Morgan Stanley recently netted the top spot in Euromoney's Best M&A House for Brazil in its annual Awards for Excellence 2009. The results appeared in the July issue of the magazine.

The awards, note the editors, recognize institutions and individuals that "demonstrate leadership, innovation and momentum in the markets in which they excel."

In recognizing Morgan Stanley, Euromoney cited the Firm's work on the "mega-merger" between Banco Itau and Unibanco Holdings.

"The deal produced a financial conglomerate with about $265 billion in assets, making it the largest bank in the southern hemisphere," the editors wrote.

Highlighting Morgan Stanley's "highly respected M&A franchise in Brazil," the editors also pointed to the Firm's work on "another 20 deals over the year."

Notable deals of 2009 include:

• advising Brazilian telecom company Telemar when it acquired a controlling stake in Brasil Telecom for R$7.9bn
• advising Banco Nossa Caixa when Banco do Brazil acquired a 71.25 percent stake for $2.28bn
• advising Cosan, an ethanol and sugar producer, when it acquired Esso Brasileira de Petroleo from Exxon Corp
• advising Cemig when it acquired 65.86 percent of Terna Participações (Terna Part.) from Terna S.p.A. for R$2.3bn

advising Intelig Telecomunicacoes Ltd on its merger with TIM Participacoes S.A., a subsidiary of Telecom Italia