Moelis CEO-designate joins Wall Street in signaling dealmaking rebound after tariff pause

By Manya Saini
(Reuters) -Moelis' incoming CEO Navid Mahmoodzadegan told investors on Tuesday that he is optimistic about the dealmaking environment, as confidence returns following a pause in April triggered by U.S. tariff threats.
"I'm optimistic. It definitely feels better and better each day ... The announcement in April, I think set us back a little bit in terms of the M&A environment," he said at the Morgan Stanley U.S. Financials Conference.
Investor sentiment soured and stock markets slid after U.S. President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff threats, stalling risk appetite and slowing deal activity.
Appetite for deals has since returned, with market participants and bankers once again seeing an opening for initial public offerings and signs of a pickup in M&A activity.
"Everywhere I go, people want to transact. They want to lean into transactions, whether it's companies or private equity firms or capital providers," Mahmoodzadegan said. "We're seeing our clients push us to launch transactions, even if the environment isn't crystal clear."
Earlier this week, Moelis said Ken Moelis would step down as CEO of the investment bank and hand the reins to Mahmoodzadegan, its co-founder and co-president.
The succession marks a major step for the bank, which has been led solely by Ken Moelis since its founding in 2007.
While succession at companies closely tied to founding CEOs can be challenging due to their outsized personal influence, Mahmoodzadegan said it was part of the "natural evolution of the firm."
"I think Ken felt that even though he's fully active and will continue to be fully active with clients going forward ... this was a great opportunity at a great time to give more responsibility, not just to me, but to the next generation of bankers," Mahmoodzadegan added.
The bank's deal pipeline currently is up from April and is as high as "it's ever been at the firm, or close to it," the CEO-designate said.
The comments echo Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick's expectation of a strong end of the quarter for the bank as dealmaking and the calendar for equity capital markets are picking up.
Last week, top executives at the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq also said the IPO market is gaining momentum despite the Trump administration's rapidly shifting tariff policy, adding to the industry's optimism about a meaningful recovery.

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