PODCAST
Sam Snider featured on Mergermarket Dealcast podcast: Cross-border dealmaking in 2026
Oct 7, 2026
Sam Snider joined Mergermarket as the featured guest on a podcast episode exploring the opportunities, challenges and practical realities of cross-border M&A in 2026. In conversation with Justin Niessner, associate editor of the Asian Venture Capital Journal, Sam discussed what it takes to get international deals done, with a focus on transactions connecting the United States with markets in Asia and Africa.
From the demographic trends attracting investment in emerging markets to the geopolitical tensions complicating foreign investment, the conversation explored the forces shaping global dealmaking. Sam also examined the details that can make a difference in closing a transaction – from the material such as exchange control to the mundane such as local signature requirements and board composition rules – and why understanding cultural expectations and approaching each market with humility are essential.
Listen to the full Mergermarket podcast episode here or below: A look at the state of cross-border dealmaking in 2026 – McDermott Will & Schulte’s Sam Snider, with Justin Niessner – podcast
With factors like fast-developing AI, global conflicts, and ever-changing geopolitics affecting every part of the globe, how has international dealmaking been impacted? And what are the actual logistics of getting a deal over the line across two or more legal and regulatory systems, with potentially different cultural expectations?
Sam Snider, an Atlanta-based partner focused on cross-border M&A at McDermott Will & Schulte, and Justin Niessner, associate editor of the Asian Venture Capital Journal based in Hong Kong, discuss international dealmaking between the US and other parts of the world, with a focus on Asia and Africa.
The episode delves into the actual logistics of dealmaking across borders, like whether the given country only recognizes wet ink signatures over e-signatures, knowing the local exchange control restrictions, and considering whether a local citizen is required on the board. The two also discuss why getting familiar with local idiosyncrasies and approaching cross-border deals with humility should be standard.
The discussion dives into topics such as how demographics, like a young population and rising standards of living, are attracting business and investment in emerging markets across the world. However, at the same time, global political tensions have made some countries more resistant to foreign investment compared to previous years.
