Goldman Sachs and Houlihan Lokey top H1 2026 M&A adviser rankings, according to a new league table

Goldman Sachs and Houlihan Lokey were the standout advisers in the first half of 2026 across two common ways of measuring mergers and acquisitions banking activity: total deal value and number of transactions. The figures come from an adviser-ranking list reported in a Yahoo Finance-linked post by Private Banker International, which compiled H1 2026 results for investment banks and specialist M&A houses.

On the value measure, Goldman Sachs advised on transactions worth $597.4 billion over the period. The value-based ranking typically reflects deal size, which can be driven by large-cap acquisitions, major take-private transactions, and other high-dollar corporate restructurings.

On the volume measure, Houlihan Lokey led the rankings by number of deals, tallying 152 transactions in the first half. A count-based table is often seen as a proxy for how frequently an adviser is involved in corporate deal-making, including smaller transactions that may not move the overall market value as much.

The post framing the league table did not provide further breakdowns in the text shown here, such as what proportion of the transactions were cross-border, the industries most represented, or how the rankings compare with the previous half-year. It also did not specify whether the totals reflect completed deals, announced deals, or a particular cut-off method for deal inclusion.

For Goldman Sachs, being at the top of a value ranking aligns with its long-running position as a global investment bank with a large M&A platform. For dealmakers, the M&A advisory market is closely watched because it can announcement client activity, competition for mandates, and the health of broader capital markets. Rankings such as these are frequently referenced by corporate treasurers, chief financial officers, and other stakeholders when assessing which banks have momentum.

Houlihan Lokey’s lead in deal count underscores a different strength profile. Specialist advisers that are active across a wide set of transactions often do well in volume rankings, because clients may tap them for a variety of mandate types, including sell-side engagements, fairness-related work, and other advisory assignments.

Still, the league table’s usefulness is tempered by what is not included in the information available here. The post does not list the methodology in the provided extract, and it does not show a full top list, weighting rules, or the underlying deal roster. It also does not indicate whether the figures are preliminary or subject to later corrections as deals are reclassified.

What to watch next is whether Goldman Sachs or Houlihan Lokey maintains its edge going into the second half of 2026, and whether other banks narrow the gap on either metric. For market participants, additional details that would typically matter include the full top advisory lineup, whether the market’s center of gravity is shifting toward certain regions or deal types, and how the rankings change quarter to quarter.