The 25th Annual M&A Advisor Awards
The 25th Annual M&A Advisor Awards – the pinnacle of dealmaking excellence – will honor the year’s leading M&A Transactions, Restructurings, Deal Financings, Products/Services, Firms, and Professionals. Submitted nominations undergo a rigorous independent judging process to select the winners. As an award recipient, you and your firm will benefit from:
- Recognition among your peers for your outstanding transactions, deal teams, and professionals.
- Quality exposure to over 50,000 top professionals in corporate development, private equity, business media, and leading advisory firms worldwide.
- Attendance at an exclusive Summit and Awards Gala on November 16-17, 2026, in New York City.
Join us as we reveal and celebrate the winners of the 25th Annual M&A Advisor Awards during a Gala Dinner Celebration, at the 2026 Future of Dealmaking Summit on November 16-17, in New York City.
A. NOMINATION DEADLINES
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FINAL NOMINATION DEADLINE: Thursday, July 23, 2026, 4 PM EST.
Although the published nomination deadline has already passed, nominations will be considered on a case-by-case basis, as time allows, until the judging process is complete.
Please contact us at awards@maadvisor.com or +1 (212) 951-1550 with any inquiries.
B. AWARD CATEGORIES (Click here to learn more)
Firm Award Category
- Accounting/Due Diligence Firm of the Year
- Boutique Investment Banking Firm of the Year
- Investment Banking Firm of the Year
- Law Firm of the Year
- Lender Firm of the Year
- Valuation Firm of the Year
- Communications Firm of the Year
- Strategic Corporation of the Year
- Private Equity Firm of the Year
- Consulting Firm of the Year
Professional Award Category
- Corporate Development Professional of the Year
- Investment Banker of the Year
- Legal Advisor of the Year
- Lender Professional of the Year
- Private Equity Professional of the Year
- Service Professional of the Year
- Business Development Professional of the Year
Product/Service Award Category
- Product/Service of the Year
M&A Transaction Award Category
- M&A Deal of the Year
- Corporate/Strategic Deal of the Year (transaction must be a corporate acquisition or divestiture)
- Cross Border Deal of the Year (must be a transaction between entities domiciled in at least 2 separate countries)
- Private Equity Deal of the Year (must be a private equity acquisition or private equity sale)
Deal Financing Award Category
- Equity Financing of the Year
- Debt Financing of the Year
Restructuring Award Category
- Restructuring Deal of the Year
Sector Award Category
- Consumer Discretionary Deal of the Year Sub-sectors spans Autos & Components (manufacturers, parts, motorcycles), Durables & Apparel (homebuilding, appliances, luxury goods), Consumer Services (education, specialty services), Retail (e-commerce, specialty, multiline), and Leisure (casinos, hotels, restaurants)
- Consumer Staples Deal of the Year, Sub-sectors include Food & Staples Retailing (grocers, drugstores, distributors), Beverages (soft drinks, alcohol), Food Products (packaged foods, ag products), Household & Personal Products, and Tobacco
- Energy Deal of the Year Sub-sectors include Oil & Gas Exploration, Integrated Oil & Gas, Refining & Marketing, Equipment & Services, and Coal & Consumable Fuels
- Financials Deal of the Year Sub-sectors feature Banks (diversified, regional), Diversified Financials (asset management, consumer finance, investment banking), Insurance (life, property, multi-line, reinsurance, brokers), and Mortgage REITs
- Healthcare/Life Sciences Deal of the Year Sub-sectors consist of Equipment & Services (supplies, distributors, services, managed care), and Life Sciences (biotech, pharmaceuticals, tools & services)
- Industrials Deal of the Year Sub-sectors include Capital Goods (aerospace & defense, building products, engineering, electrical equipment, machinery, conglomerates), Commercial & Professional Services (staffing, security, environmental, printing), and Transportation (air freight, airlines, marine, road & rail, infrastructure)
- Information Technology Deal of the Year Sub-sectors include IT Services (consulting, processing), Software (application, systems, entertainment), Hardware & Equipment (communications, computers, components, distributors), and Semiconductors
