Rothschild and Lazard, the independent investment banks, have slipped out of last year's top 10 global M&A rankings, which has been revised following the dramatic collapse of BHP Billiton's takeover bid for Rio Tinto.

The all-share deal, valued at $188.2bn (€145.5bn) when it was announced in November last year, was one of the largest on record and had helped lift Rothschild and Lazard above Barclays Capital and Nomura, which together took over most of collapsed US bank Lehman Brothers' assets, in the coveted end of year league table produced by Thomson Reuters.