Yahoo bid a prize assignment for bankers

By Jessica Hall and Megan Davies

PHILADELPHIA/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's $44.6 billion bid to acquire Yahoo Inc marked a coup for the companies' advisers and gave a surprise boost to Blackstone Group and Lehman Brothers in the closely watched rankings of financial advisers.

Landing such a large deal is a plum assignment for bankers, who earn large fees from advising on mergers and acquisitions. The fees on the Microsoft bid for Yahoo were not disclosed.

Microsoft hired Morgan Stanley and Blackstone Group, while Yahoo hired Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, according to research firm Dealogic.

It was unclear if the companies had hired additional advisers. Microsoft and Yahoo, as well as the advisers, declined to comment.

While Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley often compete for the top spot among global merger advisers, the Microsoft-Yahoo bid sparked a significant shuffle in the "league table" rankings.

"It's good bragging rights for the day," said Richard Peterson, director of capital markets at Thomson Financial. "But it's early in the year. Everything will change with the next big deal."

So far this year, global merger volume has totaled $263.2 billion, down 8 percent from the same period in 2007, according to Dealogic.

Goldman held on to its No. 1 ranking, but Lehman toppled Morgan Stanley from its No. 2 position. Lehman, which ranked ninth globally in 2007, now stands in the No. 2 spot and Morgan Stanley sits at No. 3, according to Dealogic.