SVC Tops U.S. League Tables; Ranks #1 in Asia and #1 in Japan by Deal Volume

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New data released by Mergermarket shows that Sard Verbinnen & Co (“SVC”) leads the M&A league tables in the first half of 2017 as the top strategic communications firm globally measured by both deal value and volume. In addition to topping U.S. league tables, SVC was ranked number one in deal volume in both the Asia (ex-Japan) and Japan markets.

According to Mergermarket, SVC advised on 113 transactions globally during the first half of 2017, up from 91 over the year ago period. The 113 transactions were valued at more than US$200 billion. In Asia, excluding Japan, SVC advised on 17 transactions valued at nearly US$12 billion. In Japan, the firm advised on seven deals valued at over US$3.4 billion.

Recent high-profile Asia assignments for SVC include Ant Financial’s pending acquisition of MoneyGram, Didi Chuxing’s US$5.5 billion financing round, Samsung’s acquisition of HARMAN and the first closing of SoftBank’s US$100 billion Vision Fund.

Earlier this year, SVC opened its first office in Asia located in Central, Hong Kong and named Rick Carew and Ron Low co-heads. Rick Carew was formerly the Wall Street Journal’s Asia Finance and Deals Editor and Ron Low is a long-time Silicon Valley-based partner who has relocated to Hong Kong.

“SVC has a strong track record of supporting clients across Asia for many years, and with our new Hong Kong presence, we expect to be able to provide even more value to clients, investment banks and law firms looking for sophisticated, high-impact communications counsel to help their transactions succeed,” said Low and Carew.

SVC has a strong client base in Asia, including SoftBank, Alibaba Group, Didi Chuxing, Nikon, HNA Group, Grab and KKR, among others. In addition to its work supporting M&A, SVC provides clients unparalleled support in managing their most complex situations, including corporate governance, crisis communications, investor relations, cybersecurity and litigation support.

About SVC

SVC is a leading international strategic communications consultancy known for its successful work on many of the highest profile and most challenging communications engagements across all industries. For nearly 25 years, SVC has consistently ranked among the top M&A communications advisory firms. For the first half of 2017, SVC was ranked as the #1 M&A advisory firm globally by both deal volume and value according to Mergermarket. Recognized by Bloomberg BusinessWeek as “Wall Street’s go to crisis firm,” SVC's crisis practice also spans major global product recalls, including Takata's air bag recall, the largest product recall in history, cyber breaches, environmental and regulatory challenges, litigation support and more. SVC’s capabilities include media and investor relations, research and market intelligence, governance advisory, as well as video, social media and digital marketing. The firm has full-service offices in New York, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and London. For more information, visit www.sardverb.com.