The editors and reporters of Investment Dealer's Digest (IDD) recently announced their awards for the best deals of 2002, a year the magazine noted as being one of the most challenging since the Great Depression. IDD noted that despite the bleak financial environment, "…there were pockets of brilliance in the dealmaking world."

From the world of M&A, IBM's US$3.5bn acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Consulting was "nothing if not a sign of the times," according to IDD . Morgan Stanley represented PwCC in the transaction.

Even though PwC Consulting had been planning an IPO, IBM showed interest in the group given the clear strategic rationale of the combination. Given the issues around independence, PwC recognized the need to separate the consulting business. Both the auditors and the consultants were committed to an IPO until IBM stepped up just as the IPO was going to be launched.

"Not only was the M&A value offered more attractive than the value that would have been achieved in an IPO but PwC recognized that the combination would create the clear industry leader in IT services," said Seth Bergstein, Managing Director and Head of the Computer and Business Services effort. "It was a great team effort on all fronts with leadership from senior bankers including Joe Perella, Bob Scully and Brad Evans and tireless commitment from Ken Pott, Dan Simkowitz, Jim Head and Gary Traynor."

Morgan Stanley also received an IDD nod for Burberry's US$400mn IPO. The magazine named the transaction Retail Breakthrough Deal. The Firm's team successfully placed the shares with a majority of Tier One and Tier Two investors amid the corporate accounting maelstrom eroding consumer confidence. Quality brand, solid positioning and responsible valuation attracted several large, high-quality luxury goods investors to the book.

"We were pleased to be able to serve our client successfully, even in the wake of five prior European IPOs folding. The environment was tough, but in the end, both Burberry and its parent company, GUS, were happy," said John Crompton, Managing Director. "And we were thrilled," Crompton added.

In addition, IDD recognized the following deals in which Morgan Stanley played supporting roles:

• Restructuring of NTL Inc., Overall Breakthrough Deal of the Year
• Royal Dutch Shell's Acquisition of Enterprise Oil Plc., Energy Breakthrough Deal
• Time Warner Entertainment's restructuring with AT&T Comcast cable systems, Media/Entertainment Breakthrough Deal