Petar Zelic, who advises on mergers and acquisitions at investment banking firm Stifel, said this summer was the busiest he’s been since the 2021 M&A boom. “We’re the leading indicator of what’s to come,” he said onstage at Elevate Thursday. “I’m expecting a very active and robust M&A market in Q4 and going into 2025.” (The Logic)

Talking point: Zelic’s co-panellists were also bullish on the market. Allan Goodman, a partner at corporate law firm Goodmans LLP said that while deals are still taking longer to close than in 2021, buyers and sellers are starting to agree on valuations and sale prices. That’s in part because buyers have more negotiating power, he said. They’re using that sway to secure deal terms like requiring founders to maintain an equity stake in the company they sell—so that they have “skin in the game,” said Goodman—and including earn-out conditions that have the buyer withhold some money until the acquired company meets certain milestones.