- Materials Deal of the Year Sub-sectors cover Chemicals (Commodity, Specialty, Fertilizers), Construction Materials, Containers & Packaging, and Metals & Mining (Aluminum, Steel, Gold, Diversified, Precious Metals, Copper), plus Paper & Forest Products
- Professional Services Deal of the Year (includes business to business services across different sectors and sub-sectors)
- Real Estate Sub-sectors include REITs (residential, retail, office, industrial, specialized) and Real Estate Management & Development
- Telecommunication Services Deal of the Year Sub-sectors comprises Telecom (integrated, wireless), Media (broadcasting, cable, publishing, advertising), Entertainment (movies, gaming), and Interactive Media & Services (social media, search) Wireless Communications
- Utilities Deal of the Year Sub-sectors include Electric, Gas, Water, and Multi-Utilities, plus Independent and Renewable Power Producers
C. QUALIFYING CRITERIA (Click here to learn more)
General Nomination Criteria
- There are no limits on the number of nominations submitted
- A separate nomination form must be submitted for each transaction, financing, restructuring, firm, product/service, and professional to be nominated
- Nominations must all be submitted electronically using this website
Specific Award Category Nomination Criteria
To qualify for M&A Deal of the Year, Corporate/Strategic Deal of the Year, Cross Border Deal of the Year, Private Equity Deal of the Year, Restructuring Deal of the Year, Deal Financing of the Year, and Sector Deal of the Year, the transaction must adhere to the following criteria:
- The deal must have a minimum value of $10mm USD
- The deal must have been closed between July 1st, 2025, and June 30th, 2026
D. NOMINATION FEES (Click here to learn more)
There is a nominal processing fee charged for all nominations. The fee is comprised of these components:
Specific Award Category Nomination Criteria
- A base fee of $325 will be charged for processing each nomination
- An additional fee of $95 will be incurred per category
- An early submission credit of $100 will be subtracted from the price of each nomination submitted on or before June 4, 2026
- A late fee of $100 will be added to the price of each nomination submitted after July 2, 2026
To qualify for M&A Deal of the Year, Corporate/Strategic Deal of the Year, Cross Border Deal of the Year, Private Equity Deal of the Year, Restructuring Deal of the Year, Deal Financing of the Year, and Sector Deal of the Year, the transaction must adhere to the following criteria:
- The deal must have a minimum value of $10mm USD
- The deal must have been closed between June 1st, 2025, and July 31st, 2026
Below are examples of nomination submissions and the corresponding fee calculations:
Example 1: If the transaction Acquisition of Con Edison by
Sinopec is nominated for M&A Deal of the Year, Corporate/Strategic Acquisition of the Year and Sector Deal
of The Year, the fee will be calculated as follows:
| Base Nomination Fee | $325 |
| Category #1 - M&A Deal of the Year | $95 |
| Category #2 - Corporate/Strategic Acquisition of the Year | $95 |
| Category #3 - Sector Deal of the Year | $95 |
| Early Submission Discount, if submitted by June 4 | ($100) |
| Total | $510 |
Example 2: If ABC Company is nominated for Firm of the Year, the fee will be
calculated as follows:
| Base Nomination Fee | $325 |
| Category #1 – Strategic Corp of the Year | $95 |
| Total (if submitted between June 5 and July 2) | $420 |
E. NOMINATION SUBMISSION PROCESS (Click here to learn more)
There are multiple ways a deal, firm, product/service or professional can be nominated: (a) self-nominations; (b) nominated by your collegue; or (c) client nominations.
The process for submission is as follows:
- 1. Prepare a nomination form for each desired Award Category group you intend to submit. The Award Category groups are: M&A Transaction, Restructuring, Deal Financing, Sector Award, M&A Product/Service, Firm, and Professional. [Multiple entries are permitted and encouraged in any category].
- 2. The following information will be required to complete each submission: Contact information for Nominator; Nominee; Marketing/PR/Communication representatives
- Contact information for Nominator; Nominee; Marketing/PR/Communication representatives
- Name of the transaction; deal financing; restructuring; firm; product/service and professional nominated
- Nomination categories. Each transaction can qualify for multiple award categories.
