Merrill Lynch's equity capitals markets business continued its strong run over the last six weeks when it priced the £345m (€560m) follow-on offering for Galen Holdings, the pharmaceuticals company, at a slim discount.

As sole bookrunner for the deal, the bank will have collected the lion's share of the £15m that the company forked out for the offering, and the deal reinforces its position at the top of the bookrunner league table for European equity issues.