Keep pulling the thread on Stephen Barnett.
Global M&A deal value reached $4.23 trillion year-to-date in 2025, an increase of 34% year-on-year.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund, along with Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, acquired Electronic Arts (EA) for $55 billion in 2025.
The $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts (EA) was the largest sponsor-led leveraged buyout (LBO) on record.
In 2025, the number of completed M&A deals decreased by 7% to 12,500, the lowest level since 2021, despite a 34% increase in total deal value.
In the last 12 months of 2025, private equity firms acquired nearly 6,000 new businesses but only sold 2,500, creating an "indigestion problem" of unexited assets.
The private credit industry has grown to approximately $3 trillion in issued loans.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management estimates that about 15% of private credit borrowers are not generating enough EBITDA to cover their interest payments.
The private credit market is experiencing a resurgence of "rating shopping," where issuers seek out agencies like Egan-Jones, Morningstar DBRS, and Kroll Bond Ratings to obtain more favorable credit ratings.
Stephen Barnett predicts that Google, currently the third largest company by market capitalization, will become the world's largest by the end of 2026.
In Q3 2025, Google reported its first-ever $100 billion quarter, with revenue up 16% year-on-year.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has met with world leaders including the Prime Minister of India, the US President, and French President Emmanuel Macron, establishing him as a key figure in global technology policy.
Stephen Barnett predicts that in 2026, OpenAI will either be fully acquired by Microsoft or NVIDIA, or CEO Sam Altman will be fired.