MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., March 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MergerLinks, a leading online platform used by finance professionals to source deal information, promote credentials, and discreetly identify and connect with capital transactions clients and partners, has published its 2025 list of top investment bankers and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lawyers across EMEA, North America and APAC. The rankings, which cover over 356,000 total M&A dealmakers, highlight individual advisers who led the highest value and most strategically significant transactions during the year, based on independently verified deal data.
MergerLinks is part of the leading AI-native private market intelligence company, Grata, a business unit of Datasite, the global SaaS provider of AI-powered workflow collaboration and automation solutions for M&A, investment, and strategic projects.
Top Investment Bankers - EMEA and North America
The 2025 MergerLinks EMEA rankings reflect a year defined by complex cross border activity, sponsored transactions and strategic consolidations across Europe, while dealmaking in North America was driven by transformational transactions across technology, healthcare and consumer sectors. Leading the EMEA rankings is Anthony Zammit of Morgan Stanley, who advised on transactions totaling £35 billion, followed closely by Vincent Le Stradic of Lazard, with £31 billion in deal value. Jeffrey Hogan of Wells Fargo ranked as the top investment banker in North America, leading deals worth £116 billion ($154 billion) in 2025, followed by Gary Posternack of Barclays, with deals valued at £113 billion ($151 billion), and Steve Barron of Bank of America, advising on transactions worth £94 billion ($126 billion) in announced value.
Top M&A Lawyers - EMEA and North America
Filippo Modulo of Chiomenti ranked as the leading M&A lawyer in EMEA, advising on deals totaling £31 billion in 2025. He was followed by Paolo Sersale of Clifford Chance, advising on transactions worth £22 billion, and Giuseppe Scassellati-Sforzolini of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, with deals valued at £20 billion. Edward D. Herlihy of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz led the North American rankings, advising on £185 billion ($246 billion) of transactions in 2025. He was followed by Andrew Nussbaum of the same firm, who advised on £183 billion ($243 billion) in deal value.
Regional Highlights: Top Investment Bankers
| Region or Country | Individual | Firm | Deal Value Led (2025) |
| DACH | Johannes Hermanns | Deutsche Bank | £17 billion |
| France | Vincent Le Stradic | Lazard | £31 billion |
| Spain | Olaf Diaz-Pintado | Goldman Sachs | £25 billion |
| United Kingdom | Anthony Zammit | Morgan Stanley | £37 billion |
Regional Highlights: Top M&A Lawyers
| Region or Country | Individual | Firm | Deal Value Led (2025) |
| DACH | Christian Vogel | Clifford Chance | £22 billion |
| France | David Aknin | Weil Gotshal and Manges | £12 billion |
| Spain | Jose Armando Albarran | Freshfields | £16 billion |
| United Kingdom | Samuel Newhouse | Latham & Watkins | £54 billion |
Insights from Grata Leadership:
"These rankings highlight how success in modern dealmaking is driven by insight, access, and credibility," said Nevin Raj, General Manager of Grata. "With MergerLinks showcasing proven dealmakers and Grata enabling deep market screening and sourcing, we're bringing together the data, intelligence, and credentials that advisers need to originate smarter deals and build trusted relationships across the private markets."
Insights from Datasite Leadership:
"Dealmaking is faster and more complex than ever, and advisers shouldn't have to stitch together information from disconnected tools," said Merlin Piscitelli, Chief Marketing Officer at Datasite. "By bringing together Grata's market intelligence, MergerLinks' verified dealmaker credentials, and Datasite's AI-powered workflows, we've created an end-to-end ecosystem where dealmakers can seamlessly screen opportunities, source targets, and execute due diligence with confidence."
Ranking Criteria and Methodology
- League tables are based upon either cumulative deal value (GBPm) or number of transactions in a specified period. Cumulative transaction values and volumes are based off the announcement date.
- When the deal value of the eligible transactions is not disclosed advisors receive volume credit.
- Deals with disclosed or probable deal value of GBP100m or more are taken into consideration. If deal value has not been officially disclosed, revenue or asset thresholds can be used to determine qualifying deals.
- League tables include dealmakers leading the transaction. Leadership is defined based on documentation or adviser's submission with regards to its own team.
About Datasite
Datasite is a global SaaS provider of AI-powered workflow collaboration and automation solutions for M&A, investment, and strategic projects. Datasite's innovative products drive execution, while generating unique data insights to empower knowledge workers around the world to succeed across the entire project lifecycle. For more information, visit www.datasite.com
About Grata
Grata is a leading AI-native private market intelligence and dealmaking company. Grata provides full market visibility with the most comprehensive, accurate, and searchable data on private companies. For more information, visit www.grata.com
CONTACT:
Laura Powers
Datasite
212-367-6168
Laura.powers@datasite.com
Nicholas Koulermos
5W Public Relations
646-843-1812
Datasite@5WPR.com
