Morgan Stanley expects a busy year for dealmaking in 2026, with a strong pipeline forming across mergers, acquisitions and IPOs, according to Mo Assomull, the bank’s co-head of investment banking. Speaking at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York, Assomull said activity levels are healthy across most major sectors — particularly technology, healthcare, industrials and financials — and supported by a more constructive economic backdrop.
He added that the Trump administration’s pro-growth stance is likely to further accelerate consolidation in financial services. A friendlier regulatory climate and banks’ need to gain scale should drive more sector M&A over the next several years, Assomull said.
On artificial intelligence, he noted that investors and lenders have become more selective in backing AI companies, with financing now favouring firms that can demonstrate real commercial traction rather than aspirational growth plans.
Morgan Stanley’s optimism follows a third quarter in which the bank posted record dealmaking revenue and delivered a profit beat. Its CFO said in October that the firm’s investment banking pipeline had reached “all-time highs,” underscoring expectations for a robust 2026.
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Info via Reuters.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.