Apr 24, 2019

How M&A advisers stacked up in the first quarter

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Data: GlobalData Financial Deals Database; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Half of the top investment banks advised on fewer deals in the first quarter than the prior year period, but the deals were bigger.

The big picture: Research from analytics firm GlobalData shows the usual suspects again topped the list of advisers on the biggest M&A deals in the first quarter, but it was their participation in just 2 deals that made the difference: Bristol-Myers Squibb's purchase of Celgene, and Saudia Aramco's deal to acquire a majority stake in Saudi petrochemical company SABIC.

  • JP Morgan, Evercore, Morgan Stanley and Citi advised on the Bristol-Celgene deal, while Citi, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley advised the Saudi-SABIC deal.

Between the lines: Advisers typically pocket M&A advisory fees that are based on the total transaction value.

  • These fees aren't reflected in the banks' Q1 results since the deals haven't closed yet. But M&A advisory fees for Goldman Sachs, for example, helped offset sluggish trading revenues.

Go deeper: In 2019's M&A market, less is more

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Axios
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3 dead and thousands evacuated as Northern California fires explode

A building at the Meadowood Napa Valley luxury resort burns after the Glass Fire moved through the area on September 28, 2020 in St. Helena, California. Photo: by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Three people have died in a wildfire in Northern California and tens of thousands were evacuated across the state, as firefighters contended with strong winds and dry conditions that saw blazes explode across the state on Monday.

Driving the news: Shasta County Sheriff Eric Magrini confirmed the deaths occurred as the Zogg Fire spread across 15,000 acres, forcing the evacuation of 1,200 people. More than for 5o,000 people, per AP.

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Axios
Updated 51 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 33,273,720 — Total deaths: 1,000,555 — Total recoveries: 23,056,480 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 7,147,241 — Total deaths: 205,031 — Total recoveries: 2,794,608 — Total tests: 102,342,416 — Map.
  3. Business: Companies are still holding back earnings guidance.
  4. Health: Trump announces plan to distribute 150 million rapid tests —The childless vaccine.
  5. Media: Fauci: Some of what Fox News reports about COVID-19 is "outlandish"
  6. States: Cuomo extends New York moratorium on evictions until 2021.
  7. World: More than 1 million people have now died from coronavirus — India the second country after U.S. to hit 6 million cases.
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Dave Lawler, author of World
1 hour ago - World

Global coronavirus death toll crosses 1 million

Data: Our World in Data; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios

The global toll of confirmed deaths from COVID-19 crossed 1 million on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins.

By the numbers: More than half of those deaths have come in four countries: the U.S. (204,762), Brazil (141,741), India (95,542) and Mexico (76,430). The true global death toll is likely far higher.

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