Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan battle for German dominance

Two U.S. investment banks competed for the top slots in German M&A last year: JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.

JPMorgan was the top ranked investment bank for revenues earned from mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advice in Germany, with a 15% market share, according to information provider, Dealogic. The U.S. bank retained its top slot from 2018.

Coming in second behind JPMorgan, with a 10% market share last year, was Goldman Sachs. Goldman’s position in Germany was improved significantly in 2019: it ranked only sixth in 2018.

The two U.S. banks have been seeking to cement and strengthen their presence in the German market. In May 2018, Goldman Sachs hired Tibor Kossa from Credit Suisse to co-head M&A in Germany and Austria alongside Christopher Droege. Goldman has also been building out its mid-market M&A business in Germany under Tobias Köster, who is focused on winning business from the German Mittelstand.

JPMorgan, meanwhile, strengthened its own Frankfurt-based M&A business in 2019 when it re-hired Patrik Czornik from Goldman Sachs. Czornik spent 12 years at JPMorgan before leaving for Goldman Sachs, where he spent just 16 months before returning to his previous employer.

The 10 leading investment banks made $871m (€780m) in M&A revenues in Germany last year, compared to $1.8m in the UK and $931m in France.

Top banks for German M&A in 2019:

1. JPMorgan, market share 15%. (Ranking in 2018: 1)
2. Goldman Sachs, market share 10%.  (Ranking in 2018: 6)
3. BofA Securities, market share 9%.  (Ranking in 2018: 2)
4. Morgan Stanley, market share 7%.  (Ranking in 2018: 3)
5. Citi, market share 6%.  (Ranking in 2018: 10)
6. Lazard, market share 6%.  (Ranking in 2018: 18)
7. Deutsche, market share 5%.  (Ranking in 2018: 5)
8. BNP Paribas, market share 4%.  (Ranking in 2018: 14)
9. Perella Weinberg, market share 8%.  (Ranking in 2018: 9)
10. Rothschild, market share 3%.  (Ranking in 2018: 7)

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