The Monitor

Hosted by CIBC

Business Investing

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Latest episode

Apr 2026

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About the show

Welcome to The Monitor by CIBC Capital Markets. This podcast series focuses on key insights, trends and strategy in the US middle-market.

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14 recent

April 7, 202614 min

2025 Recap and Q1 2026: Navigating a Choppy Market

CIBC US Middle Market Investment Banking’s Ron Miller is joined by Alex Eskra and Jim Olson to discuss full-year 2025 M&A trends, including transaction volumes, private equity activity, valuations, and credit markets. Alex covers broader market signals, while Jim discusses trends within the consumer market. The outlook for 2026 is cautiously optimistic, but dealmakers are contending with a conflict in Iran, weaker jobs data, and rising oil prices. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

January 9, 202624 min

M&A Resilience & Rebound Ahead

CIBC US Middle Market Investment Banking’s Ron Miller is joined by Alex Eskra and Daniel Riley to discuss 2025 M&A trends, including transaction volumes, valuations, credit markets, and direct lending. Alex covers broader market signals, while Dan highlights software and technology sector momentum and the role of AI. The outlook for 2026 is optimistic, with strong deal pipelines and stable valuations. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

October 1, 202517 min

H1 2025 market recap: Navigating continued uncertainty

CIBC US Middle Market Investment Banking’s Alex Eskra and Ryan Olsta join Ron Miller to discuss the current state of U.S. middle market M&A. They discuss M&A transaction volume, private equity activity, valuations, and the credit markets. Ryan also provides his insights on current trends within the business services sector. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

July 14, 202518 min

M&A market rattled by tariff policy uncertainty

CIBC US Middle Market Investment Banking’s Alex Eskra and Ryan Chimenti join Ron Miller to discuss the current state of U.S. middle market M&A. They discuss M&A transaction volume, private equity activity, valuations, and the credit markets. Ryan also provides his insights on current trends within the industrials sector. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

April 7, 202517 min

Uncertainty is not M&A’s friend

CIBC US Middle Market Investment Banking’s Alex Eskra and Dylan Harkness join Ron Miller to discuss the current state of U.S. middle market M&A. They discuss M&A transaction volume, private equity activity, valuations, and the credit markets, as well as the outlook for 2025 and the uncertainty tariffs are creating in the market. Dylan also provides his insights on current trends within the consumer sector. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

January 14, 202512 min

M&A market shows some signs of optimism

CIBC US Middle Market Investment Banking’s Alex Eskra and Dan Riley join Ron Miller to discuss the current state of U.S. middle market M&A. They discuss M&A transaction volume, private equity activity, valuations, and the credit markets. Dan also provides his insights on current trends within the IT services sector. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

October 9, 202415 min

Deal volumes for $100 million+ transactions increase

CIBC US Middle Market Investment Banking’s Ryan Olsta, Managing Director, and Alex Eskra, Director, join Ron Miller to discuss the current state of U.S. middle market M&A. They discuss M&A transaction volume, private equity activity, valuations, and the credit markets. Ryan also provides his insights on current trends within the business services sector. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

July 8, 202417 min

Activity in the Debt Markets appear promising for M&A

CIBC US Middle Market Investment Banking’s Ryan Chimenti, Managing Director, and Alex Eskra, Director, join Ron Miller to discuss the current state of U.S. middle market M&A. They discuss M&A transaction volume, private equity activity, valuations, and the credit markets. Ryan also provides his insights on current trends within the industrial and manufacturing sectors. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

April 3, 202413 min

Outlook for 2024 is cautiously optimistic

CIBC US Middle Market Investment Banking’s Alex Eskra, Director, and Jim Olson, Executive Director, join Ron Miller to discuss the current state of U.S. middle market M&A. They discuss M&A transaction volume, private equity activity, valuations, and the credit markets. Jim also provides his insights on current trends within the consumer sector. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

January 4, 202416 min

Rebound in the leveraged loan market

CIBC US Middle Market Investment Banking’s Alex Eskra and Dan Riley, Directors, join Ron Miller to discuss the current state of US middle market M&A. They discuss M&A transaction volume, private equity activity, valuations, and the credit markets. They also discuss current trends within the software and technology sector and Dan shares his observations in the market. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.