Indigo Acquisition Corp. Announces Closing of $100,000,000 Initial Public Offering

Source: INDIGO ACQUISITION CORP

NEW YORK, July 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Indigo Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) announced today that it closed its initial public offering of 10,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit. The offering resulted in gross proceeds to the Company of $100,000,000.

The Company’s units are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) and trade under the ticker symbol “INACU.” Each unit consists of one ordinary share and one right entitling its holder to receive one tenth of one ordinary share upon the Company’s completion of an initial business combination, subject to adjustment. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the ordinary shares and rights are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “INAC” and “INACR,” respectively.

The Company is a Cayman exempt company, formed as a blank check company for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. The Company intends to focus on opportunities with established, profitable companies with attractive market positions and/or growth potential that can leverage our management team’s experience and expertise. The Company is led by its Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, James S. Cassel, and its Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Scott Salpeter.

Of the proceeds received from the consummation of the initial public offering and a simultaneous private placement of units, $100,000,000 was placed in trust.

EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. acted as the book-running manager for the offering and IB Capital acted as co-manager for the offering. The Company has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 units at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the prospectus may be obtained, when available, from EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., 366 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017, Attention: Syndicate Department, or (212) 661-0200.

A registration statement relating to these securities was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and was declared effective on June 30, 2025. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements.” No assurance can be given that the net proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated in the offering prospectus. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s registration statement and preliminary prospectus for the offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

Contact:

James S. Cassel, CEO
jcassel@cs-ib.com
305-438-7700

Scott Salpeter, CFO
ssalpeter@cs-ib.com
305-438-7700

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Indigo Acquisition Corp. Announces Pricing of $100,000,000 Initial Public Offering

Source: INDIGO ACQUISITION CORP

NEW YORK, June 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Indigo Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) announced today that it priced its initial public offering of 10,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit. The Company’s units will be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) and will begin trading tomorrow, July 1, 2025, under the ticker symbol “INACU.” Each unit consists of one ordinary share and one right entitling its holder to receive one tenth of one ordinary share upon the Company’s completion of an initial business combination, subject to adjustment. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the ordinary shares and rights are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “INAC” and “INACR,” respectively.

The Company is a Cayman exempt company, formed as a blank check company for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. The Company intends to focus on opportunities with established, profitable companies with attractive market positions and/or growth potential that can leverage our management team’s experience and expertise. The Company is led by its Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, James S. Cassel, and its Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Scott Salpeter.

EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. is acting as the book-running manager for the offering and IB Capital is acting as co-manager for the offering. The Company has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 units at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the prospectus may be obtained, when available, from EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., 366 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017, Attention: Syndicate Department, or (212) 661-0200.

A registration statement relating to these securities was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and was declared effective on June 30, 2025. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements.” No assurance can be given that the offering discussed above will be completed on the terms described, or at all, or that the net proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated in the offering prospectus. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s registration statement and preliminary prospectus for the offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

Contact:

James S. Cassel, CEO
jcassel@cs-ib.com
305-438-7700

Scott Salpeter, CFO
ssalpeter@cs-ib.com
305-438-7700

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Turbulence ahead: how global tariffs threaten US $1tr aviation success

 

June 25, 2025

Tariffs will cause a storm in aviation, but Joey Smith argues they are actually well-placed to navigate the ‘headwinds’ at play.

With the snap of a finger through Executive Orders, the US President imposed varying tariffs against the entire world. The healthy global aviation industry is suddenly under fire, writes Joey Smith of investment banking firm Cassel Salpeter.

The US aviation industry’s performance is approaching all-time highs in 2025, and revenues are projected to surpass $1 trillion for the first time, solidifying the industry’s strongest recovery post-COVID. The aviation industry’s total global economic impact, both direct and indirect, is estimated at more than $4 trillion, while supporting at least 11 million jobs directly and more than 86 million indirectly.

It would be a shame and reckless to impact this industry and its supply chain. Air transport provides significant economic and social benefits, as it facilitates tourism, trade, and connectivity and enables rapid disaster responses and a lifeline for remote communities worldwide.

The US aviation industry, a shining star and net exporter for the domestic economy, is receiving a raw deal with the Trump tariff agenda. It is a prime example of US manufacturing prowess, offering well-paying jobs and producing one of the largest trade surpluses of any industry for years.

