Freshfields and Cuatrecasas split Spain M&A lead in 2025 (Mergermarket)
The advisor on Spain’s richest M&A mandates in 2025 was Freshfields, according to Mergermarket’s Global and Regional M&A Rankings (Legal Advisors). The firm — whose Madrid office has been led since 2025 by managing partner Bosco Montejo (here our dedicated interview)— advised on 15 transactions worth €31.48bn (US$36.75bn), climbing from 7th place in the 2024 value table. In second place, Uría Menéndez held its position year on year, delivering 142 deals for €27.58bn (US$32.19bn). Deloitte Legal completed the podium in third with 95 mandates worth €23.67bn (US$27.64bn), a six-place rise from ninth the previous year.
The table then shows a tightly packed group: Pérez-Llorca is fourth (up from 10th) on €20.75bn (US$24.23bn) across 119 deals, followed by PwC Legal in fifth (from 11th) with €20.23bn (US$23.62bn) from 81 transactions. Jones Day posts one of the sharpest jumps, rising from 55th to sixth after advising on six deals worth €19.23bn (US$22.46bn). Garrigues drops from first to seventh, despite still booking 201 mandates, with aggregate value of €17.21bn (US$20.09bn). Cuatrecasas places eighth (from 13th) on €16.83bn (US$19.65bn) from 218 deals, while A&O Shearman ranks ninth (down from 6th) with €15.82bn (US$18.47bn) across 31 transactions. EY Abogados rounds out the top 10 in 10th, up from 32nd, with 86 deals worth €15.37bn (US$17.95bn).
In the bottom half of the top 20, Linklaters is 11th (from 5th) on €14.97bn (US$17.47bn) from 38 deals, and KPMG Abogados is 12th (from 4th) with 59 mandates totalling €11.46bn (US$13.38bn). Clifford Chance falls to 13th (from 3rd) on €8.98bn (US$10.49bn) from 25 deals, with the table showing a reported -103.3% value change. Latham & Watkins ranks 14th (from 8th) with €8.39bn (US$9.79bn) from 24 transactions. The remaining places are: 15th Wolf Theiss Rechtsanwaelte GmbH & Co KG on €7.18bn (US$8.38bn) from three deals (up from 45th); 16th Greenberg Traurig on €7.11bn (US$8.30bn) from three deals (up from 116th); 17th Rymarz Zdort with €6.84bn (US$7.98bn) from two transactions; 18th Hogan Lovells on €5.43bn (US$6.34bn) from 23 deals (up from 39th); 19th DLA Piper on €5.32bn (US$6.21bn) from 32 mandates (up from 30th); and 20th Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados with €5.02bn (US$5.86bn) from 64 deals (up from 22nd).
BY DEAL COUNT
Mergermarket’s Spain rankings by deal count for 2025 again place Cuatrecasas at the top, maintaining first place with 218 deals, down four from 222 in 2024. Garrigues remained second, recording 201 deals (down one from 202). Uría Menéndez held third, advising on 142 deals, a decrease of 18 versus 160 in 2024.
The next positions showed sharper movement. Pérez-Llorca rose to fourth (from fifth) with 119 deals, an increase of 35 from 84 a year earlier. Deloitte Legal stayed fifth, reporting 95 deals, up 11 on 2024’s 84. EY Abogados climbed to sixth (from 16th) with 87 deals, up 57 from 30. PwC Legal fell to seventh (from fourth) with 81 deals, down 26 from 107. Gómez-Acebo & Pombo ranked eighth, unchanged year on year, with 64 deals (down eight from 72). KPMG Abogados placed ninth, also steady in ranking, with 59 deals (down eight from 67). A significant drop by volume is recorded for DWF Group, which sits 10th (from fifth) on 49 deals, down 35 from 84, with value of €463m (US$540m).
Baker McKenzie ranked 11th with 45 deals (down three from 48) and €4.75bn (US$5,550m) in value. Linklaters was 12th, unchanged, with 38 deals (down two from 40). Just outside the top 12, DLA Piper placed 13th (from 15th) with 32 deals (down one from 33). A&O Shearman ranked 14th (from 13th) with 31 deals, down seven from 38. Further down, Broseta Abogados posted one of the largest increases in the table, rising to 15th (from 33rd) on 28 deals, up 20 from eight, with value of €188m (US$220m). CMS fell to 16th (from 11th) with 27 deals, down 19 from 46, and €731m (US$853m) in value. Clifford Chance moved to 17th (from 14th) with 25 deals, down nine from 34. Latham & Watkins ranked 18th (from 17th) with 24 deals, down five from 29. The final two positions were occupied by Hogan Lovells in 19th (from 26th) with 23 deals, up 10 from 13; and Pinsent Masons in 20th, unchanged, with 18 deals, down four from 22, alongside €3.04bn (US$3,546m) in value.
EUROPE
Notably, Cuatrecasas and Garrigues also feature in Mergermarket’s Europe ranking by deal count. Cuatrecasas sits eighth (down from seventh last year) with 248 deals (-34 versus 282 in 2024) for €25.06bn (US$29,255m). Garrigues ranks 16th (from 12th) on 209 transactions (down from 221) worth €18.17bn (US$21,211m).
