Mergers are back on the menu

Last week was a big one for phallic mergers and acquisitions, with both Dick’s and Cox part of some major M&A news. In case you missed it, Dick’s Sporting Goods bought Foot Locker for $2.4 billion, while Charter Communications acquired rival Cox Communications for $34.5 billion.

Schoolyard jokes aside, after months of quiet in the usually wild world of dealmaking, there’s been a sudden surge in the number of deals being signed, sealed, and delivered:

• Coinbase Global acquired crypto derivatives exchange platform Deribit for $2.9 billion earlier this month.
• The FCC finally gave Verizon’s $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications the go-ahead late last week.
• Capital One completed its $35.3 billion takeover of Discover Financial yesterday.
• Earlier today, asset manager Blackstone announced it’s buying power provider TXNM Energy for $11.5 billion.

Heading into 2025, Wall Street was largely confident that it would be a good year for deals. A second Trump presidency promised a lighter regulatory touch, with the departure of SEC chair Gary Gensler and FTC head Lina Khan signaling that the floodgates for mergers and acquisitions would soon be opened.

But tariff tumult put a pause on all that, with companies eyeing each other for an acquisition suddenly seized by cold feet as they worried about the economic consequences of a trade war. Now, however, those fears have diminished thanks to a tariff pause and a US/China ceasefire, and suddenly deals are back in business.

Don’t forget IPOs

Tariffs also temporarily plugged the IPO pipeline, as companies that were planning to make their public debuts took a step back amid market mayhem. But with the initial chaos subsiding and a risk-on wind rising, IPOs are cropping up left and right.

• CoreWeave has soared over 100% since its debut in March.
• Online trading platform eToro made a grand entrance last week.
• Digital health company Hinge Health is poised to go public this week, and early indications are pointing toward a successful premiere.
• Last week, neobank Chime filed plans to go public.
• Earlier this year, BNPL provider Klarna and ticket seller StubHub delayed plans to IPO, but expectations are high that they, too, will soon join the fray.

All these big deals are a big deal: Sentiment has swung toward optimism over the last few weeks thanks to a tariff pause, and companies that have been waiting in the wings to go public or lock in deals are jumping at the chance. It’s great news not only for Wall Street bankers collecting fat bonuses for getting these deals across the finish line, but also for investors in general—a healthy M&A market and IPO pipeline can help sustain bullish market momentum.—MR