Bloomberg Talks Bridge Bank CEO Bob Curley Talks M&A in 2026
Jan 2, 2026
Bob Curley, Deputy Chief Banking Officer at Western Alliance, shares insights on the bank's robust 2025 performance and anticipates a surge in IPOs and M&A activity in 2026. He explains the diverse deal landscape and how innovation banking is thriving. Curley highlights venture debt's importance in extending company runways and discusses the sectors buzzing with activity, like AI, medical sciences, and energy tech. He also stresses the need to assess the genuine differentiation of AI claims in the market.
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Strong 2025 Build Fuels 2026 Pipeline
- 2025 finished strong with a late surge that exceeded expectations for innovation banking and the overall bank.
- That momentum created a solid pipeline and build for 2026 across funding sources and deal flow.
Liquidity Revival Drives Exits
- The reopening of the IPO market and revived M&A restored liquidity and encouraged funders to bet again.
- That added liquidity is prompting more companies to tap markets and accelerating exits into 2026.
Use Venture Debt To Preserve Equity
- Use venture debt to extend runway so startups can hit milestones without heavy equity dilution.
- Prefer equity for earliest stages and shift to debt as companies mature to reduce dilution.