Goldman (GS) Plunges in M&A Ratings

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) plunged to 10th place in M&A rating in the quarter, missing out on the two mega deals which made the difference between now and its second place finish in the last quarter.

Goldman (GS), advised on $71 billion worth of U.S. deals in the first quarter, far less than JPMorgan Chase & Co's (NYSE:JPM) chart-topping $170 billion, and even beneath much smaller banks such as Rothschild, Evercore Partners Inc (NYSE:EVR) and Lazard Ltd (NYSE:LAZ).

It is Goldman's lowest quarterly ranking since Thomson Reuters began tracking U.S. M&A deals in 1990. The drop is mainly because the firm did not advise on two mega deals: AT&T Inc's (NYSE:T) $39 billion deal for T-Mobile USA and the $59 billion restructuring of insurer American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG).

"The numbers are an example of the lumpiness of the business, particularly when you get the mega-deals," said Michael Holland, chairman of New York-based money manager Holland & Co.

Goldman closed Thursday at $159.91, gaining $0.38, or 0.24 percent.




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