이 기사는 2019년 10월 10일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Deloitte Anjin secured the top position in the third quarter M&A accounting advisory table compiled by the bell based on deals that have completed, beating other Big Four firms.

The accounting firm advised on a total of 22 deals worth 11.7 trillion won year-to-date through September, taking a 29.30 percent adjusted market share, the average of market shares in deal value and volume terms.

Deloitte Anjin had sat in second position as of the end of March, but climbed to number one as several multi-trillion-won deals the firm advised on, such as KCC-led consortium's acquisition of U.S.-based Momentive Performance Materials (3.5 trillion won) and IMM Private Equity's purchase of Linde Group's Korean industrial gas business (1.3 trillion won), completed during the second quarter.

However, few are notable among recently completed deals. The largest transaction Deloitte Anjin worked on in the third quarter was Techcross' purchase of LG Electronics' two water treatment subsidiaries, worth only 250 billion won. Other smaller deals include local private equity (PE) firm LK Investment Partners' acquisition of the majority stake in Samyang Optics (100 billion won) and HDC Hyundai Development's purchase of shares newly issued by Hansol Development (58 billion won).

Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) ranked second, though it led competitors in deal volume. The accounting firm advised on 44 deals year-to-date through September, twice the number for Deloitte Anjin, with an aggregate deal value of 6.25 trillion won.

Samil PwC showed increased activity in the most recent three months. It advised Hong Kong-based Baring Private Equity Asia on its acquisition of Acuon Capital and Acuon Savings Bank from J.C. Flowers (600 billion won), which was the largest PE-backed deal in South Korea closed in the third quarter. It also worked on four more deals, each worth more than 100 billion won, including the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB)'s sale of Dongbu Steel to local PE firm Cactus Private Equity for 360 billion won. In the third quarter alone, Samil PwC advised on 14 transactions.

Samjong KPMG secured third position. It worked on 29 deals so far this year totaling 7.65 trillion won, with an adjusted market share of 25.25 percent. Based on data in the third quarter alone, however, the firm recorded the worst performance among the Big Four, advising on a mere five deals worth roughly 317 billion won in total.

EY Han Young came in fourth place. Year-to-date, it advised on 13 deals worth 2.72 trillion won, capturing a 10 percent adjusted market share. The firm provided accounting advice to LG Electronics on its sale of two water treatment subsidiaries to Techcross. It also worked on the Dongbu Steel deal on the side of the buyer Cactus PE.

The gap between the top two players is not small. Still, there is a chance that Samil PwC could move up to number one in the fourth quarter since some deals the firm is currently working on are expected to complete within the year, including SKC's sale of a stake in its chemical business unit to Kuwait's Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) for 539 billion won and KEB Hana Bank's acquisition of a stake in Bank for Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) worth over one trillion won.

(By reporter Kim Hye-ran)