Under-fire companies used to call Goldman Sachs. However, in recent months they have been turning to Merrill Lynch, which appears to have stolen the title as the bank of choice for corporates seeking defence advice.

After finishing last year on a high by advising O2, the UK telecoms group, on its takeover by Spain's Telefónica, Merrill Lynch began this year in a similar vein. It was the only bank to advise the target on each of Europe's three biggest hostile deals in the first quarter. It also fended off a Goldman Sachs-backed unsolicited bid from Australia's Macquarie Bank for the London Stock Exchange.