Morgan Stanley
In the 12 months to June, Morgan Stanley topped the league table for global equity and equity-linked issuance. With over $53bn raised globally, Morgan Stanley had taken 11% of the market. What impressed the judges was not just the momentum of deal flow but also the breadth of business. Overall, the judges highlighted Morgan Stanley’s commitment to all aspects of equity capital markets. A number of transactions stood out: in Europe, Morgan Stanley re-opened in the IPO market in 2004 with the $4.4bn IPO of Belgacom, the largest in Europe. Morgan Stanley also notched up the largest IPOs in the US and Asia – Assurant and Shinsei Bank respectively. This momentum has been converted into a sizeable pipeline of expected issuance, most notably the Google IPO. Morgan Stanley also executed a number of quick-to-market offerings, such as the $905m sell-down by Talanx of Hannover Re. In February, Morgan Stanley, together with BBVA, completed a E2bn accelerated bookbuilt offering (ABO) for BBVA to finance its buyout of the minority interests in BBVA Bancomer, its Mexican subsidiary. The transaction was the largest ABO ever in the Spanish market and achieved one of the tightest discounts on a primary ABO used to finance an acquisition. In May, Morgan Stanley led the transaction to take Canary Wharf private, the second largest real estate transaction to date globally. “We believe that Morgan Stanley stands out in the ability and willingness to dedicate both large execution teams and also continuous senior coverage throughout a transaction period. This ensures that experienced professionals are involved in making the critical judgements during a transaction crucial to making it a success,” says John Hyman, managing director, global capital markets at Morgan Stanley.
