Morgan Stanley On Top

Morgan Stanley advised on 33 deals during the period with a value of $41.73bn. The investment bank was sixth in the table this time last year. Having said that, much of the improvement was down to one deal - the bank's involvement in France Telecom's re-purchase of shares worth $10.6bn.

Goldman rose from third last year to second. Merrill rose from ninth to third. Last year's table-topper, Lazards, fell to twelth.

European M & A activity was affected by the downturn in the global economy and corporate governance worries sparked by the collapse of the Enron Corporation. Deal volumes fell from $182.9bn a year ago to $114.5bn this time out.

Bankers do, however, remain confident that the market will pick up during the rest of the year as bank credit will dry up and leave some industrial sectors short of cash and vulnerable to a bid or merger.