The aircraft, engine, and parts manufacturing industry in the US is expected to export about $125 billion this year, second only to the oil and gas extraction industry, with Boeing being America’s biggest exporter of goods. Approximately 80% of Boeing’s planes are transported to overseas customers. The effects globally and in the US could be far-reaching, from manufacturers and their supply chains, all the way downstream to the flying public.

Introducing tariffs in the aviation sector is an unforced error and is likely to hurt the healthy domestic aviation ecosystem. President Trump’s newly introduced global tariffs represent a “black swan” event with potentially dramatic and unpredictable consequences for the aviation industry and complementary sectors, up and down the supply chain, in the U.S. and abroad.

Specifically, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA, which replaced NAFTA, is on shaky ground, and new North American tariffs could take a significant toll on downstream companies operating within the complex aircraft components supply chain, which has struggled for years with material and labour shortages.

The North American aviation industry is highly interconnected, and the tariffs will impact industry participants both big and small. The notion that new tariffs will drive the movement of production to the United States may be a fallacy. Planes take years to design and manufacture and are typically used for decades; decisions to relocate operations or open new facilities are not made lightly. In addition to high upfront costs, companies looking to expand their US presence will continue to face a skilled worker shortage that has impacted the industry for years.

The dynamic nature of these policies, with exemptions granted and modifications made on short notice, creates substantial uncertainty that further complicates long-term planning. Aircraft transactions typically involve lengthy timelines, and the shifting tariff landscape means that deals struck before the new policies could face unexpected additional costs at closing.

This unpredictability will drive changes in new contract terms, with buyers and sellers needing to carefully allocate tariff risks and develop contingencies for policy changes.

The MRO sector faces new uncertainty, with additional guidance needed from trade officials in the U.S. and abroad. Historically, when US operators brought aircraft or parts to foreign jurisdictions for repairs, no new formal entry or duties were required upon return. However, given that this duty-free treatment was based on the Civil Aircraft Agreement, it is unclear whether such exemptions will continue under the new tariff regime.

Supply chain diversification could accelerate in response to the tariffs. Aviation businesses are reassessing their vendor networks and exploring alternatives in countries less affected by the new duties. This includes potential shifts in parts sourcing, maintenance, and servicing, and even aircraft selection, based on the country of manufacture.

The air cargo industry also faces new headwinds within an evolving tariff landscape. Policy uncertainty, tariff flip-flopping, and exemption jockeying cause distress within the market. Cargo airlines must now navigate a complex landscape of shifting trade flows as manufacturers and retailers modify their supply chains in response to tariff pressures. This will lead to changes in network planning, capacity deployment, and even aircraft acquisition strategies as carriers adapt to new trade routes and volumes.

These tariff challenges and the ripple economic effects are concerning, yet we believe that the US aviation industry and all its downstream sector participants are well-positioned to be proactive, both politically and operationally, to navigate the incoming tariff headwinds. We are hopeful that during these days of uncertainty, the US aviation sector, one of the strongest exporters and employers in the US, will not only weather the storm but emerge stronger and more resilient.

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Doubts About Job Market Turning Around Soon Easy To Understand

 

By Angela Gabriel

In a recent BioSpace LinkedIn poll, nearly half of respondents predicted the job market won’t turn around until 2027 or later. It’s easy to see why people are skeptical, especially when you consider recent hiring activity and layoffs.

EDITORIAL
Biopharma professionals don’t have much hope for the biopharma job market turning around this year, based on a recent BioSpace LinkedIn poll. A whopping 74% of respondents predicted it won’t improve until 2026 or later, and 44% don’t expect a turnaround until at least 2027. It’s easy to understand the skepticism given that the positive signs people were looking for to spur hiring, including increased funding, haven’t materialized as layoffs continue.

Biopharma professional Pierre Michel Baez Ortiz is among those feeling pessimistic about the job market turning around anytime soon. In a poll comment, he noted that Maryland hasn’t recovered from the crash after the pandemic-era money infusion ran out.

“Over three years and the region is unstable as hell,” he wrote. “There’s zero job security and some people in my network have been unemployed for more than a year, a few for several years. And now we have more big companies leaving Montgomery County.”

If the industry recovers, he added, it wouldn’t be for maybe two more years.

Biopharma professional Ricardo Azedo took a more positive tone in the poll comments, writing, “I want to be hopeful, so I’d cast my vote to ‘as soon as possible.’”

That said, just 27% of voters predicted the job market will turn around by the end of this year.

