NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Bermuda-based Lazard Ltd., the biggest independent merger adviser, reported third-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates on higher revenue from advising on mergers and acquisitions.

Profit rose 18 percent to $62.2 million, or 46 cents a share, from $52.5 million, or 41 cents, in the same period a year earlier, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based firm said today in a statement. Profit surpassed the 42-cent average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Operating revenue from mergers and acquisitions advice jumped 29 percent to $160.7 million.

Chief executive officer Kenneth Jacobs has added bankers as Lazard bets on a rebound in takeovers. The firm got a boost this quarter by advising on the merger of Continental Airlines Inc. and UAL Corp., and on $14.4 billion of transactions between Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. and Coca-Cola Co., according to the statement. Asset-management revenue climbed 32 percent.

"We're looking for a gradual improvement in M&A and you've been seeing that," chief financial officer Michael Castellano said in an interview yesterday.