Credit Suisse Group AG jumped to No. 1 advising on consumer mergers and acquisitions this year, putting it on pace to return to the top five dealmakers for the first time in eight years. The Zurich-based bank has advised on 37 consumer transactions in 2010 valued at about $45 billion to become fourth in all M&A this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Those takeovers include Coca-Cola Co.’s $12.3 billion purchase of the North American operations of bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., the biggest consumer deal of the year.
Consumer companies are making acquisitions to boost earnings growth as they amass cash. Switzerland’s second-largest bank benefited from retailers and consumer-goods makers expanding into new product lines and faster-growing regions. Buyout firms are also beginning to do more deals.
Credit Suisse advised Heineken NV on its $7.7 billion purchase of Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB’s beer unit in January, the year’s second-biggest consumer deal, and SSL International Plc on its $3.89 billion takeover by Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc in July. The bank also advised Apax on the sale of Tommy Hilfiger to Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. in March.
Advisory Fees
Those deals helped Credit Suisse earn $116.8 million in consumer M&A fees in the first nine months of 2010, trailing Goldman Sachs Group Inc. by $32 million and Bank of America Corp. by $9 million. The Swiss bank earned $58.6 million on consumer deals for all of 2009 and ranked sixth, according to Freeman. Credit Suisse’s global M&A group is led by Boon Sim, who was appointed to the role in December after a shake-up following a decline in advisory revenue. Andrew Lipsky took over U.S. M&A, and Giuseppe Monarchi became head of European M&A. Credit Suisse ranked eighth in global mergers in 2009.