Reasons for Skepticism Easy To Find

It’s not hard to spot what might be fueling people’s skepticism. In addition to factors such as venture capital funding dropping 20% year over year in the first quarter, massive Department of Health and Human Services layoffs and looming pharma tariffs, consider:

  • Late last month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of job openings was little changed in March and dropped by 901,000 over the year.
  • In April, job postings live on the BioSpace website were up just 1% month over month and down 8% year over year.
  • Although the number of biopharma professionals laid off in April dropped 22% year over year, according to BioSpace tallies, the 1,357 people affected was the second-highest monthly total of 2025. (Note: Figures exclude contract development and manufacturing organizations, contract research organizations, tools and services businesses and medical device firms.)

In what’s sure to be unwelcome news, May’s layoffs have already surpassed April’s with Teva Pharmaceuticals cutting 2,893 employees worldwide. Add Bristol Myers Squibb’s layoffs of 516 people in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and you’re at about 3,400 people out of work between just two companies. That’s especially significant given that just over 4,000 biopharma employees were laid off over the entire first quarter.

Those layoff numbers likely wouldn’t surprise Ira Leiderman, healthcare managing director at investment banking firm Cassel Salpeter & Co. During an interview for a recent BioSpace article, he noted that companies are “leaning down.”

“People need to husband their cash, manage their expenditures, and unfortunately, it’s costing people their jobs and their livelihoods,” he said.

Leiderman doesn’t see hiring rising in the near term and theorized that mid-level and senior-level people could leave the country and head to Europe, leading to some brain drain. He also noted that biopharma professionals might change industries.

For those who need jobs now, and especially for those who’ve needed them for several months or longer, leaving the U.S. or biopharma itself to gain employment is understandable. As Leiderman said, “People have to pay their bills, right? They’ve got to make a mortgage payment. They’ve got to put food on the table for their kids. You’ve got to live the dream, but you’ve got to also be realistic at some point.”

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Job Market Woes: More Funding, Stability Needed for Turnaround

 

By Angela Gabriel

The biopharma job market likely won’t turn around until 2026, according to two industry experts. Both cited a need for more investment and noted the impact of uncertainty on the industry.

The biopharma job market is unlikely to turn around this year, according to two industry experts who cited a need for more investment and regulatory predictability as key factors to a hiring increase.

“I expect 2026 will be the real inflection point,” said Audrey Greenberg, CEO and founder of AG Capital Advisors, a strategic advisory firm. “The election year, uncertainty last year and the capital markets conditions—coupled with sort of inflation concerns and global trade and geopolitical risks—are all sort of making folks stop and stare, like rubberneckers during a car crash.”

Greenberg noted that emerging biotech and early-stage research and development hiring are still slow and will probably lag until the markets fully recover and rebound.

Based on BioSpace data for April, overall biopharma hiring activity is down year over year. There were 8% fewer job postings live on the website last month than the year prior.

Ira Leiderman, healthcare managing director at investment banking firm Cassel Salpeter & Co., which primarily handles mergers and acquisitions, said there’s a low chance hiring will turn around in 2025. Echoing Greenberg, he noted that just as the job market looked like it would get better, it was hit with uncertainty on the macro level with the economy and political situation and the micro level for biotech. Certainty must come back for the situation to improve, he said.

Leiderman noted that it’s possible the biopharma job market will turn around after the midterm elections in 2026. If the House and Senate flip, he explained, President Donald Trump may not be able to run the country by fiat and executive orders.

“Right now, Congress is not doing their job, in my opinion, and they’re getting steamrolled,” Leiderman said.

Investment Key Factor in Turnaround

For the biopharma job market to turn around, there needs to be more capital deployment, according to Greenberg.

“Funding is still very selective,” she said. “A lot of capital is sitting on the sidelines. We need recovery in the IPO markets, and then that will allow for the redeployment of capital into early-stage companies and late-stage ventures. So, the cycle of capital needs to increase in momentum, starting with the IPO market opening up.”

A recent BioSpace article noted that more capital left biotech than entered the sector in 42 of 52 weeks of 2024.

Greenberg noted there are some bright spots for investment, citing Philadelphia and New Jersey as examples. According to CBRE data, between 2019 and 2024:

Leiderman’s thoughts on investment aligned with Greenberg’s, as he noted that the flow of funds into biotech has decreased and venture capital activity has dried up.

“There are funds with a lot of money that are holding back, and they’re keeping dry powder for their portfolio companies,” Leiderman said. “We’re not seeing a lot of transactions getting closed.”

