JP Morgan jumps up M&A rankings on InBev deal

LONDON (Reuters) - JP Morgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research)jumped to second from third place on a league table of the world's top M&A advisers for 2008 so far thanks to its role as adviser on InBev's INTB.BR $46.3 billion offer for Anheuser-Busch (BUD.N: Quote, Profile, Research), data from Thomson Reuters showed on Thursday.

The bank has leapfrogged previous No. 2 Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), pulling in a total of $414.5 billion worth of deals since January 1.

Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) retains its top ranking, working on $515.3 worth of transactions.

InBev's lead financial adviser Lazard Ltd (LAZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) now comes 12th, up from 18th.

Belgium-based InBev, formed by the 2004 merger of Belgium's Interbrew with Brazil's AmBev, is the world's second largest beer producer by volume. It announced on Wednesday its bid for Anheuser-Busch, aimed at creating the world's largest brewer.

The planned takeover is the second largest deal so far this year after Altria Group Inc's (MO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) $113 billion spinoff of Philip Morris International (PM.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

League table credit, used by banks to attract clients, is more vital than ever as economic uncertainty and the fallout from the credit crunch keep dealmaking tough.

(Reporting by Eleanor Wason; Editing by Quentin Bryar)