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Insights

Statistical analysis and insight into activity and trends in M&A and capital markets.

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Recent Investment Banking Insights

  • 2024 Record Totals for Secondaries Point to Positive 2025 Momentum

    Bullish predictions for the secondary market throughout 2024 proved accurate as volume hit record levels by yearend. Now, in 2025’s early weeks, market insiders remain optimistic—with expectations for continued LP- and GP-led growth.

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  • Beyond Dogs and Cats: Exploring Growth in Other Backyard Animals and Wildlife

    Backyard animals like chickens and horses, as well as small companion animals, are becoming increasingly popular among pet parents, retailers, and companies supplying products to the pet and animal industry.

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  • Opportunistic Activity Defies Gravity

    Opportunistic activity soared in the fourth quarter as borrowers capitalized on tightening spreads, closing out a record-setting year driven by the combination of rate cuts, a more stabilized economic outlook, and robust investor demand.

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  • An AI Inflection Point for Insurtech

    The technology necessary to deliver cutting-edge AI solutions across the insurance ecosystem appears to have finally arrived—with the potential to spur a new wave of investment and transaction activity.

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  • The Quarterly Rx: 2024 U.S. Biopharma Recap

    The William Blair biopharma team recaps key financing and strategic transaction activity from 2024, a year defined by resilience and recovery.

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  • Aviation Services Industry Update

    As U.S. general aviation activity continued to trend upward in the third quarter, a bullish forecast for business jet deliveries in 2025 and sustained passenger recovery provides hope for further growth in the coming years.

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  • Exit Strategy: Preparing for the Transaction Process

    The monumental decision has been made—a business owner is going to sell their company. But they’ve never attempted anything like this before. What should they expect as far as the typical transaction deliverables and process stages?

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  • Exit Strategy: Preparing Yourself

    Preparing yourself and your family can be one of the most overlooked parts of an exit strategy. But it goes beyond maximizing tax efficiency and unlocking newfound wealth—it’s a monumental transition filled with emotional considerations.

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  • Leveraged Finance Newsletter—Unmasking M&A Activity

    Left for dead for nearly two years, the M&A leveraged loan market came back to life in the third quarter, with the Fed’s first interest rate cut in years opening the door for a wave of activity.

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  • Exit Strategy: Preparing Your Company

    Company leaders who have spent their lives running a business probably have limited experience when it comes to selling one. That means preparation is a crucial part of any effective exit strategy.

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  • Momentum Continues for Secondaries—With Record Year in Sight

    Improving LP-led pricing, continuing adoption by both GPs and LPs, and a growing supply of capital has the secondary market poised for a full rebound—and possibly record volumes—by year-end.

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