Biopharma VC funding dropped 20% year over year in the first quarter, from $8.1 billion to $6.5 billion.

As to what could spark a change in investment, Leiderman said, “I think when we see people feeling good about the stock market without the crazy volatility that we’ve been seeing over the past month, people may start saying, ‘Well, maybe now it’s time to start looking at transactions and still putting some money to work.’”

Regulatory Predictability, M&A Activity Also Critical

Regulatory predictability is another factor in the job market turning around, according to Greenberg. She cited recent changes at the FDA as part of what’s holding the market back. Those changes include 3,500 FDA staffers being let go in April, leading to drug review delays.

Leiderman also pointed toward a lack of predictability where the FDA is concerned, noting “you have successful Phase III trials, registration studies, and you file your BLA or your NDA, and then who knows how long it’s going to take to get out of the agency.”

In addition, he said cuts to research funding at universities could become a hiring issue, as the biopharma industry sources scientists from those academic institutions, from grads and postdocs to junior and senior faculty.

“If that gets cut back, we’re killing the farm club, right?” Leiderman said. “We’re going to have empty benches.”

The final factor Greenberg cited for the biopharma job market turning around is more mergers and acquisitions.

“We’ve seen a lot of partnerships, but Big Pharma—and they’re the ones with all the dollars—is still a bit cautious,” she said. “But I think it’ll really only be a matter of time before pipeline gaps force aggressive buying and partnering.”

Although M&A value in biopharma rose 101% in the first quarter of the year compared to the final three months of 2024, policy challenges prompted pharmas to turn to less risky licensing transactions.

Finding the Right Rhythm for Growth, Hiring

How companies pace growth moving forward is also important to the biopharma job market, according to Greenberg. She noted that businesses should avoid not only underhiring but also overhiring, which can lead to layoffs.

“Not too hot, not too cold,” Greenberg said. “You need to hire against real inflection points and avoid ‘short-termism,’ is a phrase I like to use.”

She noted that when it comes to hiring, timing can be particularly difficult for those running a manufacturing operation, such as a contract development and manufacturing organization. When CDMOs are trying to sell contracts to clients, she explained, they need to prove that they already have the capability, which means hiring a bit ahead of need.

“You need some people, say, six months door to floor, meaning from when you hire someone to when they’re actually operational and fully functional on the manufacturing floor,” Greenberg said.

Leiderman’s recommendation for how companies can pace growth was that they should focus on programs with the highest likelihood of success. He noted that data talks.

“If you have good data, it’s going to attract people who are going to want to fund that,” he said.

Putting It Into Perspective: It’s Not 2022, but That’s a Positive

As biopharma professionals keep an eye on the job market, funding and federal actions that impact the industry, Greenberg offered a positive take on the situation.

“This isn’t 2022, and that’s a good thing,” she said. “We’re in a more rational market. Emerging biotech is leaner, making good decisions. Big Pharma is incredibly disciplined, and cell and gene therapy, AI and manufacturing are scaling with purpose. So, I wouldn’t call it bad. I call it healthier and smarter hiring for the next wave of innovation.”

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Biotech’s ‘Nauseating Roller Coaster’ Repels Investors

 

By Ana Mulero

Biotech was starting to show signs of recovery after years of investor pullback—until new tariffs and economic uncertainty sent fresh shockwaves through an already fragile market.

More capital left biotech than entered the sector in 42 of 52 weeks of 2024. It was the second consecutive year of a prolonged downturn in biotech investment following the COVID-19 pandemic boom. And now, macro headwinds are adding even more to the gale pressuring the industry.

Bruce Booth, partner at early-stage biotech venture capital firm Atlas Venture, told BioSpace that “the biotech capital markets have been super challenging in the past couple of months; tariffs and macro issues, FDA turmoil, NIH issues and so much more.”

“There’s been no place for investors and companies to hide,” Booth added. “The daily volatility is a nauseating roller coaster.” Still, he emphasized that these gyrations haven’t shaken his belief in biotech’s long-term promise.

Frustrated investors have been pulling back from biotech, accelerating the flow of funds out of therapeutics development and signaling a sharp decline in confidence in the sector’s near-term potential. In 2024, capitulation in biotech got “so bad it might just be good,” Christopher Raymond, managing director and senior research analyst at Piper Sandler, told BioSpace.

Capitulation marks a moment of extreme investor pessimism when money exits the sector rapidly and sustainably. Christopher Garabedian, CEO of life sciences accelerator Xontogeny and Perceptive Advisors portfolio manager, explained that capitulation occurs when investors say, “We’re done,” and collectively sell off their holdings, unable to justify being in biotech anymore.

