Last December, the French media and telecom giant listed on the London Stock Exchange, following a spin-off from its parent company, Vivendi, ushering in an independent future to pursue its growth ambitions.

For Canal+, which generated $7.2 billion (about €6.4 billion) in revenue in 2024, Africa and Asia offer high-growth potentials. In Africa, the company is expanding its footprint by acquiring Multichoice Group, the continent’s largest pay TV enterprise.

South Africa’s Competition Commission has authorized the deal valued at $1.9 billion.

Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada called the deal “a major step forward in our ambition to create a global media and entertainment company with Africa at its heart.”

Its timing is ideal for Canal+, which controls a 45% stake in Multichoice and has become increasingly frustrated by the company’s decline.

Multichoice acknowledges facing the most challenging operating conditions in 40 years. At the top of the list is “abnormal currency weakness,” which slashed R7 billion (about $390 million) in profits from its books over the past 18 months. It has also lost close to 4 million subscribers, with the total number currently at 19.3 million in 50 markets.

Canal+ also plans to expand across Asia through its stake in Hong Kong-based Viu. Last June, it paid $300 million to increase its share to 36.8%, and is ultimately targeting 51%.

Canal+ is not the only company stirring the telecom market. In the US, cable providers Charter Communications and Cox Communications have agreed to merge in a deal valued at $34.5 billion. And AT&T has agreed to pay $5.7 billion to acquire Lumen Technologies’ mass market fiber business. In India, the impending listing of Reliance Jio, part of billionaire Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries empire, could raise $5.3 billion.

As of April 30, no foreign company may purchase and export ASM gold. The move follows the annulment of all licenses held by foreign trading firms. The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), a state entity created in March, will now oversee all buying, selling, and export of ASM gold.

“Goldbod will give us better control over our gold exports and help shore up our foreign exchange reserves,” said Ghana Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson.

The West African nation has long wanted to restructure and streamline ASM mining, which accounts for one-third of its gold production, generating $5 billion in 2024. The subsector employs 1 million people and supports 4.5 million indirectly. Cumulatively, Ghana raked in $11.6 billion in gold exports last year.

Despite its importance, chaos reigns. Illegal mining, locally known as “galamsey,” thrives on child labor and is responsible for rapid land degradation, deforestation, and health risks.

By centralizing trading, Ghana hopes to end a mindbogglingly large culture of smuggling. In 2022 alone, 60 tons of gold worth an estimated $1.2 billion was smuggled out of the country.

Suppressing illegal trade is expected to result in increased revenues, with the ripple effect boosting reserves and stabilizing the local currency, the cedi.

Against the backdrop of a thriving year for global stock markets and increased activity in the debt spectrum, Bank of America (BofA) Securities managed to catapult its global operations to capture an impressive 43% year-over-year jump in investment banking fees as of the fourth quarter of 2024.

The numbers were buoyed mainly by the bank’s three main areas of operations: North America, Latin America, and Europe, where the bank controlled a commanding 8.3%, 9%, and 4.4% of the total investment banking fees, respectively. As a result, the bank’s revenue for the full year jumped to nearly $5.5 billion, according to Dealogic data, representing around 6.2% of the global investment banking market.

BofA also scored big on M&A despite the somewhat subdued activity, serving as the lead financial adviser for the buy side in the $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines by Alaska Air, completed in September 2024. The bank also acted as the sole financial adviser for the buy side on Keurig Dr Pepper’s $990 billion acquisition of energy beverage company GHOST.            —Thomas Monteiro

Morgan Stanley solidified its status as the top global IPO bookrunner, leading the industry with over $7 billion in deal value across 65 IPOs, according to Dealogic. The firm guided several high-profile companies to successful public market debuts across diverse sectors.

Notable transactions included Scottsdale, Arizona-based aircraft maintenance services provider StandardAero’s $1.44 billion IPO in September, which priced above expectations; and Irvine, California-based Ingram Micro’s October IPO, which raised $409.2 million to support debt reduction. Morgan Stanley also played a critical role in Mexico City–based BBB Foods’ February IPO, helping raise $589 million. Morgan Stanley’s active involvement in Japan’s IPO landscape, which saw a 45% uptick compared to 2023, is also noteworthy. With Nomura, Morgan Stanley handled the IPO of Tokyo computer memory manufacturer Kioxia, which had an indicative market value of about 750 billion yen (about $5.1 billion). By consistently securing key mandates and driving strong market performances, Morgan Stanley reinforced its position as a dominant force in the investment banking and capital markets arena.          —Anthony Noto

Amid a year filled with ups and downs for emerging market economic activity, Itaú BBA leveraged its suite of offerings to help sustain the region’s long-term economic dynamism. As the broad nearshoring trend coincided with a pause in the ongoing cycles of interest rate cuts in the region, primarily due to rebounding inflation, securing the best deals took rare expe-rtise. Among the year’s top deals in emerging markets, Itaú BBA acted as the global coordinator for the $2.7 billion privatization of water and sanitation company Sabesp, the largest sanitation offering in Brazil’s history and the third-largest globally in 2024. The bank also managed Mallplaza’s $326 million capital increase, one of the region’s top follow-on offerings of the year. In M&A, Itaú BBA advised on the $300 million sale of 22 hotels in Brazil to BTG Pactual and on Cantu’s merger with GP Pneus, valued at about $139 million.      —TM

A fog of trepidation is spreading across most frontier economies. US President Donald Trump’s decisions to instigate tariff wars, tussle with the Federal Reserve over interest rates, and freeze foreign funding are bound to reverberate across most countries. While it’s hard to predict how damaging the impacts will be, companies in frontier markets must be creative in order to meet their financing needs.

KFH Capital remains dedicated to offering innovative capital solutions. Last year, the Kuwaiti company achieved a remarkable milestone, closing 22 transactions worth $24 billion. This was a significant increase from 12 transactions, valued at $7 billion, in 2023. A leading Islamic investment house, focused mainly on Arab countries, KFH Capital is a powerhouse in sukuk issuances. In 2024, it advised 16 clients, ranking high on the Bloomberg League Table. A differentiating edge for KFH Capital is innovation. Last year, it introduced the Wakala/Murabaha Sukuk structure, which is attracting interest from many sovereign wealth funds. —John Njiraini

With persistently high rates pressuring the ESG market, global sustainable-bond issuances remained nearly flat last year at about $1 trillion, according to Moody’s. The agency expects them to stay at about the same level in 2025. Despite this challenging backdrop, the Societe Generale (SocGen), the French giant and global leader in ESG, found growth in several markets outside the usual Europe-North America axis.

Among the bank’s main deals last year, in January it acted as a joint bookrunner for Chile’s record-breaking $1.7 billion social bond. Just one month later, in a similar offering, the bank served as joint bookrunner for Romania’s €2 billion (about $2.2 billion) green bond issue.

