The two advisers who helped Facebook make its largest acquisition to date stand to earn tens of millions of dollars for their work.
On Wednesday, Facebook confirmed it had agreed to buy the messaging start-up WhatsApp for $16 billion in cash and stock, plus $3 billion in in restricted stock units that will be granted to WhatsApp employees and founders. Morgan Stanley advised WhatsApp and could earn $35 million to $45 million on the deal, according to estimates from Freeman Consulting Services, a boutique mergers and acquisitions advisory firm.
Allen & Company advised Facebook and could earn $32 million to $41 million, according to Freeman.
Morgan Stanley has pulled ahead of the competition recently on M.&A. advisory work. It worked with Time Warner Cable during its negotiations with the cable giant Comcast, which confirmed last week that it had agreed to buy its rival for $45.2 billion.
That deal, the largest of 2014 and the third-largest acquisition since the financial crisis, shot Morgan Stanley to the top of Thomson Reuters ranking of the 100 biggest deal makers.
Facebook was also advised by the law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges, while WhatsApp received legal counsel from Fenwick & West. Law firms are typically not included in adviser rankings because they bill by the hour.
