Below are the recently released Q3 & YTD 2018 SPAC IPO Legal League Tables
For both the third quarter and Year-to-Date (YTD) 2018, Ellenoff Grossman & Schole (“EGS”), once again, led the SPAC IPO Legal League with a commanding number of legal assignments. EGS was counsel on seven SPACs in Q3, one more than their six assignments in the second quarter. Furthermore, looking at YTD 2018, EGS was legal counsel on a whopping 18 legal assignments, eight more than their nearest competitor, Graubard Miller. Overall, EGS’s 18 SPAC assignments accounted for total deal volume of a staggering $3.4 billion. And we still have one more quarter to go…
However, looking at the third quarter, Winston & Strawn surged in the rankings to take the number two spot, leaping seven places from #9 in Q2. They came very close to beating EGS with a difference between them of only $26 million. Furthermore, looking at YTD 2018, Winston & Strawn ranked #3, up from #6 in the first half of 2018. Total deal volume for Winston & Strawn was $890 million and $1.7 billion, Q3 and YTD 2018, respectively.
Ranked by Volume
(All data is sort-able using the arrow keys located in the header cells)
Q3 2018
| Rank | Law Firm | Volume ($mm) | Deal Count (Total) | Deal Count (Issuer's Counsel) | Deal Count (UW's Counsel) | Avg. Size | Mkt Share (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP | 916.0 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 130.9 | 17.6% |
| 2 | Winston & Strawn LLP | 890.0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 445.0 | 17.1% |
| 3 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | 690.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 690.0 | 13.2% |
| 4 | Graubard Miller | 568.8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 189.6 | 10.9% |
| 5 | Vinson & Elkins LLP | 552.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 552.0 | 10.6% |
| 6 | Kirkland & Ellis LLP | 552.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 552.0 | 10.6% |
| 7 | Ropes & Gray LLP | 400.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 400.0 | 7.7% |
| 8 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP | 400.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 400.0 | 7.7% |
| 9 | Loeb & Loeb LLP | 193.3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 48.3 | 3.7% |
| 10 | Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC | 46.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 46.0 | 0.9% |
YTD 2018
| Rank | Law Firm | Volume ($mm) | Deal Count (Total) | Deal Count (Issuer's Counsel) | Deal Count (UW's Counsel) | Avg Size ($mm) | % Mkt Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP | 3,406.8 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 189.3 | 20.7% |
| 2 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP | 2,377.5 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 396.3 | 14.5% |
| 3 | Winston & Strawn LLP | 1,710.5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 342.1 | 10.4% |
| 4 | Graubard Miller | 1,548.8 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 154.9 | 9.4% |
| 5 | Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | 1,252.5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 417.5 | 7.6% |
| 6 | Greenberg Traurig, LLP | 1,009.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 252.3 | 6.1% |
| 7 | Kirkland & Ellis LLP | 1,002.0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 334.0 | 6.1% |
| 8 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | 690.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 690.0 | 4.2% |
| 9 | Vinson & Elkins LLP | 552.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 552.0 | 3.4% |
| 10 | Thompson & Knight LLP | 414.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 414.0 | 2.5% |
| 11 | Ropes & Gray LLP | 400.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 400.0 | 2.4% |
| 12 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP | 400.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 400.0 | 2.4% |
| 13 | Loeb & Loeb LLP | 394.5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 78.9 | 2.4% |
| 14 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP | 345.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 345.0 | 2.1% |
| 15 | Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP | 300.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 300.0 | 1.8% |
| 16 | McDermott Will & Emery | 201.3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 201.3 | 1.2% |
| 17 | Venable LLP | 155.3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 155.3 | 0.9% |
| 18 | Fox Rothschild LLP | 125.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 125.0 | 0.8% |
| 19 | Holland & Knight, LLP | 115.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 115.0 | 0.7% |
| 20 | Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC | 46.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 46.0 | 0.3% |
Source: SPACInsider, Ranked by volume
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (“Skadden”), was, surprisingly, not active in the third quarter. Yet they still managed to remain in the #2 spot for the YTD 2018 rankings with six assignments accounting for $2.4 billion in total deal volume. Both Skadden and EGS have traditionally been the 300 lb. gorillas in the SPAC legal space, so its a good bet that while Skadden was quiet in Q3, they will have a big showing in Q4.
Graubard Miller was also notable by jumping to the #4 ranking in both the Q3 and YTD 2018 tables (up from the #5 spot in Q2 and 1H-2018).
Lastly, Loeb & Loeb, which had only one legal assignment in all of the first half of 2018, was legal counsel on four SPACs in the third quarter. Loeb & Loeb is now tied for fourth with Winston & Strawn, based on deal count, with five SPACs each.
The fourth quarter could see a shake-up in the leader board, particularly if Winston & Strawn continues at their third quarter pace. However, it going to be tough to beat EGS in the full year 2018 rankings since they have such a commanding lead. It’s going to be interesting to see how the fourth quarter shakes out, so stay tuned.
You can find all of the published League Tables by clicking here.
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