Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flomand Kirkland & Ellis topped two league tables devised by GlobalData after analysing the M&A that took place in the consumer sector in the first nine months of the year.
According to GlobalData, Just Drinks’ parent, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom headed the charts when measuring the value of transactions while Kirkland & Ellis advised on the most deals.
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom worked on deals in the consumer sector worth a cumulative $31.1bn. Kirkland & Ellis was appointed an adviser on 23 transactions.
Aurojyoti Bose, lead analyst at GlobalData, said: “Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom’s ranking by value improved from the third position during the Q1 to Q3 period in 2024. Despite registering a year-on-year drop in the total value of deals advised by it during Q1-Q3 2025, it stayed well ahead of its peers in terms of value due to some big-ticket deals.”
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was the legal advisor to Castillo Hermanos when it acquired SunnyD maker Harvest Hill Beverage Company from private-equity firm Brynwood Partners in April.
When measuring the value of deals, A&O Shearman ranked second, advising on $23.48bn worth of transactions.
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By GlobalDataTwo firms – Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Stibbe – stood third after both being contracted on deals worth a combined $23.1bn.
In terms of deal volume, Latham & Watkins ranked second after advising on 14 transactions during the first nine months of 2025. Baker McKenzie was third with 12, followed by A&O Shearman and CMS, which both advised on 11.
GlobalData’s league tables are based on the real-time tracking of thousands of company websites, advisory firm websites and other reliable sources. A team of analysts gathers in-depth details for each deal, including adviser names.
To ensure further robustness to the data, the company also seeks submissions of deals from leading advisers.