SocGen acted as a joint bookrunner on Mizuho Financial Group’s groundbreaking $1.3 billion green bond issuance in Japan. Again in the APAC region, the bank participated in the $1.5 billion green bond issued by Australia’s National Broadband Network. The bank was also a joint bookrunner on the French social welfare agency CADES’  landmark €4 billion social bond. —TM

Despite remaining wholly committed to sustaining vital infrastructure and business lines in Ukraine last year amid its ongoing war with Russia, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) did not lose sight of its commitment to supporting countries and businesses in their long-term sustainable-energy transition goals. With key participation on both fronts, the bank poured in a record-breaking $17.2 billion in 2024, a massive 26% year-on-year incerease.

As underlined by EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso, it was not solely in the numbers but also the quality that improved, with directed investments transforming the business outlook in places like Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan—as well as in Ukraine. “Demand for our unique business model of financing, combined with policy advice, grows with every year that passes,” Renaud-Basso said in January. Among the countries benefiting most from EBRD’s targeted investments, Kazakhstan received close to $1 billion in funds. The bank also deployed over €2 billion (about $2.16 billion) in Ukraine, mostly via private partnerships.        —TM

With more than $3.2 billion invested last year to boost its already excellent technological offering, BBVA kept pushing the investment banking envelope in both financial offerings and client-facing structure, with a laser-sharp focus on artificial intelligence. Among the Spanish giant’s main initiatives in the field was the purchase of 3,000 ChatGPT Enterprise licenses now being utilized to enhance customer assistance and offerings, particularly in legal queries and in-app improvements.

The Madrid-based bank rolled out digital infrastructure improvements, facilitating the onboarding of new clients and the day-to-day operation of its existing customer base. For the former, BBVA’s new end-to-end digital onboarding for business customers has driven around 30% of new customer acquisitions since launch. For the latter, the bank significantly improved its digital cash management capabilities, reducing customer costs by migrating over-the-counter branch transactions to electronic transactions that function seamlessly 24/7. —TM

In a year when Latin American markets proved more volatile than usual, BTG Pactual’s consistent efforts in expanding its first-class suite of offerings proved key to clients looking for opportunities to diversify. Given the growing performance disparity between Latin American and US markets, the São Paulo–based bank opened new offices in New York and Luxembourg, increasing the geographical reach of its offerings. Among Banco BTG Pactual’s new products was a US Treasury and corporate bond portfolio, directly traded in US dollars. The offering helps complement a broader strategy that provides customers with direct access to US equities in dollar terms. The bank also increased its cryptocurrency offering by listing its dollar-pegged BTG Dol stablecoin on the Crypto.com exchange. The move allows clients to trade BTG Dol directly with leading global cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum.  —TM

The GEM sector’s wave of M&A was driven by the race for resource security. Industry giants executed transformative deals, signaling strategic shifts toward renewables and integrated energy solutions.

One of the year’s largest transactions was Diamondback Energy’s $26 billion merger with Endeavor Energy Resources. Mineral resources also took center stage. Rio Tinto purchased miner Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion; lithium is considered vital for the electric-vehicle and battery-storage industries.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company finalized its acquisition of the major German chemical company Covestro for over $16 billion. Also in Europe, the Spanish multinational electric-utility company Iberdrola acquired an 88% stake in the UK’s Electricity North West for €2.5 billion (about $2.7 billion). The transaction supports Iberdrola’s focus on electricity grids as the continent increasingly prioritizes grid resilience and modernization.

In the TMT sector, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority approved a $19 billion merger between telecommunication companies Vodafone UK and Three UK, creating a mobile network provider with more than 27 million customers. In Italy, Telecom Italia sold its landline network to US fund KKR for €22 billion, with the Italian government acquiring a 16% stake in the network. In Australia, TPG Telecom sold its fiber-and fixed-network infrastructure assets to Vocus (owned by Macquarie Asset Management and superannuation-fund Aware Super) for A$5.25 billion ($3.3 billion).

Van Oostende expects banking consolidation to continue, as more countries look for “soft landings” thanks to lowering interest and inflation rates.            —Anthony Noto

In 2024, UBS showed strong net profit and high client activities. The Swiss giant’s underlying transaction-based income is up by double digits with strong revenue growth in global banking and global markets. It also granted or renewed over CHF70 billion (more than $79 billion) of loans in Switzerland throughout the year. UBS also advised Swiss financial services company SIX Group on its acquisition of Aquis Exchange for 225 million British pounds ($291 million), a move that bolstered the European exchange market.

This year, UBS expects attractive capital returns to continue, accruing around 10% growth in dividends per share. The bank plans to repurchase $1 billion in shares in the first half of 2025 and an additional $2 billion in the second half.  —Lyndsey Zhang

J.P. Morgan’s effort to generate dealmaking and business dialogue through its annual Healthcare Conference continued to pay off last year, despite a challenging time for deals in general.

With healthcare and life sciences M&A deal volumes down a hefty 28% for the first 10 months of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023, according to Bain & Co. research, the mammoth bank still managed to participate as a key adviser in several of the sector’s main transactions. In the landmark $16.5 billion acquisition of Catalent by life sciences investor Novo Holdings, completed in December—the sector’s largest for the year—the bank acted as a lead financial adviser for the sell side. It also had a key role as exclusive financial adviser to International Flavors & Fragrances in the sale of its pharma-solutions business to the huge French food-ingredient maker Roquette for $2.85 billion.      —Thomas Monteiro

Brazil’s Bradesco BBI sponsored several of the most important deals of the year in industrials and chemicals. Amid a volatile year in the Brazilian market, variety and quick anticipation of market trends were the keys to the bank’s success. It sponsored deals ranging all the way from M&A to equity notes and corporate bonds.

In the public sector, Bradesco BBI acted as a bookrunner for Petrobras’ $1 billion issuance of dollar-denominated global notes due in 2035. In the private sector, it acted as the lead coordinator of bioethanol and sugar titan Cosan’s $500 million note issuance. Bradesco also advised Brazilian oil and gas producer Enauta in its merger with 3R Petroleum for approximately $1.2 billion—a landmark deal for the sector. In industrials, the bank acted as a bookrunner for automobile components maker Iochpe-Maxion’s $130 million corporate debt issuance, as well as Ford’s and Toyota’s bond offerings of $500 million each.   —TM

It was a record-setting year for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with more than $17 billion invested in infrastructure and development projects globally, representing a 30% increase in year over year. More important than the dollar value, however, was the sheer impact of the EBRD’s many initiatives. It have helped support positive change from the reconstruction of Ukraine to vital green-energy lines in Central Asi to generating key agricultural infrastructure in Moldova. In Ukraine, the bank deployed $2.6 billion aimed at promoting energy security as well as vital infrastructure, and food security; and at sponsoring trade in the war-torn country. In Central Asia, the bank deployed more than $2.5 billion in 121 projects across six countries, nearly double the amount it invested in 2023. A whopping 61% of these projects aimed to boost sustainable infrastructure projects in the region.  —TM

With metals prices on the rise, miners worldwide defied the persistently high interest rate environment to post a 4% year-over-year rise in dealmaking volumes. BMO, the global leader in metals and mining advisory and this year’s award winner, played a key role in securing the sector’s largest deals of 2024.

