PLMJ leads in advising on mergers & acquisitions and privatisations in the Portuguese market in 2013 according to Mergermarket

PLMJ has been recognised by the most important directories and market research companies for its work in the area of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). One example of this is the firm’s position in the ranking by Mergermarket, an international Thompson Reuters agency that specialises in research into M&A operations.

According to the ranking by Mergermarket, which carries out research and analysis of the legal information relating to mergers & acquisitions, PLMJ merits a high ranking in the selection of the top 15 firms advising on M&A operations on the Iberian Peninsula in 2013 by the number of transactions advised on. Mergermarket selected 11 M&A operations handled by PLMJ, together worth a total of USD 1 670 million. PLMJ is the only Portuguese law firm to appear on the ranking, where it is in 12^th place above global giants such as Hogan Lovells and Allen & Overy. For PLMJ, this represents a jump of nine places from its position in the 2012 ranking.

To achieve these results, and in line with the trend in Europe, most of the operations that contributed to this positions were mergers in the area of TMT – technology, media and telecoms, which grew by 97%. 2013 was, in fact, a very intense year for PLMJ, which was involved in advising on all the most important merger and privatisation operations taking place in Portugal, including as highlights: Zon Optimus, BPN, EDP, REN, CTT and Caixa Seguros.

For Jorge Brito Pereira, the partner who heads PLMJ's corporate / M&A practice, “these results reflect growing interest in the Portuguese market from a number of international players in 2013. This opens the way to a greater number of M&A operations in the coming years and has allowed PLMJ to grow rapidly in this market and to earn the trust of its clients”.