year. Banco Santander has fallen to eighth with three deals worth just under USD 4bn, relinquishing its third place position at this time last year to Banco Bradesco BBI, which has advised on five deals worth more than USD 9bn YTD in 2015. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is jostling with the local heavyweights at fourth with five deals worth USD 1.85bn after not placing among the top-10 in the January-May period of 2014. PwC has advanced from eighth at the end of May last year, to place fifth advising on four deals worth USD 60.24m combined in the first five months of 2015. The trailing five in the top-10 chart all had three deals under their belts, and were accordingly weighted by aggregate deal value, a battle easily won by Rothschild and its USD 8.67bn in combined transactions.
Legal Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)
Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados leads the pack of law firms vying for supremacy in TTR’s Brazil legal advisory ranking at the close of May, 2015, with 18 deals worth an impressive 11bn. Mattos Filho had advised on 17 deals with combined value of USD 6.24bn in January-to-May, 2014. Demarest ranks second with 16 transactions together worth USD 2.43bn, up from eighth in the corresponding period last year when it had advised on 11 deals worth USD 1.53bn. Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados rounds out the top-three with 15 deals worth USD 3.34bn combined, up from sixth at this time last year when it’d advised on 13 transactions worth USD 748m. Barbosa Müsnich Aragão wasn’t among the top-10 firms ranked by deal volume at the end of May last year, and now ranks fourth with 13 transactions worth USD 10.5bn. At fifth, Souza, Cescon, Barrieu & Flesch Advogados also advised on 13 deals, worth a combined USD 4.3bn, slightly outdone by Lefosse Advogados by value, which ranked tenth by volume with five deals worth USD 4.78bn in aggregate.
Mexico Ranking – 2015
Financial Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)
Banco Santander inched to the top of TTR’s Mexico financial advisory ranking at the close of May, advising on three transactions worth a combined USD 864m in the first five months of the year. Pablo Rión y Asociados tied the leader by deal volume with its three deals worth USD 34m combined. Pablo Rión is followed by BBVA, with two transactions worth USD 672m. Vace Partners also advised on two transactions, worth a combined USD 480m. None of the top-four firms by deal volume were among the top-10 ranking for the corresponding period in 2014. At fifth by volume, Deutsche Bank leads the pack by deal value with its sole transaction worth USD 2.55bn. At the close of May, 2014, Deutsche Bank ranked seventh with a single transaction under its belt in Mexico, worth USD 143m.
Legal Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)
Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez holds a comfortable lead at the top of TTR’s Mexico legal advisory ranking at the close of May, having advised on 13 transactions worth a combined USD 2.7bn. It also topped the chart at the close of May, 2014, when it had advised on 11 deals worth USD 815m for the first five months of the year. Galicia Abogados rose from seventh with two deals worth USD 750m, to second, with eight transactions worth a combined USD 5.32bn, over the same period, bumping Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes, to the number three slot from second in the January to May period last year, with eight deals, worth USD 1.71bn. Jones Day México follows in fourth place with six deals worth USD 2.17bn, ahead of Holland & Knight Mexico, with four transactions worth a combined USD 295m. Neither Jones Day nor Holland & Night placed among the top 10 for the first five months of 2014. Galicia leads the top-10 by combined deal value, followed by Nader Hayaux & Goebel Abogados, ranked sixth by volume with its three deals worth USD 3.34bn, and Santamarina y Steta Abogados, with three deals worth a combined USD 2.77bn.