On a more positive note, Piper analysts said that such massive outflows often indicate that the worst of a downturn may be over, with the market potentially approaching or already hitting bottom—a sign that a recovery is finally on its way. This time, however, nascent signs of recovery in 2025 have been overshadowed by political turbulence and trade tensions.

“As the first quarter ends, the mood among biotech investors is poor, with frustration, despair and resignation widely felt,” TD Cowen’s analysts wrote in a recent note.

The Roots of Capitulation

Biotech, more than other sectors, relies on investor confidence to sustain the lengthy and costly therapy development process.

The roots of 2024’s biotech struggles stretch back to late 2021, when the market began cooling after the COVID–19 pandemic-driven boom. 2022 and 2023 were marked by a sharp decline in IPOs, shrinking private financing and waves of industry layoffs.

“In the pandemic years, we saw a surge in IPOs due to lower interest rates and an influx of nontraditional capital,” EY’s Arda Ural, who specializes in strategic planning and asset valuation in biotech, told BioSpace. “However, most of those assets have not lived up to their initial pricing and are trading underwater for their investments.”

Ira Leiderman, healthcare managing director at investment banking firm Cassel Salpeter & Co., echoed this sentiment. “Biotechs take a long time to die,” he told BioSpace. “But over the past few years, we’ve seen companies exhaust their runway. Some have restructured and many have gone bankrupt.”

Piper reported that in 2022, the biotech market held up better than in the two years that followed. While inflows slowed after December 2021, money was still entering the sector early in the year, and there were no major signs of panic.

The proportion of rising stocks versus falling ones, known as the breadth ratio, is another proxy for market sentiment, with lower values suggesting a broad-based retreat. According to Piper, the breadth ratio stood at 0.63 in late January 2022. By contrast, 2023 marked a deeper downturn, with the breadth ratio dipping to 0.29 in November.

Capitulation, too, followed this trend. Investor sentiment weakened as 36 of the first 45 weeks in 2023 saw outflows. Piper called 2023 “abysmal,” with net outflows of $16 billion, compared to $12.7 billion in 2024.
In 2024, the pressure continued, with biotech fund outflows occurring in 42 of 52 weeks, according to Piper Sandler data. Lipper/AMG Data Services put out similar findings, revealing that 80–85% of 2024 biotech investment funds experienced outflows.

“We’ve had essentially two straight years—2023 and 2024—of nothing but negative fund flows,” Raymond said. The breadth ratio also dipped in 2024, down to 0.21—the “lowest level since 2009 and below the magic number of 0.3,” which has historically been the point of a market rebound, he said.

This trend does not necessarily indicate a complete rejection of biotech, Garabedian stressed. Investors may be exiting simply to balance their portfolios, offsetting gains elsewhere, he told BioSpace.

Indeed, history suggests that when the breadth ratio falls below 0.3 like in December 2024, the S&P biotech index, or XBI, typically gains around 16% over the next six months. Booth said that as 2025 unfolds, the historical pattern Piper highlighted provides a glimmer of optimism for the industry.

“Biotech will remain in recovery mode [in 2025], but that doesn’t mean pessimism prevails,” Evaluate’s 2025 preview states.

But with the administration threatening a variety of tariffs and wiping out much of the government’s workforce, including many top regulators, the path of that recovery has become ever more uncertain.

“Given the current environment, we don’t anticipate the IPO market to offer a window in the next 3–6 months,” Ural said.

Rising Tides in a Very Rough Ocean

Still, Booth remains hopeful about biotech’s outlook. He said that while current volatility is “nauseating,” early-stage investors can take the long view.

“Fortunately, as early-stage venture investors, we can take a very long-term view of the space,” Booth told BioSpace, “and our perspective on the sector’s 5–10 year horizon remains very positive.”

He emphasized, however, that macroeconomic stability will be crucial for sustaining momentum. Upheaval at the FDA and other agencies under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s oversight as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services continues to ripple across the industry, as do the continued tariff threats from President Donald Trump.

Prior to these developments, biotech had set itself up for a recovery. Private investment had strengthened, particularly in early-stage companies. “Both seed-stage and Series A have seen strong investment,” Kale Frank, managing director of Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) life science and healthcare division, told BioSpace. 2024 also was the second-largest year for public equity issuance ever, Frank added.

