Herbert Smith Freehills tops M&A league tables for Q1 2024

Herbert Smith Freehills has retained its status as the leading legal adviser in Australian mergers and acquisitions, topping three different M&A league tables for Q1 2024.

The firm ranked:

• 1st by deal value and 1st by deal volume (Announced) and 1st by deal volume (Completed) – AUS/NZ (Refinitiv)
• 1st by deal value and 1st by deal volume – Australasia (Mergermarket)
• 1st by deal value and 1st by deal count – AUS/NZ (Bloomberg)

In Q1 2024, Herbert Smith Freehills advised on many of the biggest deals of the quarter, including:

• CSR Limited on its A$4.3 billion acquisition by Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA
• Red 5 Ltd on its A$1 billion merger with Silver Lake Resources
• South32 on the sale of Illawarra Metallurgical Coal for up to US$1.65 billion

The firm also topped the league tables for APAC, ranking:

• 1st by deal value and 1st by deal count – APAC Ex Japan Announced (Bloomberg)
• 1st by deal value and 3rd by deal volume in Any Asia Pacific Involvement Announced (Refinitiv)

This follows the team’s success in the M&A league tables last year, after it acted on more Australian deals than any other firm during the 2023 calendar year.