Paul B.s. on tariffs
From PJT CEO Paul Taubman Ramps Up Hiring With 'Big Uptick' Coming in M&A · · Bloomberg Television
“Well, there's I'm not even sure where to start. So we can talk about tariffs. So there is what has been threatened. There's what may be negotiated away and there's what may ultimately be implemented. I think in many respects, this administration has to be highly strategic in their use of tariffs, and I think it's too soon to tell. But one thing is clear. Companies that don't have exposure to the United States want to have more exposure to the United States. If you look at European companies ten or 15 years ago, 15% of their assets were in the U.S.. That number has grown to 30. It's almost doubled. You're going to see a continuation in that trend. That's number one. Number two, clearly less regulation, more pro-business environment. I think that's going to facilitate more confidence, more investment and see it reflected in the stock market. You see it reflected in CEO and boardroom confidence that's going to be get more activity. And then on competition, the reality is that if Trump won and then Biden won, you had. A similar number of transactions that ultimately were blocked. The difference is that the Trump administration took a much more forward leaning let's negotiate behavioral remedies. Let's see if we can figure out the deals that we really want to block and let the others move forward. Since that time, the time between announcement and close has increased 50%. That's chilled M&A. I think you're going to see, with the exception of a focus on retail and on tech, you're going to see a much more favorable competition environment.”
On , Paul B.s., Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at PJT PARTNERS INC, spoke about tariffs during PJT CEO Paul Taubman Ramps Up Hiring With 'Big Uptick' Coming in M&A on Bloomberg Television.
About Paul B.s.
Paul Taubman, chairman and CEO of PJT Partners, has described the M&A environment as being in a "stuck" state, attributing the slowdown to the end of easy money conditions and a pullback by private equity firms. He stated in September 2024 that until interest rate cuts occur, it will be difficult to get the M&A marketplace moving, and he characterized the period as an "M&A recession" that will take a long time to recover from. Taubman also noted that private equity firms are "exquisite at controlling exit timings" and have long runways, which he said will contribute to a "very, very slow build back up" in deal activity. Despite the challenging near-term environment, Taubman has emphasized that PJT Partners is pursuing "quite significant" hiring, describing the slowdown as a conducive environment to recruit top talent due to lower switching costs for bankers. He reported that the firm has tripled its headcount and revenues over eight years, and stated that PJT Partners sees "tremendous opportunity to grow" as it remains a fraction of the size of larger competitors. In the third quarter of 2025, Taubman reported record results for the firm in terms of revenue, adjusted pre-tax income, and adjusted EPS.