The Canadian giant advised on 12 key transactions, valued at over $18 billion. Among them, it acted as joint bookrunner on Cleveland-Cliffs’ offerings to fund its $2.8 billion acquisition of Canadian steel maker Stelco. It also advised Stelco from the sell side on the M&A transaction. BMO advised gold mining and exploration company Centamin on its sale to AngloGold Ashanti for $2.5 billion, one on the largest gold deals of 2024. On the IPO side, BMO acted as the bookrunner of Sprott Physical Copper Trust’s $110 million sale.         —TM

For the first time since the 2021 M&A bonanza, the energy sector saw more than $400 billion in acquisitions last year, according to Bain & Co. research. The numbers were mainly pulled by 10 megadeals, with many midsize deals helping sustain the uptick.

Citibank leveraged its historical sector leadership position to help secure some of 2024’s most important deals. In the blockbuster, $26 billion Diamondback Energy and Endeavor Energy Resources megamerger, it acted as the sole provider of committed bridge financing and led the term loan issuances and senior notes offerings for the buy side. It then served as the M&A and capital markets adviser to Diamondback. Citi also played a leading role in natural gas producer EQT’s purchase of Equitrans Midstream, which helped create the only large-scale, vertically integrated US natural gas business.    —TM

Boutique M&A advisory Rothschild & Co outperformed in the booming sports-betting industry and in direct advisory services for sports clubs. In the latter category, the bank played a key role in Tottenham Hotspur Football Club’s equity injection during a year of significant losses for the Premier League club. Rothschild is now reportedly in talks with investors for a mega sell of the club’s assets at a nearly $4.5 billion valuation. The bank is also working with West Ham United FC to bring in new investments that could increase the club’s competitiveness. Also in the UK, Rothschild has engaged with West London’s Brentford FC to raise investment offers that could potentially value the club at over $500 million. On the other side of the Atlantic, Rothschild played a key role in sports-betting company DraftKings’ acquisition for $195 million of Simplebet, serving as the exclusive adviser to the sell side.  —TM

It was a banner year for Centerview Partners. The still-private boutique advisory firm—one of the few left in the business—amassed a record-breaking 5.35% share of US M&A advisory fees in 2024, primarily focused on communications and tech M&A. In the New York-based firm’s most notable transaction of the year, it scored big by advising Paramount’s special committee in the $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media. With significant backlash from Paramount Group’s shareholders, the complex deal required top-level advisory. The bank also served as an exclusive financial adviser on the sell side for global investment firm Permira’s acquisition of all-in-one content management system company Squarespace for $7.2 billion. Further showcasing its ability to work in complex situations, the firm served as an adviser to media behemoth Disney in its proxy dispute against activist investors Trian Partners and Blackwells Capital, as well as in Disney’s settlement with ValueAct Capital.   —TM

The global mergers and acquistions (M&A) market might not have fulfilled every dealmaker’s fantasy of a roaring comeback in 2024. Still, every major region posted double-digit gains despite being tossed about by waves of geopolitical uncertainty.

Among the largest deals that were announced: Capital One Financial Corporation’s $35.3 billion purchase of Discover Financial Services, Synopsys’ $35 billion takeover of Ansys, and Mars’ $35.9 billion acquisition of Kellanova.

Resilience, coupled with some slightly sunnier macroeconomic conditions, suggests that M&As and initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2025 could maintain momentum—despite certain aspects of corporate finance currently being on the downtrend.

At last check, global M&A is down 7% in 2025 compared to 2024; in the US, it’s down 32%.

IPOs, however, are enjoying a surge. They’re up 44% across the globe, 144% in the US, 137% in Japan, and 255% in the Middle East and Africa. In Europe, IPOs are down 19%. The top five IPOs by valuation in 2024 were Lineage on the Nasdaq ($5.1 billion), Hyundai Motor India in Bombay ($3.3 billion), Puig Brands in Madrid ($2.9 billion), Galderma Group in Switzerland ($2.6 billion), and CVC Capital Partners in Amsterdam ($2.5 billion).           —Anthony Noto

Dealmaking in Africa has rebounded, due to declining interest rates and inflation. A positive outlook for company earnings and a stronger consumer are also contributing to the trend. The pace should pick up further as African sovereigns refinance $20 billion of maturing eurobonds in the immediate future. “Deal activity will continue, owing to increased confidence and stable macroeconomics,” says Robert Leon, co-head of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) Investment Banking. RMB has been a prominent player in this exciting environment, thanks to its relentless focus, deep sector insights, best-in-class structuring capabilities, and global reach.

The listed bond market is one place where RMB dominates, having arranged $1.9 billion in bonds across over 30 issuances. The majority were in sustainable finance, where the bank has committed to facilitate $10.9 billion of sustainable and transition financings by 2026. Having posted $730 million in normalized profit before tax in 2024, RMB remains upbeat. Its huge portfolio of deals in Africa includes the $1.2 billion Chappal Energies acquisition of Equinor Nigeria and the R8.5 billion (about $464 million) IPO for discount grocery retailer Boxer. 

—John Njiraini

DBS, Singapore’s largest bank, reported an inpressive 2024, with an 11% increase in net profit and 18% return on equity. Unlike most organizations in which executives and senior managers are granted significant bonuses in successful years, DBS established a one-time bonus plan for all staff, not including senior managers. Also in 2024, DBS demonstrated its commitment to corporate social responsibility by setting aside a significant portion of profits to support vulnerable communities.

The bank also increased its dividend payout this year to S$6.3 billion (about $4.7 billion). That’s up 27% from 2023. Additionally, the bank announced an S$3 billion share-buyback program as a broad initiative to return excess capital to shareholders over the next three years. According to the departing CEO Piyush Gupta, DBS will keep increasing the dividend by six cents per Singapore dollar in each coming year.

Part of DBS’s success last year came from wealth transfer in Asia between the first and second generations. With its strong products, service, and reputation in business, commercial, and corporate banking, DBS looks to keep developing its investment bank to serve next-generation clients’ investment needs and preferences.      