With valuations adjusted downward, biotech companies adopted leaner operating strategies and were prioritizing their most promising assets. Garabedian said this is a “silver lining” highlighted by the Piper data. “All these things are in play now, so the runways these companies have when they do raise money will get farther.”

Still, in this environment, only the strong survive, said Margery Fischbein, healthcare managing director at CS. The gap between the “haves and have-nots” in biotech is widening, she warned. Thus, even when the sector does buoy, “I don’t think we’ll see a rising tide lifting all boats.”

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How Low Will It Go? March M&A Stays Quiet in the Middle Market

By Demitri Diakantonis
April 7, 2025

Blame the tariffs, blame reluctant buyers and sellers — blame whatever you want — but the fact of the matter is dealflow is continues to putter along. In fact, March’s totals were at the lowest level since May 2013. Here’s our monthly deal analysis.

According to LSEG, there were 52 mid-market deals valued at about $13.7 billion last month compared to 74 deals valued close to $22 billion for the same period in 2024. The data is based on North American completed deals worth between $100 billion and $1 billion.

Year-to-date totals are 5 percent off of 2024’s transaction total of 206 deals, though value totals are 5 percent higher at $61.7 million due to higher prices per deal done this year.

Expectations were high coming into the year that there would be an uptick in dealflow after many quarters in the doldrums. Those expectations have yet to be met.

“New deals are taking longer to bring to market,” says Cassel Salpeter Co-Founder James Cassel. “The economic uncertainty and hesitancy among market participants contributed to fewer opportunities materializing than we had initially projected.”

One bright spot has been the real estate sector, driven mostly by the demand for data centers. The industry saw 30 deals valued at close to $6.8 billion compared to 12 deals valued at around $4 billion in the 2024 first quarter. A recent deal from March came from 1547 and Harrison Street, which acquired DRFortress, Hawaii’s largest carrier-neutral data center, from GI Partners.

Technology also saw an uptick in dealmaking, thanks to AI-driven deals, with 55 deals valued at about $15.7 billion compared to 49 deals valued at around $11.2 billion in the 2024 first quarter.

The healthcare industry, historically a staple of mid-market M&A, continues to decline with just 22 deals compared to 39 at this time last year with deal value dropping from $8.9 billion to $5.3 billion. The industrials, retail and consumer staples sectors also saw sharp declines.

In the league tables, Piper Sandler (NYSE: PIPR) jumped to first place by advising on the most deals (10). Evercore (NYSE: EVR) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) round out the top three. They advised on nine and seven deals, respectively.

“We anticipate a choppy market until there’s greater clarity and stability,” Cassel says. “Buyers and sellers remain hesitant and worry about the effect of tariff inflation and consumer sentiment with concerns of a recession seeming closer than they have over the past 12 months.”

Reach Cassel at jcassel@cs-ib.com.

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Table of Experts — Passing the torch: Mastering business succession planning

April 2, 2025

Generational wealth is a time-honored reality for family-owned businesses and family offices tasked with protecting assets for current members and descendants. Yet, handing off the reins from a family’s elders to their offspring can be uncertain.

How can families grow their business enterprise or wealth to ensure holdings are protected, whether for eventual sale of the company or distribution to family members down the road?

In this roundtable discussion – hosted by First American Bank and held at the South Florida Business Journal office – entrepreneurs, bankers and advisors explored the importance of succession planning to prepare and protect the family business for future needs. The ideas discussed included employee stock option plans (ESOPs), acquisition by a private equity firm or investor, and strategies to keep the business within the family. Solutions vary depending on whether the family is seeking to pass the management torch, an exit, a payout, or family-office security. Yet, the decisions made today can have a lasting impact on valuations in the future.

Moderated by Brian Hagan, the Florida Market President of First American Bank, panelists agreed financial education is central to effective planning and future success. Teaching today’s members, with a goal of broad understanding of the strategies for wealth preservation, can help prepare family elders and their progeny. It also can align individual expectations for the future of the family organization.

Choosing a successor

One such family business is Padrón Cigars. Founded in 1964 by then-recent Cuban immigrant José Orlando Padrón, the company today is led by his son and company president Jorge Padrón. The son is one of five siblings involved in the business, with over a dozen progeny in the family.

As his father aged, he turned leadership to Jorge Padrón – but not before the son worked in the company, learned the business, and came to know his father’s intent and wishes, Jorge Padrón told fellow panelists. Like many who take over family businesses, nothing was handed to him. “I had to earn that responsibility,” Padrón recalled.

Padrón watched his father lead, learning along the way how to navigate his own leadership, especially when making big decisions for the business or family.

“It was tough, more so for me than my siblings. He never told me how to act or what to do. I watched. That gave me the opportunity to see how he did things, and appreciate what he did,” said Padrón. He admitted it sometimes gets challenging leading a family business with a large family separated by skills, generations and individual expectations.

“I never took for granted the power or authority he gave me to run the company,” Padrón said. “Sometimes, in family businesses, we have to make big decisions on how to run things, and that’s where it can get hairy. You have to check your ego at the door and do a little more work than others. But it’s all for the greater good of the family and business…The legacy has to be preserved. Our name is on that cigar.”

Tony Argiz, South Florida managing partner with accounting firm BDO USA, acknowledged that the Padrón family example speaks to how transitions can work well. Whether through the father’s support or the son’s humility, the transition was likely made easier by the brand his father built.

Educating the next gen

How can a family business or investment office best manage itself when it has parents, offspring, and even grandkids involved in its operations, financial needs, or succession?

“Planning must consider tax implications from any sale or divestment, as well as how management will carry forward,” said William Stewart, managing director with PCE Investment Bankers. Management makes the decisions, and liquidity ensures the finances are in place to follow through, especially when taxes are due on sale proceeds, distributions, or death.

Mauricio Rivero, national tax partner at Nelson Mullins, noted that companies take different approaches toward family members. Some, like Jorge Padrón, become active leaders.

“This person may be the oldest, the strongest character, have natural leadership skills, or they have an education in management. The oldest may not even want a role; he or she might prefer little to no daily involvement but still receive remuneration or distributions,” Rivero said.

Deciding who is included or excluded, and in what capacity, or whether a sale or reinvestment is in the family’s or company’s best interest, is up to the elders and the family. Rivero’s firm often will consult with clients to ensure the structure is in place, whether for a family office or trust company to manage proceeds should the business be sold.

Roles and structures vary. Some family members are leaders, while others may be shareholders without a managerial role. For family members who are inexperienced or ill-suited for leadership, holding a shareholder role allows them to stay involved without management duties, Stewart explained. An ideal leader may possess the traits of an entrepreneur – thoughtful, yet opportunistic, spontaneous or reactionary. They become an extension of the culture.

“You give them a position that keeps the family together, without the tension,” Stewart said. “There are all sorts of dynamics, and these change. Someone has to be in charge. If not, you’re inviting failure.”

The success of such designations, compensation decisions or the choice to bring in outside management “depends on the family dynamic,” said James Cassel, chairman of Cassel Salpeter & Co. Are there people “on payroll” who don’t work, and are there discrepancies in the amounts each person may earn? Are the patriarchs and next generations aligned in their vision for various situations?

If needed, a consultant can be brought in, not to serve as a manager, but as a facilitator to help educate the family members about different situations or to lead discussions – or address concerns.
“The consultant can be the bandleader that puts them in the right place,” Cassel said.

“The consultant can review such topics as compensation, salary, bonuses or distributions,” added Thomas Wells IV, CEO of First American Bank. While a shareholder or family leadership can have those conversations, a third party brings a neutral perspective to the discussion.

Keep an eye on the prize

Most successful companies have an eye on their shared future. Sometimes, leadership at growing businesses seeks to reward employees with an ownership stake. An employee stock ownership plan, (ESOP) lets employees acquire and own part of the company they work for. The plan can motivate workers-turned-owners, while also boosting productivity and improving retention.

Maybe they’re growing the business with hopes of an exit, or they have no intention of selling, but a private equity firm or investor comes along with an enticing offer.

In either case, it’s important for the family to position the business in the best possible light, by studying valuations to understand how much the business might be worth in current market conditions.

Wells suggested families explore their true motivation for valuation. Is it for a sale, estate purposes, or insurance valuation to protect against inheritance or “death” tax hits?

“The truest valuation is the market,” Wells said.

Valuation can be a challenge for family businesses. Owners might seek the input of a wealth manager, who may not understand the nuances of valuing a particular industry.

“A friend at the country club may boast they sold for some multiple of revenues or EBITA, when it might have been a fraction of that,” Cassel joked. Numbers vary by industry or performance, and the family may have various assets that would be part of the sale.

Fernando Mello, a certified business broker with Transworld Business Advisors, said it’s best to have “a constant eye on the books” and not wait until an offer comes along.

