NEW YORK, April 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Morgan Stanley led the way in mergers and acquisitions during 2017's first quarter, while total deals announced increased a slight 4.3% from 2016's fourth quarter, according to The Deal, a business unit of TheStreet, Inc., (NASDAQ: TST). U.S. transactions also climbed 11% on a year-over-year basis when compared with first-quarter 2016, while financial-services companies accounted for 6% of the transactions.

"The first quarter was a solid one for M&A, reflecting growing confidence in the strength of the U.S. economy and faith among corporate dealmakers that a new administration will deliver, whether sooner or later, on pro-business regulations," said James Langford, Wall Street editor of The Deal.

The Deal compiled its exclusive ranking by analyzing material from its database, which covers top investment banks, law firms, PR advisers, proxy solicitors and Delaware law firms that are engaged in mergers and acquisitions. Data collected capture advisers to target/seller and acquirer/bidder companies involving transactions announced between January 1 and March 31, 2017.

Highlights include:

• Top-ranked Morgan Stanley announced 33 deals in the first quarter compared to 35 during 2016's fourth period. It represented sellers in 20 of the latest deals.
• Goldman, Sachs & Co. was second with 25 deals, in 10 of which it represented buyers. Barclays Capital and Citigroup Inc. tied for third with 21 deals each.
• Among law firms, Kirkland & Ellis LLP was the top counsel to companies, with 31 deals. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP was second with 26 deals. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP ranked third with 20 deals.
• Among Delaware firms, Richards, Layton & Finger PA came in first with seven deals. Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP was second with four deals. Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP ranked third with three.
• Among PR firms, Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher was first with 22 transactions, in 13 of which it represented sellers. Sard Verbinnen & Co. recorded 20 transactions, in 10 of which it represented sellers. Brunswick Group LLP ranked third with nine transactions.
• Among proxy solicitors, Innisfree M&A Inc. was involved in nine deals. D.F. King & Co. came in second with eight deals. MacKenzie Partners Inc. came in third with four deals.

The full article is available online. For more information about The Deal's M&A coverage, go to www.thedeal.com.

About The Deal's M&A League Tables
Rankings include the names of lead M&A and/or corporate partners at law firms that represented principals and investment advisers. Only deals involving a change of control at a target company with a market value of $100 million or more are included, and only when a key party involved is a U.S. company. Unless the target is a recognized stand-alone operating business, rankings will not include asset sales, unit sales, sales of subsidiaries, spin-offs or joint ventures. Deals with undisclosed transactions values are not eligible. The Deal's M&A League Tables, which come out each quarter, are cumulative across the year.

About The Deal 
The Deal (www.thedeal.com) provides actionable, intraday coverage of mergers, acquisitions and all other changes in corporate control to institutional investors, private equity, hedge funds and the firms that serve them. The Deal is a business unit of TheStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: TST, www.t.st), a leading financial news and information provider. Other business units include TheStreet (www.thestreet.com), which is celebrating its 20^th year of producing unbiased business news and market analysis; BoardEx (www.boardex.com), the leading relationship mapping service of corporate directors and officers; and RateWatch (www.rate-watch.com) which supplies rate and fee data from banks and credit unions across the U.S.

Contact: Jon Kostakopoulos, 212-321-5561, Jon.Kostakopoulos at thestreet.com

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