Two Nigerian laws firms make global league of top advisors in project finance

Olaniwun Ajayi LP and Banwo & Ighodalo (B&I) were amongst the top 20 firms in this year’s ranking for global project finance, with both firms handling transactions worth over $120bn last year.

While Olaniwun Ajayi got on the league with deals worth $69.34bn, its finance counterpart, Banwo & Ighodalo, handled a transaction worth $61.50bn ; driving both firms right up the world’s league of market makers; alongside heavy weight players, such as Allen & Overy (UK), Latham & Watkins (US), Clifford Chance (UK), White & Case (US), Linklaters (UK), Shearman & Sterling (US), Norton Rose Fulbright (UK), Baker & McKenzie (US), and a few others.

With the stakes higher than 2012, Clifford Chance found itself going down six spaces in this year’s global project finance rankings, while Allen & Overy (A&O) rose to the top of the league for 2013 with 68 transactions worth almost $95bn compared to 41 deals for Clifford Chance.

Latham & Watkins, which in 2012 worked on 35 deals worth $32bn, posted 43 deals worth $45.9bn in 2013, ranking second. Meanwhile White & Case, on a total of 25 deals worth $15.37bn last year almost doubled the value of its deals to $36.5bn despite working on only 18 transactions.

Last year Clifford Chance beat its competition in a three-year low for deal volumes and values to come out top. The firm outperformed its rivals in 2012 with 47 transactions worth $36.3bn (£24bn) according to Infrastructure Journal’s (IJ) league tables for 2013.

Linklaters was however, the biggest faller after Clifford Chance, dropping from fourth place last year to eleventh.

In 2012, the top 10 firms inked 276 deals worth a total of $228bn. This compares to 2013’s top 10 total of $399.5bn and a total top 20 deal value of $543.6bn.

The entrance of these two firms into the global league shows a growing strength of Nigerian firms in finance, which hopefully will be maintained, as more African law firms heighten their presence in the market.