Goldman reigns supreme in record M&A year

WASHINGTON: As iconic brands are snapped up and corporations merged and swallowed in a record-breaking whirl of deals, there has been one constant: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Wall Street firm is once again top dog in the global M&A rankings, having advised on transactions worth close to $1.7 trillion this year, more than the annual economic output of Australia, including Friday's $130 billion tie-up between U.S. chemical giants DuPont and Dow Chemical Co.

Goldman's No 1 status comes despite the bank having lost several veteran bankers this year, including Gordon Dyal, its former M&A chief and Jack Levy, one of four global co-chairmen of M&A, and reflects the enduring success of its partnership model, 15 years after the company went public.  Becoming a partner at Goldman Sachs is still one of the most coveted promotions on Wall Street, and those who make the cut represent a powerful network of well-connected dealmakers.  The partnership, along with the bank's commitment to remaining a full-service investment bank despite post-crisis rules that make it more difficult to trade, have given it an edge over rivals such as Morgan Stanley, which has a strong emphasis on wealth management.

"Goldman is still run as a partnership, and delivers the entire firm," said Brad Hintz, a former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc chief financial officer and financial analyst who is now a business professor at the NYU Stern School of Business.