—Lyndsey Zhang

It was a notable year for investment banking in Central and Eastern Europe, with investment volumes jumping by around 70% year over year, Colliers reports. Against this thriving backdrop, Bank Pekao found itself perfectly positioned to leverage its superior offerings in the debt, loan, and equity businesses, pushing the bank to a record-breaking near-$3 billion in revenue for the full year of 2024. In the debt business, the bank posted a commanding 40% of Polish market transactions, having participated in the arrangement and placement of all the major bond deals in the local market, including all benchmark transactions for key domestic corporates. The bank also thrived in M&A and fundraising, serving as a sell-side adviser to Kodano in its acquisition by the Vinci Da Gama Fund. The bank now eyes further expansion in the region, with Lithuania as the primary target.    —Thomas Monteiro

The largest investment bank in Latin America, BTG Pactual, did not slow down in 2024 despite the volatile year in its home country, Brazil. With continued improvements in the bank’s already-leading global offering for local investors, the investment banking division notched a massive $420 billion in revenue for the full year of 2024—a fantastic 30% increase over the year prior. BTG also ranked first in the region in terms of both number and volume of deals for M&A and investment banking revenue, maintaining its leading position in the region’s highly competitive risk-investment segment.

Among the bank’s main transactions during the year, BTG was the sole adviser of the sale on international shipping line MSC of the Brazilian shipping company and port operator Wilson Sons for 4.35 billion Brazilian reais (about $749 million). The bank also acted as a key adviser to the majority shareholders in the $400 million Brooksfield deal with shopping mall chain Iguatemi. —TM

Our winner is the investment arm of Emirates NBD Bank, a leading bank in the Middle East and a top performer in several investment-banking sectors. In 2024, NBD ranked eighth in the Middle East and Africa for debt capital markets and fifth for IPOs, according to Dealogic. The bank has strong regional knowledge, offering Shariah-compliant products and also products catering to traditional banking. NBD arranged more than $90 billion in financing across more than 94 deals in 2024 through its loan syndication.

Notable transactions included a $284 million dual-currency commodity-murabaha and Shariah-compliant syndicated facility for DenizBank to finance and refinance general trade. A $1 billion offering for MDGH Sukuk was a landmark transaction within the United Arab Emirates’ sukuk market, leveraging an Islamic structure with Shariah-compliant shares.

The bank also participated in some of the largest IPOs in global markets. These included offerings for food-delivery company Talabat, market operator Lulu Retail, and premium supermarket franchisee Spinneys, as well as the privatization of parking services provider Parkin.            —Andrea Murad

It was a challenging year for global M&A. Interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank were fewer than expected due to still-persistent inflation, dampening projections of a larger rebound. Goldman Sachs did its part and secured all the most important deals of the year globally—especially in North America. In the US, Goldman was the top adviser, with $653.8 billion in deal value across 253 transactions. The New York–based firm saw its global deal volumes soar to above $1 trillion, representing a commanding 29.3% share of the global market and more than $3 billion in revenue from proceeds, as per Dealogic data.

Among the biggest deals of the year, Goldman played a key role in the $2.8 billion sale of Mexico-based Terrafina, a REIT, to Fibra Prologis, for which the bank served as lead financial adviser on the sell side. In the $18.25 billion Home Depot acquisition of SRS Distribution, the bank also acted as a sell-side financial adviser. In IPOs, Goldman was the bookrunner on 20 mandates, including Amer Sports ($1.4 billion), Rubrik ($752 million), and Reddit ($750 million).        —TM

UBS continued to make significant strides in every part of the investment banking spectrum in 2024. The Swiss powerhouse recorded a massive $600 million in proceeds from its investment banking operation in Western Europe alone, with significant expansion in equity capital markets, M&A, and IPOs.

Among the main deals of the year in the region, UBS also acted as sole financial adviser to Sainsbury’s on the sale of its core banking business to NatWest Group. Assets acquired included £1.4 billion in unsecured personal loans, £1.1 billion  in credit card balances, and about £2.6 billion of customer deposits.” That adds up to £5.1 billion (about $6.6 billion). UBS also was the acting financial adviser to huge Spanish bank BBVA in its €12.2 billion (about $13.2 billion) takeover run at Banco Sabadell. The deal remains in the hands of the Spanish antitrust authority.

Looking to 2025, UBS aims to continue its expansion with an even greater focus on Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

“We are growing, selectively hiring, and gaining market share in key strategic areas as part of our accelerated strategy,” says Nestor Paz-Galindo, the bank’s head of global banking for EMEA.         —TM

Following two years of sticky inflation, exorbitant interest rates, and geopolitical tensions, worldwide equity issuance volume surged to $741 billion in 2024. That’s up 20% from the previous year. Global inflation eased and major central banks began to cut interest rates: encouraging developments for equity issuers and investors. As a result, 2024 was the strongest year for equity capital markets (ECM) in the past four, according to Dealogic.

The US, in particular, touted $366.7 billion in issuance; a 56% increase from 2023. Interestingly, India emerged as the top equities market in Asia-Pacific and the second-largest globally after the US, with ECM transactions totaling $69.4 billion. Volumes for the regions of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)  rose 19.8% year-over-year to $156.5 billion from $130.7 billion in 2023. Asia-Pacific ECM issuance was down 7.9%, dampened by an 83% collapse in mainland China, underscoring the broader slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

For investment bankers, 2025 will likely offer a different scenario. Global equity markets face risks from the Trump administration’s proposed universal tariffs, which could disrupt global trade and corporate earnings. During Donald Trump’s first term as president, escalating US-China trade tensions led to a 15% decline in 2018 ECM volumes following a 20% rise in 2017.

Tariffs increase cost, reduce profit margins, and create market volatility. Additionally, protectionist policies may weaken investor sentiment, prompting capital outflows and reduced market liquidity. If the US’ trade partners answer Washington’s tariff moves with their own, global supply chains could be disrupted, further depressing equity-market performance and stalling initial public offerings (IPOs) and capital-raising activity.

In a year of sustained growth for global ECMs, total placements jumped year on year as much as 65%in North America, 107% in the Middle East and Africa, and 135% in India. Against this backdrop, J.P. Morgan’s historical leadership and global positioning enabled it to lead the field, with 11% of total revenues and 9.4% of volumes.

The bank also had a banner year in IPOs, jumping from 18th position in 2023 to lead the market in 2024 with 65 deals for a solid 5.6% share, according to Dealogic. Among its major deals, J.P. Morgan served as lead bookrunner on the $4.4 billion Lineage IPO on Nasdaq.      —TM

Banks in Nigeria have been facing statutory pressures to recapitalize. For a majority, the equities market has offered the easiest route. The result has been a flurry of activity, with Chapel Hill Denham the preferred agent for banks seeking to meet the higher minimum capital requirements through rights issues and public offerings. In 2024, the firm raised a cumulative $385 million for three commercial banks, cementing its leadership in the sector over the past 15 years. Among Capital Hill’s clients was Access Bank, for which it raised $234 million in a rights issue.

