Lehman-Barclays, BofA-Merrill leapfrog league tables

NEW YORK/PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - British bank Barclays Plc's purchase of bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's main U.S. assets this week will propel it into the top ranks of underwriters of global debt and securities and advisors of mergers and acquisitions so far this year.

But another pending combination -- Bank of America Corp and Merrill Lynch & Co Inc -- will give Barclays-Lehman a run for its money, particularly in M&A activity and initial public offerings.

Below is a look at how the combined companies would rank so far this year in global debt and equities underwriting, initial public offerings, and M&A deals.

GLOBAL DEBT AND EQUITIES

On Monday, Bank of America agreed to acquire Merrill Lynch

in a deal that would have created the No. 1 underwriter of global debt and equity securities, bumping JPMorgan Chase & Co from the top spot, according to Thomson Reuters data.

But Bank of America-Merrill Lynch's perch atop the league tables was short-lived.

Alone, Barclays Capital ranks as the fourth largest issuer of debt and equity in the world. Together, with Lehman, the combined company would have underwritten $389.1 billion in debt and equity worldwide this year, landing it the top spot and pushing aside Bank of America-Merrill, with $377.4 billion.

While the two deals would push JP Morgan to third place, all three are in close competition, each holding about 10 percent market share.

TOP TIER FOR M&A

The purchase of the North American investment banking assets from bankrupt Lehman also catapults Barclays into the Top 10 tier of advisors for mergers and acquisitions.

Together, Barclays-Lehman would hold the No. 9 spot, up from Barclay's solo position as No. 70 globally.

Lehman, already in the No. 9 spot worldwide, has advised on 128 deals this year valued at $359.7 billion, while Barclays advised on five deals valued at $6.1 billion.

Bank of America, the No 13 largest M&A adviser in the world, would rise to fourth place with the Merrill acquisition. The two have advised on a combined $460.8 billion in deals year-to-date.

INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS

Although Barclays has not underwritten any IPOs in either the United States or globally this year, according to Thomson Reuters data, Lehman will help it get a modest foothold in the market for new issues. So far this year, Lehman ranks No 26 globally on four IPOs valued at $430.6 million, while in the United States, it has underwritten two deals valued at $248.7 million to land at No 11.

In contrast, snagging Merrill will turn Bank of America into a major IPO underwriter globally. On its own, Bank of America ranks No 11, but with Merrill, the fifth largest IPO underwriter in the world, it jumps up into third place globally with $5.8 billion for 22 deals.

(Reporting by Jessica Hall in Philadelphia and Phil Wahba in New York; Editing by Andre Grenon)