Opening Bid Unfiltered

Deal activity is heating up as 2025 nears a close amid lower interest rates from the Fed and a sense from sellers that valuations are about as full as one could expect. Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi sits down on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with Apollo Global Management co-head of equity David Sambur. After being held by Liberation Day market related volatility, the environment for deal-making has picked up. This year is on track to become the second highest in deal activity, up 36% in value to an estimated $4.8 trillion according to Bain & Company. Megadeals greater than $5 billion have represented more than 75% of incremental deal value. Meanwhile, exit activity for private equity companies accelerated meaningfully in the third quarter. Private equity firms have announced exits totaling $470 billion so far this year per data from EY, marking a 40% increase by value compared with the same period last year. Sambur shares his outlook for M&A and exits in 2026, the drivers of that potential activity and what he has learned from making big deals over the course of his career. Disclosure: Yahoo is a portfolio company of funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opening Bid Unfiltered is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. From the racetrack to the race for cybersecurity spending dollars. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with CrowdStrike (CRWD) founder and CEO George Kurtz. The conversation veered off down a few side streets, so to speak. Kurtz is an accomplished endurance racer, and that led him recently to purchase a 15% minority interest in the Mercedes F1 team. It’s an incredible combination of Kurtz’s public company experience, tech expertise, and passion for racing. At the same time, CrowdStrike is gearing up for a big 2026 in the eyes of Wall Street as more AI agents raise the risk of cybersecurity threats. Kurtz reveals his operating playbook for the road ahead. Listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch on our website for full episodes of Opening Bid Unfiltered. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered is produced by Langston Sessoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opening Bid Unfiltered is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. From hyrox to pickleball, this is a great moment to take a crack at starting a new sports venture. Enter SailGP into the often stodgy world of sailing. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with SailGP CEO and storied yachtsman Russell Coutts. Coutts won an Olympic gold medal in 1984 and then went on to secure several America's Cup victories. In 2019, he co-founded SailGP with Oracle founder and billionaire Larry Ellison. Ellison is a longtime sailing fan. What once began as a fledgling sports league, has gained considerable momentum in terms of viewership and attracting new sponsors. The league now has 13 teams and celebrity team owners such as Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reyonds and Anne Hathaway. Team valuations have also continued to skyrocket, and the business is expected to produce $200 million in sales this year. Coutts shares what the 2026 sailing season holds and what it has been like, transitioning from an athlete to a CEO, piloting the future of a sports league.  Listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch on our website for full episodes of Opening Bid Unfiltered. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered is produced by Langston Sessoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rest assured that if a leader can cut expenses to boost profits, they will often do so without hesitation. This practice is likely to worsen in the years ahead as leaders are drawn in by the use cases for AI and the subsequent opportunity to cut more jobs to save money. It sucks to say this, but it’s the cold, hard truth. In the process of all this cost-cutting, are leaders losing sight of company culture and how a great culture could unleash significant profits? Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with veteran board member and top executive James D. White. White is the co-author, with his daughter Krista, of the new book "Culture Design: How to Build a High-Performing, Resilient Organization with Purpose." White comes from a place of deep experience on the topic, having led a successful turnaround of Jamba Juice as CEO for eight years. He has sat on the boards of Affirm and Panera Bread. He currently sits on the boards of Cava and Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company. White shares why creating a great corporate culture is paramount and how it can be achieved with success. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves, and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor, before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid Unfiltered at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Please email us at [email protected]. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered is hosted by Brian Sozzi and produced by Langston Sessoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been a very eventful year for stablecoin player Circle (CRCL). The company completed its IPO in June. Then, in July, President Trump signed the GENIUS Act, which is seen as a significant future tailwind to the crypto and stablecoin industries. While Circle’s stock price is well off its highs amid a broader pullback in the crypto space, it’s hard to deny the company’s business progress and how it sets it up for success in the years ahead. At the helm of Circle is CEO and co-founder Jeremy Allaire, who has been winning over industry critics, including those on Wall Street and in government, for years. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with Allaire on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast to discuss what drives him to push Circle to new heights and what he has in store for 2026. If you are a believer in crypto and stablecoins — or not — then this is the conversation you need to hear for the best possible context! Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves, and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor, before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid Unfiltered at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Please email us at [email protected]. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered is hosted by Brian Sozzi and produced by Langston Sessoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices