The Edit. 10.20.2025.
Forging the Future of Finance.
Week of October 20th, 2025
Market Update
S&P Global acquires private markets data provider With Intelligence for US$1.8 billion in an all-cash deal, as it seeks to expand beyond public markets.
Why it matters: This deal signals that major data analytics companies are willing to pay up for private-market intelligence, showing the rising value of that information.
Commercial Metals Company to acquire Foley Products Co. for US$1.84 billion in cash.
Why it matters: Dealmaking in the U.S. building-products industry has accelerated as companies seek scale and local supply chains to offset tariffs—acquisitions like this show companies gearing up for growth rather than hunkering down.
TPG Capital & Blackstone Group near deal to take private Hologic Inc. for about US$16 billion.
Why it matters: It would be one of the larger take-private buyouts of 2025, reflecting private equity’s appetite for healthcare/med-tech firms. If this firm deal closes, it may trigger more take-private interest in the healthcare sector for underperforming assets.
Deal of the Week
Echo Across The Industry
Coinbase Acquires Crypto Fundraising Platform Echo in $375 Million Deal
On October 21st, 2025, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) made a massive splash in the market, announcing the acquisition of crypto investment platform Echo in a cash and stock deal valued at approximately USD 375 million.
This move by Coinbase highlights a wave of renewed dealmaking within the digital assets sector as the Trump administration’s crypto-friendly position spurs U.S. firms to expand their presence domestically. Just last week, Kraken reeled in a $100 million acquisition of Small Exchange, along with Coinbase’s earlier $2.9 billion purchase of Deribit in May of this year, following similar trends. All signs point towards this deal solidifying the company’s broader strategy to dominate the digital derivatives and capital markets space through expansion across the full crypto asset lifecycle.
Echo, which was founded two years ago by trader Jordan “Cobie” Fish, has already helped crypto projects raise over $200 million through the system’s private and public token sales. Its flagship platform, Sonar, facilitates capital raising via token issuance, a segment Coinbase plans to expand into tokenized securities and real-world assets over time.
Coinbase sees this as a core structural integration to the company’s long-term systems, creating more accessible, efficient and transparent capital markets access for its user base of over 100 million globally.
Why This Acquisition Matters
An Opportunity Too Loud To Ignore
The acquisition allows Coinbase to move beyond trading and custody, transitioning into capital formation to give projects the infrastructure to raise funds directly from investors.
Tokenized Tailwinds
Echo’s platform positions Coinbase to capitalize on the emerging market for tokenized securities and real-world assets, a key future growth vector for the crypto economy and Coinbase’s long-term prospects.
Stars, Stripes and Stablecoins
With the Trump administration’s stance on crypto being one of supportive deregulation, Coinbase is signalling confidence in U.S.-based expansion as competitors continue to diversify offshore.
Where Synergy Meets Strategy
Together with Deribit and Echo, Coinbase now controls both derivatives and fundraising arms of the digital asset lifecycle, allowing itself to transition into a more vertically integrated and diversified business model.
Same Fish, Bigger Pond
Echo’s founder, Jordan Fish, will continue to advise on integration and platform development, preserving product innovation and community credibility during the transition
Interview Prep Questions
Associate - M&A Deal Advisory
Question: How do you build a pro forma EPS accretion/dilution analysis for an all‑stock merger, incorporating synergies, PPA amortization, and share‑count mechanics?
You’re being tested on:
Connecting operating and accounting effects to the per‑share outcome without double-counting or mixing pre-/post items. Start with standalone NIAT for acquirer and target, add net synergies (after cost‑to‑achieve and tax), subtract PPA amortization of finite‑life intangibles, and reflect any deal-related financing costs (if hybrid). Build the pro forma share count using exchange ratio, new issuance, and dilutive equity awards (TSM). Compare pro forma EPS to acquirer standalone EPS and present sensitivity to synergy timing and PPA lives.
