Two US banking boutiques have rocketed up the global advisory rankings thanks to their work on a giant $39bn deal in the telecoms sector, just as Goldman Sachs analysts predict smaller firms will benefit more from increasing M&A volumes than their bulge-bracket rivals.

Evercore Partners and Greenhill & Co now occupy the 11 and 12 spots, respectively, in data provider Dealogic's global mergers and acquisitions league table after advising on the largest M&A deal of the last two years.