Chapel Hill’s role in building market liquidity, deepening investor participation, and reinforcing confidence in market resilience went beyond the banking sector as it notched $1.9 billion in total ECM transactions in 2024. Another standout deal was a $330 million rights issue for International Breweries, the largest in the history of Nigerian capital markets. The offering showcased the firm’s expertise in managing complex, high-stakes, multiple-stakeholder transactions.       —JN

DBS achieved milestones in 2024, reflecting its strategic focus and robust financial performance. The Singapore-based multinational increased its stake in its China securities joint venture from 51% to 91%. The move, pending approval, aligns with other foreign banks capitalizing on relaxed foreign ownership regulations in China.

DBS reported a 15% surge in third-quarter net profit to a record 3 billion Singapore dollars ($2.3 billion), driven by record fee income from wealth management, higher treasury customer sales, and increased trading volume. This highlights the bank’s ability to capitalize on market opportunities and deliver value to its stakeholders, positioning it for sustained growth and regional leadership.      —LZ

Bank Pekao stepped on the gas on both IPOs and financing deals in 2024, taking advantage of a solid year for Polish ECMs to post significant growth in all around. The bank participated in two of the region’s most important IPOs: the record-breaking $1.6 billion debut of convenience store chain Zabka in October, and homebuilder Murapol’s groundbreaking IPO, the first in Poland in nearly two years. The bank served as a global coordinator and bookrunner in the latter deal, helping break the long winter for the region’s IPOs. For Zabka, Bank Pekao served as joint bookrunner. It also arranged security payment orders for Creotech, a leading manufacturer of satellite systems and components, a deal that promises to boost the region’s competitiveness technology and defense.        —TM

With a commanding 41% share of equity deals in the region in 2024, Itaú BBA cemented its status as Latin America’s ECM leader. Navigating a difficult year for Brazilian equities, the bank guaranteed its leadership with participation in 12 of the region’s 29 deals, amassing a volume of approximately $540 million.

Among the bank’s most significant deals last year, it managed retail distribution for the $2.7 billion privatization of Sabesp, marking the largest sanitation offering in Brazil’s history and the third-largest worldwide in 2024. Additionally, Itaú BBA coordinated Mallplaza’s $325 million capital raise, efficiently handling the follow-on process as well as preferred rights periods and rump placements.             —TM

EFG Hermes was the Middle East’s top equity-deal bookrunner last year, closing 14 ECM transactions worth a collective $2.89 billion and participating in 11 IPOs valued at a total $1.7 billion.

The bank advised on the $375 million IPO of Spinneys, which operates premium grocery retail supermarkets throughout the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and has begun expanding into Saudi Arabia. The offering covered 25% of Spinneys’s total equity capital, implying a market capitalization of $1.5 billion. EFG Hermes also worked with healthcare conglomerate Fakeeh Care Group on its $764 million IPO. The deal, which was 119 times oversubscribed, implied a $3.6 billion market capitalization. EFG Hermes also advised on Almoosa Healthcare Company’s $449 million IPO on the Saudi Exchange. Almoosa Health was established in 1996 and is the first private hospital in Al-Ahsa Governorate. The offering for 30% of share capital was 103 times oversubscribed, establishing a $1.5 billion implied market capitalization.            —AM

Cantor Fitzgerald made significant strides in the equities market last year, showcasing the firm’s strength in executing high-profile IPOs and other equity transactions. Cantor served as a joint bookrunner on multiple IPOs, particularly in the biotech sector, including Bicara Therapeutics, a cancer-therapy developer, which raised $315 million in its initial offering for a valuation of approximately $881.4 million. Cantor also took part in Septerna’s IPO, which raised $288 million through the sale of 16 million shares of the biotechnology company at $18 each, for a valuation of some $970 million.

All told, Cantor was the year’s top joint bookrunner in the US, working on 17 equity deals totaling $3.3 billion in combined market value, according to Dealogic. The firm also expanded its footprint in filing for its 10th SPAC, Cantor Equity Partners I, which raised $200 million through a $10-per-share offering.

A key development in 2024 was the appointment of  former chair and CEO Howard Lutnick as Secretary of Commerce in the second Trump administration. His influence could impact regulatory and trade policies that affect capital markets, possibly shaping Cantor’s strategic opportunities in the future.   —AN

UBS significantly beefed up its already award-winning European-based ECM team in 2024, through a combination of senior-executive insertions from Credit Suisse—following UBS’ 2023 acquisition of that bank—and new top-level hires from other institutions including J.P. Morgan and Citibank grew 25% during the year in the EMEA region alone.

“We now have the size, capabilities, and talent to compete for tier 1 business in the US, similar to what we have historically done in Europe and Asia,” notes Gareth McCartney, global co-head of ECM.

The team responded by amassing an impressive $5.5 billion in ECM volume in Europe alone last year, according to Dealogic. Among its major transactions, UBS acted as joint global coordinator and bookrunner on Galderma’s 2.3 billion Swiss francs ($2.6 billion) IPO. The bank also completed the spinoff of Sandoz from pharmaceuticals giant Novartis, acting as lead financial adviser on a transaction that encompassed roughly $14 billion in enterprise value.          —TM

Debt capital markets enjoyed a 36% surge in total deal volume in 2024 compared to 2023, according to Dealogic. The US touted a 45% increase. Asia-Pacific (50%), Africa and the Middle East (57%), and Latin America (66%) did even better; and Europe posted a 19% gain. Japan was the only major market to decline, by 3%.

Underwriter revenue from global Debt Capital Markets (DCM) reached $27.3 billion. Corporate issuance hit $3.1 trillion, including $2.7 trillion of investment-grade and $419.8 billion of noninvestment-grade bonds.

Cross-border deals by US issuers totaled $2.8 trillion, while issuers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa sold $2.55 trillion in bonds and Asia-Pacific issuers $588.5 billion.

Whether 2025 maintains the momentum remains to be seen. Global DCM activity year-to-date totaled $2.1 trillion, down 16% from last year’s levels. The US has seen a 14% decline. Investment-grade bond volume is down 14% thus far across the globe and global high-yield volume is 16% lower.

