NEW YORK, May 28 - Goldman Sachs is tracking toward near-record merger and acquisition volumes this year, driven primarily by corporate-led transactions, the bank's president, John Waldron, said on Thursday at a financial conference in New York.
Speaking at the event, Waldron said the firm is on pace to be close to the high-water mark set in 2021. "We’re on track to be near the record, if not breaching the record of 2021. Our backlogs feel good. Activity is remaining strong," he said, adding that the current market is "interestingly, it’s really a corporate-led market."
Goldman, which has been the top adviser on mergers and acquisitions for more than two decades, has benefited from a resurgence in global dealmaking after an initial sharp slowdown in activity that followed the start of the Iran war. The bank has been active on several sizable mandates, including advising Unilever on a planned combination of its food business with McCormick that would create a roughly $65 billion company.
Market data cited by Waldron show that dealmaking remains robust. Transactions in the first quarter exceeded $1.2 trillion, according to LSEG figures, while the aggregate value of global M&A reached a record $5.8 trillion in 2021. Waldron and other dealmakers say there is substantial additional activity awaiting execution.
Waldron also signaled a constructive view on initial public offerings, suggesting that the successful pricing and listing of some very large IPOs could catalyze additional deal activity. "We tend to see an enormous amount of liquidity and capital in the world that wants to allocate into growth into this theme, particularly when you get into some pretty exceptional companies," he said, while declining to name specific firms.
Separately, Goldman won the coveted lead left role on the initial public offering for SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company.
"We’re on track to be near the record, if not breaching the record of 2021. Our backlogs feel good. Activity is remaining strong," - John Waldron.
The bank’s comments underline how corporate strategic activity and market sentiment around large public listings are shaping the pipeline for investment banks this year. While geopolitical turbulence and valuation swings have at times dampened momentum, bankers at Goldman are reporting healthy deal backlogs and continued engagement from corporate clients.
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