First Step to Final Offer 12/9/25

Author

Brooks Gammill
December 09, 2025

Your weekly round-up of an M&A deal walkthrough, insightful market news summaries, technical quiz questions, and various internships, events, and diversity programs. A key resource to best prepare yourself for finance recruiting. If someone sent you the newsletter subscribe below!

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Class of 2028 Finance Opportunities

  • ATLAS SP Summer 2027 ASPire Origination, Sales & Trading Internship Link

  • Union Square Advisors Investment Banking 2027 Summer Analyst Link

  • Citadel and Citadel Securities Equities- Citadel Associate Program- Summer Internship 2027 Link

  • Dodge & Cox 2027 Investment Associate Internship Link

  • Santander Bank Santander 2027 Investment Banking Summer Analyst - Los Angeles Link

  • Perella Weinberg Partners 2027 US Advisory Summer Analyst Link

  • Houlihan Lokey 2027 Summer Financial Analyst (Class of 2028) - Multiple Roles and Locations Link

  • Lincoln International 2027 Summer Analyst Intern - Multiple Roles and Locations Link

  • Ardea Partners 2027 NY Summer Internship Link

  • Stout 2027 Investment Banking Summer Analyst (Chicago) Link

  • Graham Partners Private Equity Fast Track Two-Year Internship, 2026 and 2027 Summer Analyst (Class of 2028) Link

  • Harris Associates Summer 2027 Equity Research Internship Link

  • Moelis & Company 2027 Summer Analyst, Investment Banking - Houston Link

  • William Blair 2027 Investment Banking Summer Analyst Link

  • Wells Fargo 2027 Summer Internship, Early Careers – Investment Banking Link

  • Sculptor Capital Management Real Estate Intern, Acquisitions– Summer 2027 Link

  • Bessemer Venture Partners Summer Analyst 2027 Link

  • BMO Capital Markets Summer 2027 Internship - Multiple Roles and Locations Link

  • Barclays Summer Internship 2027 New York - Multiple Roles Link

  • Deutsche Bank Internship Program – Investment Bank & Capital Markets: Investment Bank Coverage – New York 2027 Link

  • Rothschild & Co. US 2027 Global Advisory Summer Analyst Link

To see c/o 2028 opportunities, click here: Class of 2028 Application Tracker

Class of 2027 Finance and Consulting Opportunities

  • LPL Financial 2026 Summer Internship - Multiple Roles and Locations Link

  • Boston Consulting Group Risk Management - Enterprise Risk Intern Link

  • West Monroe 2026 Business & Strategy Consulting Intern - Multiple Roles and Locations Link

  • UBS Private Wealth Internship Link

  • Huron Healthcare Summer 2026 Consulting Intern, Chicago (Spring 2027 Graduates) Link

  • StepStone Group 2026 Real Estate Private Equity Advisory Summer Analyst Link

  • Oliver Wyman 2026 Summer Analyst – Veritas, A Business of Oliver Wyman Link

  • Voloridge Quant Trading Intern 2026 Link

  • Invesco Summer 2026 Internship - Multiple Roles and Locations Link

  • KeyBank Summer 2026 Key Investment Services Internship (Certified Financial Planner Track- South Puget, WA Link

  • Houlihan Lokey 2026 Summer Financial Analyst (Class of 2027), Corporate Valuation Advisory Services, Complex Securities - Multiple Locations Link

  • BMO Capital Markets Commercial Banking Credit Analyst Internship - Chicago, IL (Summer 2026) Link


    To see c/o 2027 opportunities, click here: Class of 2027 Application Tracker

Class of 2026 Finance and Consulting Opportunities

  • Huron Healthcare Consulting Analyst - Q3/Q4 2026 Start Dates (Spring 2026 Graduates) Link

  • StepStone Group 2026 Private Equity Analyst Link

  • PJT Partners 2026 Full Time Analyst - PJT Camberview (Governance) Link

  • West Monroe 2026 Mergers & Acquisitions Consultant - Multiple Roles and Locations Link

  • Piper Sandler Investment Banking Analyst – Energy, Power & Infrastructure Link

  • Barclays Banking Analyst Graduate Program 2026 San Francisco Link

TECHNICAL QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

How does an increase in accounts receivable affect a company's cash flow statement?

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MARKET NEWS

Ares Management Set to Join S&P 500

Ares Management will be added to the S&P 500 index before market open on December 11, replacing snack maker Kellanova, which is being acquired by Mars in a $36 billion deal. The move marks a major milestone for Ares, affirming its status among the top-tier alternative asset managers, alongside peers like Blackstone, KKR, and Apollo—who joined the index in recent years. Founded in 1997, Ares oversees more than $596 billion in assets across strategies such as real estate, infrastructure, private equity, and especially private credit, where it holds a leading position. Inclusion in the S&P 500 often boosts investor demand, as index-tracking funds adjust portfolios to reflect the change.

Source: Reuters

Todd Combs to Lead JPMorgan’s $1.5 Trillion Investment Push

Todd Combs is leaving Berkshire Hathaway, where he served as investment manager and CEO of Geico, to head JPMorgan’s new $1.5 trillion Security and Resiliency Initiative. He’ll oversee $10 billion in initial capital targeting sectors like defense, healthcare, and energy. Combs will also act as special advisor to CEO Jamie Dimon, joining a strategy council that includes Jeff Bezos and Condoleezza Rice. The move comes ahead of Berkshire’s planned leadership transition in 2026.

Source: CNBC

M&A DEAL OVERVIEW

IBM to Acquire Confluent for $11 Billion in Major AI Software Expansion

IBM has agreed to buy Confluent for $11 billion including debt, marking one of its largest acquisitions and a significant move to expand its AI-driven enterprise software capabilities. The deal, expected to close by mid-2026, values Confluent at $31 per share and includes a $453.6 million breakup fee if terminated. Confluent provides real-time data-streaming tools that power AI applications for clients like Michelin and Instacart. The acquisition deepens IBM’s pivot toward software and follows its $6.4 billion HashiCorp purchase. It also builds on a five-year partnership between the two firms.

Source: Bloomberg

LAST WEEK TECHNICAL QUESTION OF THE WEEK ANSWER:

Correct Answer: C, Depends on the interest rate of the debt compared to the earnings yield of the stock. — What would be the impact on a company's earnings per share (EPS) if it decided to issue $100 million in debt to buy back its stock? Assume the company's stock is currently priced at $50 per share and it has a weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of 5%.

Explanation: The impact on EPS depends on whether the cost of the new debt is lower or higher than the earnings yield of the repurchased shares. Issuing $100 million of debt allows the company to buy back 2 million shares at $50 each, reducing the share count, which boosts EPS—if the added interest expense is small relative to the earnings those shares previously represented. If the interest rate on the debt is lower than the company’s earnings yield (its earnings per share divided by the stock price), then net income will fall by less than the earnings removed through the buyback, and EPS will increase. If the interest rate is higher, the additional interest expense will outweigh the benefit of fewer shares, causing EPS to decrease. Since the WACC does not determine the cost of the new debt, the outcome ultimately hinges on the actual debt interest rate versus the earnings yield, so the effect on EPS cannot be known without that comparison.