- Detailed profile of the transaction/deal financing/restructuring/product/service/firm or professional
- Links providing additional information about the nominated transaction, professional, firm or individual
- For transaction, deal financing, and restructuring categories you will also be asked to provide the date the deal was completed/closed, deal value or value range, industry classification and deal team members
- To complete the submission, payment is required. Method of payment accepted: Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express.
F. JUDGING PROCESS AND ESSAY QUESTIONS (Click here to learn more)
Award nominations are submitted from the field during a months-long open nomination period. The M&A Advisor Awards research team uses real-time and historical information to vet the nominations. Nomination are managed, and evaluations conducted, in a secure data room using exclusive and trusted technology to ensure that all nominations are processed and evaluated securely and confidentially.
Independent Committee
Nominations are evaluated by an independent committee of business leaders, chosen for their expertise and experience in M&A, restructuring and financing. The judges evaluate and score the nominations to select a winner in each award category. The committee membership evolves with each successive Awards program. To view the independent committee members for a recent awards program, Click Here
Essay Questions and Judging Criteria
Each nomination has 3 essay questions on which most of the evaluation score will depend, as outlined below. All essay questions have word limits of 100-word minimum and 250-word maximum.
1. DEALS
Nominations for Deals of the Year (M&A Deal of the Year, Corporate/Strategic Deal of the Year, Cross Border Deal of the Year, Private Equity Deal of the Year, Restructuring Deal of the Year, Deal Financing of the Year, and Sector Deals of the Year) will be judged on the following criteria:
- Deal profile (30% of the score)
- Deal challenges (30% of the score)
- Deal benefits (30% of the score)
Completeness and adherence to nomination form instructions (10% of the score).
2. FIRMS
Nominations for Firms of the Year will be judged on the following criteria:
- Firm’s profile (10% of the score)
- Firm’s unique attributes (40% of the score)
- Firm’s industry impact (40% of the score)
Completeness and adherence to nomination form instructions (10% of the score)
3. PRODUCT/SERVICES
Nominations for Product/Service of the Year will be judged on the following criteria:
- Product/Service’s profile (30% of the score)
- Product/Service’s benefits and unique attributes) (30% of the score)
- Product/Service’s market share, growth trajectory, and industry impact (30% of the score)
Completeness and adherence to nomination form instructions (10% of the score)
4. PROFESSIONALS
Nominations for Professionals of the Year will be judged on the following criteria:
- Professional’s profile (30% of the score)
- Professional’s activity (30% of the score)
- Professionals’s unique attributes and industry impact (30% of the score)
Completeness and adherence to nomination form instructions (10% of the score)
G. CONFIDENTIALITY (Click here to learn more)
The M&A Advisor and its independent judges will maintain the strictest confidentiality for all entries. Upon the selection of Award Finalists and Winners, only the transaction name, product/service name, professional, and firm names will be publicized. While there may be a dollar range specified for transactions, financing, and restructuring awards categories, the actual value will not be published at any time.
The Thomas Farrell Memorial Award
The Thomas Farrell Memorial Award honors M&A professionals who embody the late Tom Farrell’s enduring passion for dealmaking, his leadership in business development, and his sustained career success. Now in its 8th year, the Award celebrates individuals who have worked in the industry for at least 10 years and exemplify Farrell’s spirited and inspirational approach to the M&A profession. The Award will be presented at the 2026 Future of Dealmaking Summit alongside the 25th Annual M&A Advisor Awards. In honor of Tom’s vast contributions, Generational Equity underwrites the Award, and thus there are no nomination fees. Each nomination includes biographical details, a headshot, and answers to short essay questions. Judging is conducted by an independent panel of industry leaders who evaluate candidates based on professional accomplishments, community involvement, and overall impact. The recipient must attend the summit in New York City, where the award will be presented in honor of Tom Farrell’s legacy. To nominate or find out more, CLICK HERE.
If you have questions regarding the awards program, contact: