European equity deal of the year — France Telecom BNP Paribas/JP Morgan/ Morgan Stanley/SG CIB

When the French government began calling ECM teams on the evening of August 31 last year, few equity bankers could have believed their ears. Indeed, many had already left for the day, believing no large deals were imminent. They were wrong - the government was preparing to sell a 9.6% block of France Télécom.