{"id":404598,"date":"2026-02-02T22:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/404598\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T22:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:53:09","slug":"corporate-finance-soundbite-mergerspresso-episode-25-2026-ma-outlook-scale-and-transformation-podcast-financial-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/404598\/","title":{"rendered":"Corporate Finance Soundbite: Mergerspresso – Episode 25: 2026 M&A Outlook: Scale And Transformation (Podcast) – Financial Services"},"content":{"rendered":"

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AG<\/p>\n

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Addleshaw Goddard<\/p>\n


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More<\/p>\n


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\n \"Addleshaw
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Addleshaw Goddard is an international law firm, almost 250 years in the making. We’re trusted by over 5000 organisations, including 50 FTSE 100 companies, to solve problems, deliver deals, defend rights, comply with regulations and mitigate risk. Our work spans more than 50 areas of business law for clients across multiple industries in over 100 countries worldwide. And while the challenges our clients bring us may vary, we approach and solve them with the same, single-minded focus: finding the smartest way to achieve the biggest impact.<\/p>\n

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\n Simon Wood welcomes AG sector leaders Hardeep Plahe and Elvan Hussein to Mergerspresso. In this episode, they explore the M&A themes shaping both financial services… \n <\/p>\n


\n United Kingdom
\n Finance and Banking \n <\/p>\n


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Article Insights<\/p>\n

Simon Wood\u2019s articles from Addleshaw Goddard are most popular:<\/p>\n


\n with Senior Company Executives, HR and Finance and Tax Executives
\n in United Kingdom
\n with readers working within the Accounting & Consultancy and Law Firm industries <\/p>\n

Simon Wood welcomes AG sector leaders Hardeep Plahe and Elvan
\nHussein to Mergerspresso. In this episode, they explore the M&A
\nthemes shaping both financial services and technology deals … all
\nin the time it takes to make your coffee.<\/p>\n

If you’d like a deeper dive, take a look at\u00a0
\nAG’s 2026 M&A Outlook<\/a>, which brings together the
\ninsights shaping the next wave of M&A activity.<\/p>\n

self<\/p>\n

Transcript<\/p>\n

Simon Wood<\/p>\n

Hello and welcome to Mergerspresso. I’m Simon Wood. In this
\nepisode, we’ll be considering M&A themes in common to
\nfinancial services and technology in the time that it takes to make
\nyour coffee. I’m joined by AG’s sector leaders, Hardeep
\nPlahe and Elvin Hussein. Hardeep, for FS firms now, what’s more
\nimportant, transformative M&A or building scale?<\/p>\n

Hardeep Plahe<\/p>\n

It’s both, but scale is really important. There’s been a
\nwave of consolidation in banks, wealth managers, insurers to merge,
\nto compete with the bigger players and to build resilience.
\nWe’ve seen that just last year. We acted for Coventry Building
\nSociety when they bought Co-op Bank, making it the sort of quite
\nclearly the second biggest building society in the UK. That theme
\nis also driving significant volume in M&A activity, especially
\nin wealth management, where I read the other day that half of all
\nM&A deals globally are for portfolio management businesses.<\/p>\n

Simon Wood<\/p>\n

And El, focusing on the scale bit for now, is consolidation as
\nimportant for typically younger, more dynamic tech businesses?<\/p>\n

Elvan Hussein<\/p>\n

It is, but in a very different way. So one notable feature of
\nrecent tech M&A deals is to integrate and embed defensive
\ncapabilities into systems. Cyber security businesses are the
\nexemplar targets here. So the key focus is really on establishing
\ndigital trust at scale. Businesses that can ultimately demonstrate
\nmeasurable resilience command premium valuations in this
\nmarket.<\/p>\n

Simon Wood<\/p>\n

Thank you. And then going back to the other bit of the question
\nabout transformative M&A.<\/p>\n

Hardeep Plahe<\/p>\n

Well, AI and financial tech solutions are clearly the priority,
\nparticularly as financial services firms look to make that sort of
\ndigital leap. What are they doing? They’re acquiring fintech
\ncompanies and by doing that, they’re enhancing their tech
\ncapabilities and staying competitive, particularly as against new
\nchallenges. The most attractive acquisition targets tend to be
\nthose that are using AI across their operations and delivering
\nmeasurable outcomes. Of course, the flip side of that is that
\nthere’s a rising expectation for governance, deployment
\nconcerns, but of course, eventually, that will all one hopes lead
\nto profitability.<\/p>\n

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
\nguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
\nabout your specific circumstances.<\/p>\n

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