The total value of global M&A transactions are set to surpass USD 3 tn this year, but the average ticket size is getting smaller, John Waldron, Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking Division Co-Head, says. While 1H2017 has been “very robust,” the difference this year is that, instead of having them driven by “large-scale consolidations,” the M&A transactions are characterized by smaller transactions. “More middle-market, upper-middle-market” transaction activity, he says, with more activity geared towards “niche-y acquisitions.” Waldron “points to legislative gridlock in Washington and regulatory uncertainty as reasons for the shift, but says that even as it remains difficult to forecast the political backdrop, investors have remained broadly supportive of transactions across both the debt and equity markets.” Waldron adds that “the markets are really prepared to step in and finance cash-based M&A … And we expect that to continue” (watch, runtime 02:32).