12/22/14 - With the end of the year approaching, IPO News Desk is
closing out 2014 with a review of leadership among IPO-active
law firms. We have run an analysis of year-to-date 2014 activity
to see which law firms are doing the most IPO work on a
“composite” basis - that is IPO assignments with respect to all
representations on which a firm worked this year (completed
IPOs, those in registration, and those which withdrew). Here are
the results.
Overall Law Firm Leadership:
With only a few weeks to go in the busiest year for
IPOs since 2000, Latham & Watkins is atop the
rankings, nearly doubling the total of nearest competitor
Cooley. This year, through December 10th, Latham has
113 assignments and Cooley has 59. The two law
firms are the only ones so far this year to top 50
representations, although both Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Meagher & Flom and Davis Polk & Wardwell
could reach the mark by year’s end. Skadden currently has 46
representations, with Davis Polk right behind at 45. The top
four law firms have accounted for 65% of 2014’s completed IPOs
through December 10th.
Latham also topped the
ranking last year. In an indication of what a strong year it has
been for IPOs, Latham’s industry-leading tally last December 10th
was 67 representations, 46 fewer than it has this year.
The fifth place law firm currently is Wilson, Sonsini,
Goodrich & Rosati with 33 representations, the majority
of which are for completed offerings. Goodwin Procter
is close behind Wilson Sonsini with 33 IPO representations. The
only other firm to reach 30 representations for the year is Vinson
& Elkins (30), although Simpson Thacher &
Bartlett is close (28).
In addition to leading
the overall rankings, Latham & Watkins claims the most completed
IPOs through December 10th with 73 IPOs brought to
market, as well as the most companies currently in registration
(31). Latham also finds itself atop the third ranking category -
registrations withdrawn. Its 10 withdrawals are twice as many as
Wilson Sonsini, the next closest firm. In terms of percentage of
composite deals worked on, 2014’s strong IPO market has seen
fewer withdrawals than previous years
Cooley, which ranks
second overall, also ranks second in completed IPOs. The overall
rankings also match the completed deal totals in third and
fourth places as Skadden has assisted on 37 IPOs and Davis Polk
has worked on 29 completed deals. Fifth place firm Wilson
Sonsini has had a nearly identical year to Goodwin Procter. Both
have worked on 22 IPOs and represent six companies in
registration, but Wilson Sonsini has one more RW to its credit.
After Latham’s 31 IPO filers, Davis Polk has the highest
number of companies currently in registration (14). With that
many registrations still active, the firm could make a move in
the 2014 rankings in the final weeks of the year. Vinson &
Elkins is either issuer’s counsel or underwriters’ counsel for
13 companies currently registered and waiting to go public, and
Cooley represents ten. Those are the only four law firms for
which the number of pending registrations is in double digits.
2014 Overall IPO Leadership
IPO Law
Firms
On a Combined Basis
With Ten or More Representations
(Issuer’s plus Underwriters’ Representations)
Ranked
by Composite Number of Representations
Activity Through
December 10, 2014
(no tie-breaking)
--equal credit for joint representations--
IPO
Vital Signs Subscribers see, IPO Vital Sign #160. IPO Counsel
(IPO Issuer’s Representations plus IPO Underwriters’ Mandates)
as well as
#1010. IPO Queue - IPO Counsel
(IPO Issuer’s plus IPO
Underwriters' Representations)
and
#1037. IPO Withdrawals - IPO Counsel
(IPO Issuer’s plus IPO
Underwriters' Representations)
Of Note: To date, 2014’s IPO
market is nearly 74% more active than last year’s. There were
144 firms with at least one IPO representation last year, and
160 so far this year. For each of the top six firms listed in
the table above, the number of IPO representations has risen
year-over-year, in some cases significantly. In two cases -
Vinson & Elkins and Simpson Thacher - IPO representations are
slightly down from this point last year. Vinson had assisted
with 17 completed IPOs as of December 10, 2013 and has 16 so far
this year. Similarly, Simpson Thacher dropped by one from 19
last year to 18 this year. In each case, however, the firms'
tally of companies in registration is up from last year which
has helped them improve their rankings in 2014.
Our
annual IPO Professional Rankings, to be published in January,
will cover completed IPO activity for law firms, investment
banks and auditors, so join us next month to see where each of
these law firms ends up.