“Some of that change in volume may have been attributable to issuers taking an opportunistic approach at the beginning of the year,” suggests Jeff Ramsay, securities and capital markets partner at Paul Hastings law firm, “waiting to see how the change in [US] administration may affect the macroeconomic environment.”          —AN

With most developed economies cutting interest rates, DCM volumes soared last year. Bank of America Securities was in the thick of it, sponsoring several of the largest deals. BofA Securities captured an eye-popping $2.7 billion-plus in revenue from fixed-income offerings alone, for a commanding 6.9% of total global market share, as per Dealogic. Among the bank’s landmark deals, it acted as sole arranger of Ecuador’s $1 billion sovereign debt conversion, targeted at preservation of the Amazon’s ecosystems, one of the largest of its kind completed to date. It also played a significant role in boosting the mergers and acquisitions market from the debt side, arranging a $1.8 billion leveraged loan for Lone Star Funds as part of its acquisition of Carrier Global’s commercial and residential fire unit.

BofA Securities also played a significant role in North America-based debt arrangements last year. The firm announced the redemption of $2 billion in 2.46% fixed/floating rate senior notes due in October 2025, effective October 22, 2024.

Meanwhile, the bank’s Community Development Banking division provided $7.8 billion in debt and equity financing last year, facilitating the creation and preservation of 12,600 housing units across the US and underscoring BofA’s commitment to support affordable housing initiatives. Together, this range of activities highlights BofA Securities’ active involvement in significant debt arrangements within the US during 2024.

So far in 2025, the bank has served as a bookrunner for Mars’ substantial, eight-part investment-grade bond issue, aimed at financing the acquisition of Pringles maker Kellanova. Projected to raise between $25 billion and $30 billion, the deal stands as one of the year’s largest acquisition financings this year.     —AN and TM

After a prolonged period of corporate bond issuances plummeting to record lows across major markets, appetite for African debt is building up. Standard Bank, through its debt solutions and DCM offerings, has been the continent’s leader in the field, particularly in large funding quanta. The bank has also emerged as the region’s dominant force in sustainable energy initiatives, for which it has allocated some $300 million.

Across all of Standard Bank’s 2024 activity, it showed a knack for structuring innovative and fit-for-purpose solutions. Its deal portfolio included helping Zambia’s Copperbelt Energy raise a staggering $90 billion, acting as lead manager and underwriter for the oversubscribed 15-year green bond offering, which lured local and international investors. In South Africa, Standard Bank helped CrossBoundary Energy raise a $300 million debt facility.      —JN

With a focus on technological upgrading and equipment renewal projects, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) continued to step up lending to manufacturing last year, especially in the form of medium- to long-term loans and with a focus on high-end, intelligent, green development. But the behemoth bank was active across the debt market spectrum as well. In the first half of the year, loans and bond investments constituted 59.1% and 26.75% of ICBC’s assets, respectively, marking increases of 0.7 and 1.1 percentage points from the first quarter.

This strategic allocation underscores ICBC’s efforts to stabilize asset returns in a low interest rate environment. In the first half, yuan-denominated loans by its domestic branches increased by 1.74 trillion yuan ($240 billion), or 7.1%. The balance of its yuan bond investment increased by 1.1 trillion yuan while its domestic lead underwritings of bonds totaled nearly 770 billion yuan, leading the market by total size and growth of investment and financing.

ICBC’s loans to manufacturing grew by 13%, loans to strategic emerging industries by 14.7%, green loans by 13.7%, and inclusive loans by 21.5%. As of the end of June, loans to strategic emerging industries stood at 3.1 trillion yuan, an increase of nearly 400 billion yuan from the beginning of the year.     —LZ

A mixture of local market and eurobond offerings is helping TBC Bank leverage its leading position in Georgia’s up-and-coming economy to post phenomenal growth. With corporate bond issuances totaling $850.8 million in 2024, TBC maintained an impressive 52% share of its home market. The main focus of the bank’s DCM expansion was in the foreign exchange however, where it saw a nearly 50% rise in issuances from the year prior.

In dollar bonds, TBC Capital arranged 12 transactions, seven of which were exclusively managed by its team, and participated in four eurobond deals—up from none in 2023. Others included Georgia’s first-ever secured bond and fixed-rate bond offerings denominated in local currency, a milestone for fixed income in the nation.

The bank, based in Tbilisi, Georgia, also expanded its bond business into Uzbekistan last year, with two offerings in Central Asian country.       —TM

Taking advantage of a solid year for DCM in Mexico and Argentina, Spanish powerhouse BBVA leveraged its best-in-class presence in Latin America (outside of Brazil) to maintain steady growth in 2024. The big bank led the Mexican market with a total of 62 offerings, representing a commanding 22% of the country’s total issuance. BBVA also participated in 24 cross-border deals, amassing total volume of around $4.5 billion.

Among the region’s major 2024 debt deals, BBVA acted as the sole structurer and joint bookrunner on Engen Capital’s approximately $250 million debt issuance. The Spanish bank kicked off 2025 by issuing $1 billion in AT1 debt at the lowest spread ever for a Southern European bank, signaling strong investor confidence. A lower spread means cheaper borrowing costs, reflecting BBVA’s solid financial standing.            —TM

Standard Chartered is a top emerging markets bank with a strong focus on both Islamic finance and traditional banking. It ranked third for DCM in Africa and the Middle East in 2024, with 81 deals completed amounting to $13.5 billion, according to Dealogic. Standard Chartered ranked first for Islamic bond volume, with 43 deals closed on a balance of $5.5 billion.

A standout deal was the bank’s structuring of a $1 billion debt facility for First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) that was FAB’s debut in the tier 2 bond market. The deal’s capital structure enhanced FAB’s capital position, and diversified its investor base as a significant portion of the transaction was placed outside the Middle East. Also last year, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) issued a $5.5 billion facility with a diversified orderbook six times oversubscribed. Standard Chartered was the joint green structurer and ESG structuring bank. The deal was upsized because of strong investor demand, and its 7-, 12-, and 30-year tranches were new tenors (maturities or durations) for PIF.    —AM

Amid a solid year for global and European DCM, French giant BNP Paribas used its commanding position on the continent to extend its business globally. The bank’s DCM activity grew domestically and internationally in 2024, reaching 3.5% of the global market by revenue, according to Dealogic. In Europe, BNP led its rivals in revenue, volume, and number of deals.

Among BNP’s most notable transactions, it backed Iceland’s record-breaking inaugural green bond, with a final order book of over €7 billion ($7.5 billion). The bank also pushed the envelope of Europe’s DCM by arranging and placing the eurozone’s first-ever sovereign digital bond issue, for the government of Slovenia. —TM

Persistent inflation and volatile interest rates defined much of the M&A landscape in 2024, dampening buy-side confidence even as activity gained momentum. By year’s end, global deal value had climbed 16% to surpass $3.4 trillion, according to Dealogic. But as macroeconomic pressures began to ease, fresh geopolitical tensions and a looming global trade war emerged, threatening hopes for a 2025 rebound. Early indicators suggest dealmakers face another turbulent year ahead.

