Termgrid’s David Miller and Chandler Pessah catch up on the highlights of DealMax 2025.
With U.S. public markets in turmoil and tariffs top of mind, it was an eventful few days at ACG’s annual DealMax conference, held April 7–9 at the Aria in Las Vegas. More than 3,200 attendees came together for one-on-one meetings, content sessions, networking, and cocktail parties. Despite the geopolitical backdrop, dealmakers remained in good spirits as they looked to uncover their next opportunity. The Deal Lounge buzzed with activity throughout the conference, and when attendees weren’t in meetings or content sessions, they were golfing, networking poolside in cabanas, participating in putting contests, or taking advantage of the shoe-shine station and headshot lounge.
The conference kicked off with the Strategic Acquirers Forum, featuring Niall Cannon, Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Software Investment Banking at Citi. It wrapped up with roundtable discussions where participants shared ideas and best practices. A consistent theme during the forum was concern that sell-side M&A activity may remain stalled until U.S. markets stabilize. However, it was also noted that private equity firms are sitting on significant dry powder, and if stability returns, the second half of 2025 could see a resurgence in deal activity.
This sentiment echoed throughout most general sessions, with nearly every panel addressing how uncertainty around tariffs has many dealmakers taking a “wait and see” approach. The final panel of the conference featured ACG’s leading women, who offered their insights on the future of the market—appropriately, over cocktails.
Taking a more contrarian view, keynote speakers Brian Belski and Dan Greenhaus, both investment strategists, challenged the prevailing narrative. They argued that while Wall Street has painted a picture of doom regarding tariffs, the markets may rebound more quickly than expected. They encouraged attendees to take a step back and let events unfold, expressing confidence that the markets would rebound sooner rather than later.
In total, the conference featured around 30 content sessions and more than 20,000 pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings.
This year’s ACG Legendary Award was presented to Graeme Frazier and Andy Greenberg. Together, they launched GF Data, a unique source of proprietary deal information. Individually, both have achieved success in ventures that address market needs—Frazier in outsourced business development, and Greenberg in boutique investment banking services. In 2022, they sold the GF Data brand to ACG.
Stay in touch with all of our latest updates and articles. Sign up now.