Core concept:
Compute net synergies after tax and ramp (e.g., 50/80/100%) and exclude one‑time costs from run‑rate EPS.
Add PPA amortization below EBITDA; exclude goodwill; set lives by asset type (customers, tech, trademarks).
Model DTL effects from step‑ups; flow into cash taxes (EPS reflects tax expense, not cash).
Build pro forma shares: apply exchange ratio to target’s FD shares; include RSUs/options via treasury‑stock method; adjust for synergies‑linked LTIs if relevant.
State-based EPS (no revenue synergies) with an upside case separately; reconcile to guidance.
Common pitfalls.
Including one‑time costs in EPS or counting revenue synergies in the base case.
Omitting PPA amortization and DTL impacts, overstating accretion.
Using basic instead of diluted shares; ignoring exchange‑ratio rounding/issuance timing.
Mixing pre‑IFRS16 EBITDA multiples with post‑IFRS16 earnings inputs.
Analyst - Sales & Trading
Question: How would you position a portfolio to benefit from a steepening yield curve, and what are the main risks to that trade?
You’re being tested on:
Inflation product plumbing (indexation, carry/seasonals), relative‑value drivers, and DV01 alignment. Breakeven = Nominal yield − Real yield. It is driven by inflation expectations, carry from indexation lag, energy/food pass‑through, liquidity premia, and supply/technical factors. A long breakeven can be expressed long TIPS vs. short nominal of matched DV01 (or via futures). Return sources are carry + rolldown + RV; risks include real‑yield shocks, liquidity, and energy volatility.
Core concept:
Size legs by real vs. nominal DV01; use CTD‑adjusted DV01 for futures (e.g., TIPs vs. TY).
Model carry/seasonality: CPI seasonal factors, indexation lag (~2‑3 months), and principal accrual.
Watch liquidity: TIPS can gap; on‑the‑run/off‑the‑run and Fed buybacks affect premia.
Track energy sensitivity (gasoline weights) and macro catalysts (CPI, PCE, breakeven auctions).
Hedge real‑rate beta if needed (e.g., overlay a small duration hedge) and monitor basis between cash and futures.
Common pitfalls.
DV01 mismatch (real vs. nominal) creating unintended duration exposure.
Ignoring indexation carry and seasonals—P&L will differ from headline moves.
Using stale CPI assumptions around reweights/rebasing dates.
Assuming breakevens are pure inflation bets—liquidity premia can dominate in stress.
Associate - Corporate Banking
Question: Where should excess cash be deployed—buybacks, special dividend, or bolt‑on M&A—and how do you compare per‑share value creation across choices?
You’re being tested on:
Capital‑allocation math: EPS optics vs. intrinsic value, taxes, leverage, and multiple arbitrage. Frame alternatives on an economic per‑share basis: for buybacks, compute value accretion = (IV − repurchase price) × % retired; for dividends, consider investor tax frictions and signal; for M&A, test ROIC vs. WACC and multiple arbitrage after synergies and full costs. Constrain by target leverage/covenants and liquidity needs.
Core concept:
Buybacks: model diluted share path, funding mix, and any price‑impact; neutralize for SBC issuance.
Dividends: assess tax drag and payout sustainability; signal effects vs. flexibility.
Bolt‑on: compute EV/EBITDA in vs. out, after synergies, PPA amortization, and cost‑to‑achieve; require ROIC > WACC with margin of safety.
Compare per‑share intrinsic value change (DCF or look‑through value) rather than EPS alone.
Stress leverage/ratings and liquidity under downside scenarios for each alternative.
Common pitfalls
Chasing EPS accretion that destroys value (buying above IV or doing low‑ROIC deals).
Ignoring tax/regulatory frictions on dividends or buybacks (withholding, excise taxes).
Understating cost‑to‑achieve and PPA amortization in M&A multiples.
Not adjusting for ongoing SBC dilution, overstating buyback accretion.
