NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Private equity deal volume continued to show strong growth in the third quarter of 2016, with Rothschild & Co. topping the list of investment banks that served as deal advisers, according to The Deal, a business unit of TheStreet Inc. (NASDAQ: TST). Although private equity transactions in Q3 decreased slightly, by 4%, from Q2, 2016 remains a robust year, reflecting an equity overhang and constructive debt markets. Moreover, the PE industry expects a strong fourth quarter and no let-up in 2017.

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"PE firms and their advisers have bounced back after a slowdown in in the first quarter," said Ronald Fink, assistant managing editor of The Deal. "Advisers say the deal environment will likely stay competitive in 2017, as PE firms face strong competition from strategic buyers."

The Deal's exclusive ranking covers the top investment banks, law firms, and PR advisers engaged in private equity transactions globally for the first through the third quarters of 2016. Collected data captures advisers to target/seller and acquirer/bidder companies involving transactions.

Some highlights from the report:


    --  Among investment banks, Rothschild & Co topped the list with 81 PE
        deals, 59 of which represented the sell-side. Lazard Ltd. ranked second
        with 64 deals, 36 of which involved representing the sell-side.
        Jefferies LLC finished third with 58 deals.
    --  Among law firms, Kirkland & Ellis LLP was the top counsel to companies,
        with 189 deals, 131 of which it represented the buy-side. Latham &
        Watkins LLP was second with 120 deals, Jones Day ranked third with 79
        deals.
    --  Among PR firms involved in private equity transactions, Sard Verbinnen &
        Co, was first with 68 transactions, in 37 of which it represented the
        buy-side. Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher and Kekst and Co. both
        ranked second with 58 transactions each. Owen Blicksilver Public
        Relations, Inc., ranked third each with 44 transactions.

The full report is available online. For more information about The Deal's Private Equity coverage, go to www.thedeal.com.

About The Deal
The Deal (www.thedeal.com) provides actionable, intraday coverage of mergers, acquisitions and all other changes in corporate control to institutional investors, private equity, hedge funds and the firms that serve them. The Deal is a business unit of TheStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: TST, www.t.st), a leading financial news and information provider. Other business units include TheStreet (www.thestreet.com), which is celebrating its 20th year of producing unbiased business news and market analysis; BoardEx (www.boardex.com), a relationship mapping service of corporate directors and officers; and RateWatch (www.ratewatch.com), which supplies rate and fee data from banks and credit unions across the U.S.

Contact: Jon Kostakopoulos, TheStreet, Inc., 212-321-5561, Jon.Kostakopoulos at thestreet.com

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SOURCE TheStreet, Inc.