Goldman Sachs CFO Denis Coleman says 2025 is on track to become the second-strongest year for announced M&A in history — a powerful signal that dealmaking momentum will continue into 2026.
His comments reflect growing optimism across Wall Street, including at Morgan Stanley, as the U.S. economy remains resilient, financing costs ease, and corporate confidence strengthens.
“Our visibility on M&A is very encouraging as we head into 2026,” Coleman told investors at a Goldman-hosted conference.
Goldman Sachs shares are up 54% this year, outperforming both the banking sector and the broader market.
🔹 Drivers of the Deal Surge
- A strong wave of large IPOs in 2025 has renewed investor appetite.
- Equity underwriting outlook remains highly positive for 2026.
- Sponsor-backed deals have surged ~40% industrywide.
- Goldman earned $110M advising Electronic Arts on its $55B take-private led by Saudi Arabia’s PIF and Silver Lake.
LSEG data shows 63 megadeals valued at $10B+ were announced by late 2025 — setting a new all-time record, surpassing 2015.
🔹 Goldman’s Strategic Position
As the top global M&A adviser, Goldman sees strong opportunity to deploy capital into acquisition financing, with Coleman noting that appetite for transformative deals remains high.
Recent moves include:
- Agreement to acquire Innovator Capital Management for ~$2B
- Deal to acquire Industry Ventures, a VC firm managing $7B in assets
With dealmaking accelerating and confidence rising, 2026 is shaping up to be another landmark year for global M&A.