James Stevens, co-leader of Troutman Pepper’s Financial Services Industry Group, was quoted in the December 5, 2024 S&P Global article, “Old National books rare share price gain after announcing large bank deal.”

In the article, James Stevens emphasized the significance of the book value earnback period.

“The shorter that period of time is, the more handsomely the buyer is going to get rewarded from the stock market,” James stated in his interview.

While investors typically consider strategic factors and pricing terms, James noted, “it’s really hard to say, with respect to specific transactions, what’s causing one transaction to have a pop in the buyer stock versus another one.”

James pointed out that consolidation in the banking industry has been relatively slow recently due to “a murky outlook in terms of interest rates and liquidity and the potential recession.”

However, he added that with the uncertainties affecting dealmaking easing, bank M&A activity in 2025 is expected to be robust.