# Investment Banking Interview Prep: The M&A Deals You Need to Know in 2026 Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/market-maker-3553881/investment-banking-interview-prep-the-m-a-deals-you-need-to-know-in-2026 Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/market-maker-3553881/investment-banking-interview-prep-the-m-a-deals-you-need-to-know-in-2026.md Podcast: [Market Maker](https://stenobird.com/podcast/market-maker-3553881) Published: 2026-09-14T05:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/amplify-me/episodes/Investment-Banking-Interview-Prep-The-MA-Deals-You-Need-to-Know-in-2026-e3ona8v Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO7307939943.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/market-maker-3553881/episodes/investment-banking-interview-prep-the-m-a-deals-you-need-to-know-in-2026 Duration seconds: 2567 ## Resource Application season is underway, and if you’re targeting investment banking, understanding what’s actually happening in M&A can give you a real advantage in interviews. In this episode, Anthony Cheung and Stephen Barnett break down the huge resurgence in global dealmaking in 2026, why mega-deals are dominating, which sectors and banks are benefiting, and how interest rates, AI and valuations are shaping the outlook. Most importantly, we explain how to turn that knowledge into better interview answers: which deals to research, how to structure your response and how to demonstrate genuine commercial understanding rather than simply memorising headlines. (00:00) Investment Banking Interview Prep (01:48) The M&A Boom (04:47) Why Mega Deals Are Surging (10:52) What Drives M&A? (17:46) Merger Arbitrage (19:41) The Hottest Sectors (24:04) Which Banks Are Winning? (26:15) How to Target Your Applications (30:21) Stephen's Favourite Episode (33:26) Anthropic IPO Prediction (34:46) Impact of US Mid-Terms (41:23) Number One Advice ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/market-maker-3553881/episodes/investment-banking-interview-prep-the-m-a-deals-you-need-to-know-in-2026/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/market-maker-3553881/investment-banking-interview-prep-the-m-a-deals-you-need-to-know-in-2026.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.