THE APEX TIMES
In the first three quarters of 2026, Morgan Stanley led advisers working on technology, media and telecom transactions by total deal value, while Houlihan Lokey recorded the highest number of transactions in the segment.
Morgan Stanley has emerged as the top adviser for technology, media and telecom (TMT) mergers and acquisitions in the first three quarters of 2026 when rankings are measured by deal value, according to a report published by on Oct. 29.
The same ranking indicates that Houlihan Lokey recorded the greatest number of TMT transactions over the period, advising on 66 deals. In market terms, “deal value” typically reflects the dollar size of completed advisory mandates, while “deal volume” counts the number of transactions, regardless of size. The distinction can matter because a smaller number of very large transactions may outweigh dozens of smaller ones.
Morgan Stanley’s placement at the top by value suggests its work during the period was concentrated in fewer, higher-ticket transactions, rather than being driven primarily by transaction count. The report frames the overall results as a view of how advisory work is breaking down across the TMT sector during 2026.
At the same time, Houlihan Lokey’s lead by volume indicates an opposite strategy. Advising on 66 TMT transactions implies broad participation across a wide set of deals, potentially spanning a mix of smaller takeovers, strategic acquisitions, and corporate restructuring moves.
For investment banks and boutique advisers, these league tables are closely watched indicators of market presence. They can be used by corporate dealmakers as a announcement of where advisory capacity is concentrated, and by financial institutions as a way to measure how their coverage in a given industry stacks up against competitors.
Still, league tables are only one lens. Different data providers and rankings can vary in how they define covered transactions, how they attribute advisory roles, and which deal types they include. The reported Q1-Q3 2026 results should therefore be treated as directional rather than as a definitive measure of every adviser’s performance across the entire market.
The Oct. 29 report does not provide additional details on the specific Morgan Stanley transactions that drove the “deal value” leadership, nor does it break out the values of deals by adviser or country. It also does not quantify how close Morgan Stanley was to the next firms in the value ranking, limiting what can be inferred about competitive margins from the headline position alone.
What to watch next is whether additional quarters of 2026, or full-year reporting, preserve the same ranking order when both value and volume are considered together. Observers will also be looking for further disclosure that ties advisory leadership to particular themes in TMT dealmaking, such as consolidation, platform roll-ups, or sector-specific restructuring activity.
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