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NEW ORLEANS – Dealmakers came down to the Big Easy this week to take part in the 38th Annual Tulane Corporate Law Institute, and the bullish mood around M&A activity immediately turned the cool New Orleans air into beautiful, sunny skies. If all goes to plan, 2026 could exceed the record total deal values from the glory days of 2021.
David Katz of Wachtell kicked off the conference by touting once again that a record number of participants registered, with over 1,100 in-person and virtually, including 40 members of the press. To the joy of many, David shared that the committee listened to (valuable) feedback and switched to a two-hour break for lunch – more time for enjoying the weather, a Sazerac and lively conversations.
As is tradition, the banker outlook from Stephan Feldgoise, global head of M&A at Goldman Sachs, set the stage for Day 1, where he discussed how this is one of the most dynamic and active environments in several decades. He summed up his enthusiasm clearly: “this is a phenomenal M&A market, and we’re as busy as we’ve ever been.” This isn’t necessarily the peak or end of the run either, as he expressed the belief that we’re still in the early innings of this cycle. That’s consistent with Gladstone's 2026 Dealmakers Survey, with 51% of respondents predicting the M&A market will be “up modestly” compared to 2025, and “up sharply” from another 20%. While companies are facing changing conditions with a technology selloff, AI disruption, write-downs in private credit, and an escalating war in the Middle East, Stephan noted that the new normal is uncertainty. Companies and dealmakers are well-equipped to handle this volatility to execute M&A that delivers the all-important benefit of size and scale.
Panelists of “Hot Topics in M&A Practice,” moderated by Rita-Anne O’Neill of Sullivan and Cromwell, echoed Stephan’s confidence in the M&A market. Paul Weiss’ Scott Barshay commented that large, record breaking deals will drive activity given “there’s a lot of pent-up demand to do strategic deals” and large public companies want to take advantage of this window to pursue large strategic transactions after years where that was virtually impossible.
On that note, it looks like this could be the year of hostiles and deal jumps, as Scott and Stephan opined that volatility makes it harder to get friendly deals done due to the valuation disconnects between targets and acquirers. During this conversation, Audra Cohen of Sullivan and Cromwell also reinforced the importance of having a clearly established independent committee early in the process, who has real power and authority over a deal negotiation.
Our survey (which received a nice shoutout, thanks Rita-Anne!) served as fodder for when panelists were asked to share their thoughts on the Trump Administration having the most impact on M&A activity while antitrust ranked lowest. Former Chancellor of the Delaware Supreme Court Leo Strine noted Delaware is in “good shape” and expressed concerns around government agencies getting involved in deals with a political agenda rather than focusing on the strategic merits, leaving dealmakers without precedent transactions to best counsel clients.
This newsletter is coming to you later today so that we could recap this morning’s excellent M&A and the Media panel, moderated by GPP’s very own Steve Lipin. A veritable Tulane institution, this year’s A-list panel – featuring David Faber, Lauren Thomas, Matt Levine and Steven Davidoff Solomon – covered a lot of ground, from how they each got their starts and the mission of their outlets to what it is like when people try to spin you when covering a deal or activism situation. Like any good conference in 2026, there was also a discussion of AI, with Steven and Matt noting that analysis and the ability to talk to people and break news are still incredibly valuable in journalism and unlikely to be replaced by AI any time soon.
Have a great weekend,
GPP team
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