It's about to be the perfect storm for big-time M&A deals to finally take off
Dan DeFrancesco
7 min read
President Joe Biden delivers remarks about his administration's approach to artificial intelligence during an event in the East Room of the White House on October 30, 2023, in Washington, DC.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
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Big deals are coming. And companies are betting there's nothing anyone — including the highest office in the land — can do to stop them.
Shortly after US President Joe Biden took office in 2021, he looked to make good on his promise of scrutinizing corporate dealmaking, particularly in Big Tech.
The strict anti-trust stance of Biden and Lina Khan, the Federal Trade Commission chief he appointed, hasn't stopped a wave of deal announcements since September that total more than $170 billion.
Now everyone from Cisco to Exxon Mobil is getting in on the action with pricey transactions of their own. Even Warren Buffett is reportedly considering helping to finance a high-profile deal in the energy space.
The recent dealmaking spree is likely only the tip of the iceberg.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told Matt, "there's going to be a tidal wave of M&A ahead," now that fear over Khan and the FTC squashing deals has mostly subsided.
The revelation comes at a perfect time for the industry. Bankers have been desperate to get the M&A market going after an elongated drought.
And rest assured, bankers aren't interested in nickel-and-dime type deals. Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs was reportedly targeting mega deals — those over $10 billion — as a way to get back on track.
But it's not just the size of deals that'll be worth watching. There could be some interesting tie-ups between large incumbents and the startups that initially set out to disrupt them.
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