“The sooner the owner looks at their business, the better,” Mello said. “Most don’t do that until it’s very close to an exit.”

“How are the records?” Argiz asked, rhetorically. Solid financial records can help determine the strength of cash flow or profitability. “Are there add-backs or adjustments, even other financial situations that could increase tax liability,” added Mello.

How is the quality of earnings? This can reveal how well a company’s reported earnings predict future cash flows and is especially important for potential investors seeking an acquisition or merger.

Other paperwork could include formal leadership roles and succession plans, shareholder agreements, even leases or client or vendor contracts. Are key employees under contract?

Again, an outsider – an accountant, attorney or business advisor – can help run these numbers or documents, and “allow the owner to focus on the business,” Argiz said.

“Entrepreneurs might not be looking day to day to sell their business. It’s not positive when the business owner takes their eye off the ball,” Argiz said. “They’re executing their vision.

Speed round: How can family offices and small businesses plan today for a stronger tomorrow?

William Stewart, Managing Director, PCE Investment Bankers: “From the education side, it’s understanding the options you have in business. Not everyone is a fit for private equity [acquisition]; not everyone wants to sell to a strategic buyer. ESOPs can work great for some companies. You have to understand the options and how they’ll work for you. And you can’t start early enough teaching the next generation to help them understand their role and how they can participate in building family wealth and the operating company.”
Mauricio Rivero, National Tax Partner, Nelson Mullins: “Education and understanding options are key to any family operation. They need to understand the history of where their wealth comes from, and some of them don’t. They need to know what the options are going forward, from a business level, and where they are and where they see themselves and the family in the future. If somebody comes knocking on the door looking to buy, is this something they want to do, or will it disintegrate family unity?”
Jorge Padrón, President, Padrón Cigars: “A lot of this applies to everyday operations. We as a company, and I, within it, must work toward a more efficient company, with better communication between our family and employees, and understanding of our roles. Who knows what will happen in the future? But if the people involved in the business are well- educated and understand the dynamics, it creates a much stronger company.”
Fernando Mello, Certified Business Broker, Transworld Business Advisors: “The key person from the business – the entrepreneur – is not necessarily the one to drive this. They need to be smart enough to surround themselves with the right people and advisors. When something like this is considered, we require an investment of time and money.”
James Cassel, Chairman, Cassel Salpeter & Co.: “There are those family businesses where the people at the top look at their family members and really believe they’re not the right people to run the business going forward. This fork in the road leads to the question, ‘Do we bring in professional management, or do we sell the business, leading to wealth created in a different fashion?’ That kind of planning needs to be considered, and you have to be very honest about it.”
Tony Argiz, South Florida Managing Partner, BDO USA: “Education within the family is critical. They need to understand where their money came from and how those pennies were earned and saved. ‘Where did that money come from?’ That’s hard work. You have to pass it from generation to generation, and the only way to do that is by being smart and aware of everything you’re doing.”
Thomas Wells IV, CEO, First American Bank: “There’s not a stone tablet that says, ‘You should be rich.’ That’s a really important concept for the next generation. It means, you’re going to have to learn, participate and figure out how to manage your money. Because your wealth, which you have been blessed to receive, is transitory and ephemeral. It will disappear if you don’t take care of it. That takes work. ‘How did you invest it? How did you make it happen?’ That’s the education. If you sit down with a bunch of 20- and 30-year-olds, the second and third generations, they don’t know what a trust vehicle is, what a beneficiary is, what a shareholder is. It’s basic stuff that needs to be thought through. The family can’t buy that. It must be ingrained as part of the culture.”
Brian Hagan, Florida Market President, First American Bank: “We help educate our customers on this. For many families, whether it’s early in the process or they’ve been educating the next generation from the beginning, it’s an ongoing effort and comes in many forms. First and foremost, it starts with good advisors.”

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How Macroeconomic Trends Are Impacting Dealmaking, Investor Appetite, and Corporate Valuations

By Jill Malandrino
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Jim Cassel, Co-Founder & Chairman, Cassel Salpeter & Co., joins Jill Malandrino on Nasdaq TradeTalks to discuss how macroeconomic trends are impacting dealmaking, investor appetite, and corporate valuations.

TradeTalks broadcasts live from MarketSite in Times Square, the historic Philadelphia Trading Floor and Global Industry Conferences and Events. Featuring conversations with top industry thought leaders on trends, news and education.

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Joey Smith, Director of Aviation Services @ Cassel Salpeter

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