NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rothschild & Co., Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and Abernathy MacGregor Group Inc. were the top advisers to the private equity industry in 2016, according to The Deal, a business unit of TheStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: TST).

The report also found that the year ahead contains potential challenges for the industry. The private equity industry continues to face strong competition in 2017 from strategic buyers, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices in acquiring quality private companies. Complicating matters further, is impending tax reform legislation that may take away the tax deductibility of interest expense, which, if enacted, will adversely affect the economics of PE firms.

"Private equity firms continue to navigate a high-valuation environment as they compete for assets against strategic buyers and others," said Armie Lee, private equity reporter at The Deal. "At the same time, PE firms are keeping an eye on the developments in Washington, including potential tax reform."

The Deal's exclusive ranking covers the top investment banks, law firms, and PR advisers engaged in private equity transactions globally for the full year 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 114 PE
        deals, 81 of which represented the sell-side. Lazard Ltd. ranked second
        with 95 deals, 57 of which involved representing the sell-side. Houlihan
        Lokey Inc. finished third with 80 deals, 67 of which it represented the
        sell-side.
    --  Among law firms, Kirkland & Ellis LLP was the top counsel to companies,
        with 287 deals, 192 of which it represented the buy-side. Latham &
        Watkins LLP was second with 162 deals. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP ranked
        third with 117 deals.
    --  Among PR firms involved in private equity transactions, Abernathy
        MacGregor Group Inc. was first with 117 transactions, in 97 of which it
        represented the buy-side. Sard Verbinnen & Co. LLC came in second, with
        102 transactions. Kekst and Co. ranked third with 80 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 20(th) year of producing unbiased business news and market analysis; BoardEx (www.boardex.com), the leading relationship mapping service of corporate directors and officers; and RateWatch (www.rate-watch.com) which supplies rate and fee data from banks and credit unions across the U.S.

Contact: Jon Kostakopoulos, 1-212-321-5561, Jon.Kostakopoulos at thestreet.com

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SOURCE TheStreet, Inc.