Merrill Lynch & Co was the top M&A advisor in the third quarter, according to Global Securities Information, Inc.

Merrill Lynch ranked first with 19 deals and more than US$88 billion in deal value. Morgan Stanley came second with 15 deals worth US$72.8 billion in deals. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co was third; followed by Goldman Sachs & Co; and, UBS Warburg LLC.

The top Canadian firm was CIBC World Markets Corp, which ranked 19th, with five deals for US$2.65 billion. RBC Dominion Securities came third, with two deals for US$1.6 billion.