Since the beginning of this year, global M&A activity has totaled $418.9 billion—a 17% drop compared to the same period in 2024, per data from the London Stock Exchange Group. February’s $199.1 billion in deals marked a 9% decline from January and a 30% year-over-year decrease. Mega deals also slowed; only four transactions over $5 billion were announced in February. That’s half the number from the previous year.

Despite these challenges, some regions and sectors showed resilience—such as European M&A, which has spiked 21% since January 2025. Until more information becomes available, let’s celebrate the investment banks that brightened up the M&A landscape in 2024.         —Anthony Noto

In 2024, Goldman Sachs showcased its M&A prowess by advising on several high-profile deals. The firm played a key role in Kellanova’s $35.9 billion sale to Mars, one of the largest US mergers of the year, earning $92 million in advisory fees. The transaction involved brands like Pringles and Pop-Tarts, and it highlighted Goldman’s dominance in consumer goods deals.

Goldman Sachs also advised a private equity consortium, including CVC Capital Partners, Nordic Capital, and Platinum Ivy, on the £5.4 billion (about $7 billion) acquisition of British financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown.

In the industrial sector, Goldman, alongside UBS, guided Amcor’s $8.4 billion purchase of Berry Global Group. This acquisition will make Amcor one of the world’s largest plastic packaging companies.

Additionally, Goldman was involved in asset manager Blackstone’s A$24 billion (about $16 billion) acquisition of data center specialist AirTrunk, a major deal that emphasized the investment bank’s expertise in technology infrastructure deals.

These significant transactions reinforce Goldman Sachs’ status as a leader in advisory services across diverse industries. As the firm passed the $1 trillion mark for global M&A mandates—about one-third of all global deal activity—it beat Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan by $225 billion and $280 million, respectively. —AN

Africa is becoming a high-value frontier market. This is evidenced by its resilience in M&A amid pockets of macroeconomic headwinds and region-specific challenges. According to KPMG, in 2023, sub-Saharan Africa recorded 304 deals, valued at a total of $18.9 billion. Last year, momentum was strong, with deals worth $11.8 billion announced in the second quarter alone. That was the highest quarterly total recorded in two and a half years.

Absa Bank, a major M&A house with a presence in 10 markets, continues to facilitate most of the deals—cutting across divestitures, cross-border transactions, take-privates, leveraged buyouts, and others. This it does thanks to its ability to navigate complicated financial and regulatory environments. Last year, significant deals in which the bank was involved included the sale of MTN Guinea Bissau to Telecel Group Mobile and telecom-network provider Emtel’s initial public offering (IPO) in Mauritius.             —John Njiraini

UBS is recognized as the leader in Asia-Pacific region M&A financial advisory services for 2024 in both value and volume. As a top Asian investment bank, UBS completed 30 transactions last year with a total deal value of $14.4 billion. The M&A column was dominated by technology-related transactions with strong, long-term trends that persist in spheres such as data consumption, digitalization, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and fintech.

Given the political changes in major economies around the globe, and the parallel inflation and interest rate decline, UBS foresees a strong stock market and enough boardroom confidence for companies to embark on strategic transactions using shares as currency. Investors will be empowered with monetary visibility and market stability. Thus, UBS Global Banking expects that dealmaking activity in 2025 will benefit from renewed macro clarity as corporates and sponsors seek to deploy more capital for M&A.      —Lyndsey Zhang

With low activity in the private equity spectrum and declining deal volumes in the key automotive and real estate sectors, overall deal value in Central and Eastern Europe was down roughly 30% for last year, according to Forvis Mazars Group.

Yet, despite the unfavorable backdrop, Poland’s Bank Pekao managed to leverage its best-in-class positioning in the still-resilient tech and industrial sectors to keep activity going. Pekao also acted as a key sell-side adviser in the €9.3 million (about $10 million) funding deal between Vinci Da Gama Fund and optics marketplace Kodano. In December, the bank also disclosed mulling an M&A deal of its own: the takeover of insurance group PZU’s 31.9% stake in Alior Bank, a move that would leverage Pekao’s position in the region even further.  —TM

A volatile risk landscape for Brazilian markets in 2024 was the perfect setup for Bradesco BBI to leapfrog long-standing leader BTG Pactual in domestic M&A volume for the year. With around $10 billion in transactions, Bradesco guaranteed its first position in the field in its home country. For the region, the bank jumped an impressive 20 positions in the list by total volume. The result was a solid $24 million in revenue from M&A proceeds on a total of 43 deals. Among Bradesco’s main deals last year, the bank facilitated Equatorial Energia’s purchase of a 15% stake in the government-owned water-and-sanitation company Sabesp for approximately $1.2 billion.     —TM

Rothschild & Co has advised on many of the Middle East’s most complex transactions. As an M&A advisor, the bank closed 25 deals throughout the region, including Africa, with a value of $24.2 billion, according to Dealogic. The bank recently established a geopolitical advisory and incorporated ESG considerations into several product offerings.

The bank advised Masdar on its €2.4 billion (about $2.6 billion) offer—which included a €750 million acquisition financing package—for Terna Energy, Greece’s largest independent power producer. Masdar is a United Arab Emirates (UAE) state-owned company that develops renewable energy projects, community grid projects, and energy services. The deal is the largest-ever energy transaction on the Athens Stock Exchange and one of the largest public-to-private transactions by a UAE entity.

Rothschild also coordinated the sell-side process for the direct investment by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and APG Asset Management in the Trans-Java Toll Road with the Indonesia Investment Authority. ADIA and APG acquired a 53.3% stake in Rafflesia, a toll road platform targeting investment opportunities in Indonesia’s toll road networks.    —Andrea Murad

It was a phenomenal year for the boutique M&A advisory giant Rothschild & Co. Amid the continued slow rebound in European M&A from a dismal 2023, the bank advised an impressive 296 of the continent’s reported 784 deals, making it the only European bank on the top-10 list of global dealmaking by revenue. This commanding presence translated into a remarkable $82.3 billion in deal volume, significantly outperforming other top-tier banks in the region in both volume and number of deals.

Among the bank’s most notable transactions, Rothschild advised Cinven on the $5.2 billion acquisition of Alter Domus, a significant deal in the fund administration sector. The bank also played a pivotal role in Neptune Energy’s sale to Eni and Var Energi for an aggregate enterprise value of $5 billion. In 2025, Rothschild has reportedly advising the John Wood Group, a UK oil services and engineering company, throughout its refinancing discussions amidst debt concerns and potential takeover talks with Dubai-based Sidara. —TM

Throughout 2024, the infrastructure sector was highly active for investment bankers, with robust deal flow across renewable energy, digital transformation, and critical infrastructure projects. Major banks like Absa Bank, ICBC, OTP Bank, Bradesco BBI, J.P. Morgan, and Intesa Sanpaolo participated in significant deals globally, highlighting strong demand for financing in sustainable and strategic infrastructure investments. Standard Chartered emerged as the top lender in infrastructure finance, focusing on both emerging markets and sustainable projects. In Saudi Arabia, for example, it helped close a $677 million desalination project providing 600,000 cubic meters of water daily.

“Deal activity in the travel, logistics, and infrastructure sector increased markedly in 2024 compared with the previous year, with a total deal value of $157 billion in 2024 versus $115 billion in 2023,” a McKinsey reported stated. “However, activity was still below prepandemic levels (with a total deal value of $173 billion in 2019) and substantially below peaks in 2021 and 2022. Similarly, the proportion of private equity deals in the sector increased—from 14% of all deals in 2023 to 22% in 2024.”  —AN

Standard Chartered is a leading international bank recognized for its work in infrastructure finance. It focuses on emerging markets and promotes social and economic development through sustainable finance. Much of the bank’s infrastructure finance efforts is centered on projects for renewable energy and clean water, including several waste-to-energy projects in the Middle East; one is the first such plant to be built in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi’s waste-to-energy project will be developed by Emirates Water and Electricity Company and Tadweer (formerly the Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company). Standard Chartered underwrote and advised on the facility. The proposed plant will be a multiline facility that can treat 900,000 tons of municipal solid waste annually to generate about 80 MW of electricity for the local grid, powering 50,000 households. The plant will be one of the largest of its kind, reducing CO2 emissions by about 1.5 million tons annually.

The Rawabi Water Desalination Company is the developer of a water desalination plant in Saudi Arabia that will use reverse-osmosis technology to process 600,000 cubic meters of seawater daily This project supports the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture in its plan to provide 92% of national urban supply through desalinated water by 2030. Standard Chartered was integral to closing the SAR2.5 billion (about $677 million) facility that financing the project, which will eventually be sold to the Saudi Water Partnership Company under a 25-year purchase agreement.           —AM

Closing Africa’s annual infrastructure-financing gap, estimated by the African Development Bank at between $130 billion and $170 billion, has become a daunting task. Governments are squeezed for resources, prompting private companies to venture into critical projects. By supplying financing to private companies, Absa Bank is facilitating the implementation of key projects that are critical to economic development. It aims to be at the forefront of the continent’s transition to a low-carbon, inclusive, and circular economy.

In South Africa, Absa is involved in the financing of the 150 MW Engie and 75 MW Ukuqala solar power projects. Both are critical to advancing the republic’s renewable-energy transition. The bank is also involved in an 8 billion rand (about $439 million) deal to enable data-services infrastructure provider Teraco to expand its reach, thus facilitating digital transformation throughout Southern Africa. Apart from participating directly in projects, the bank provides help through its global connections in the UK and the US and corridor approaches into China, India, and the Middle East, enabling global companies to tap opportunities in Africa’s infrastructure sector.      

—JN

Two notable REIT projects positioned ICBC as the region’s best infrastructure bank last year. First, ICBC coordinated the issuance of the ICBC Hebei Expressway REIT at 5.7 billion yuan (about $789 million). The landmark project—the first public REIT in Hebei Province—is part of the Rong-Wu Expressway, a critical component of the Xiong’an New Area’s highway network. The REIT supports Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei development, serving as a crucial energy-transportation artery.

Second, ICBC represented Inner Mongolia’s first public infrastructure REITs, including coordinating the sale of the ICBC Mongolia Clean Energy REIT at 1.1 billion yuan. The innovative project covers two wind-power plants with approximately 150 MW total installed capacity, estimated to generate over 400 million kWh of green electricity annually and replacing over 120,000 tons of standard coal while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 300,000 tons. The new REIT supports the national strategy of developing Inner Mongolia as a key energy base, demonstrating ICBC’s commitment to green finance and regional development.          —LZ

As the war in Ukraine raged on for another year, securing and improving key infrastructure lines in Central and Eastern Europe became more than a matter of economic growth; it became essential for the region’s geopolitical security.

Against this backdrop, OTP Bank’s positioning in the region’s leading economies has made it a vital pipeline for sending resources dependably across borders.

With the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, OTP Bank’s Ukraine branch extended a new $220 billion, unfunded portfolio risk-sharing facility to assist with the country’s reconstruction amid the ongoing war. The partnership also probvided $33 billion to neighboring Moldova, where the funds will help assist the country’s agricultural pipelines and private sector. Based in Hungary, OTP also landed a partnership with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to support renewable energy generation and improve energy efficiency in Croatia, Hungary, and Serbia.          —TM

With 27 infrastructure transactions raising a massive $500 million, the Brazilian behemoth Bradesco BBI takes home our award for the second consecutive year. Bradesco participated in several different types of offerings, leveraging versatility and unmatched market breadth to maintain leadership in the sector.

Among the bank’s main infrastructure deals, it served as the pre-auction adviser for the 2.2 billion reais (about $377 million) EcoRodovias concession for the Nova Raposo Lot Highway System, a project that aims to transform one of Brazil’s largest highways. The bank also arranged the a $1.3 billion reais in real long-term financing for Triangulo SPE, another one of the country’s major highway-network projects. In M&A, Bradesco arranged Equatorial Energia’s roughly $1.2 billion acquisition of 15% of state-owned water-and-sanitation company Sabesp, boosting the country’s water-distribution infrastructure. —TM

J.P. Morgan made significant strides in infrastructure finance in 2024, leading high-impact deals across renewable energy and telecommunications.

The firm capitalized on opportunities created by the US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), investing $680 million in tax-equity financing for a portfolio of solar and storage assets in Texas and Arizona. The project, owned by Denmark’s Orsted, is one of the largest solar-and-storage tax-equity transactions to use a combined-production tax credit and investment tax credit structure created by the IRA. By year-end, Orsted’s US solar portfolio had reached 2 GW of power-generation capacity.

In the telecommunications sector, J.P. Morgan also arranged a $500 million term loan facility for Tillman Infrastructure, a leading wireless-communication infrastructure provider. The loan was part of a $1 billion financing package, with funds earmarked for refinancing existing loans and supporting growth initiatives to meet rising demand from wireless carriers and infrastructure-service providers.        —AN

Participating in roughly 20% of all infrastructure finance deals in 2024 in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo leveraged its leading position and expertise beyond its home country, with a particular focus on the Spanish market.

In October, the firm partnered with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to create a portfolio of bank guarantees of up to €1 billion (about $1.1 billion) destined to support the creation of wind farms across the continent. The agreement, part of the EIB’s €5 billion plan to boost the sector, has the potential to unlock up to €8 billion in loans. Intesa Sanpaolo participated in 13 strategic projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors across the Spanish market, with a total value of around €27 billion over the past two years.          —TM