Banking

Houlihan Lokey acquires Freeman. Movista purchases Natural Insight. Platinum Equity buys Cision.

Last years' honorees included: Marilyn Adler (Medley Capital), Jennifer Cotton (Madison Capital Funding), Nishita Cummings (Kayne Anderson), Venita Fields (Pelham S2K), Jeri Harman (Avante Mezzanine Partners), Pam Hendrickson (the Riverside Co.), Gretchen Perkins (Huron Capital) and Trisha Renner (Baird).

"There are still 5,000 banks," says Piper Jaffray's Chad Abraham. "We expect the pace of consolidation to continue."

Mergers & Acquisitions is currently accepting nominations the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A. Here's a look at the timelines of our three annual special reports, including M&A Mid-Market Awards and the 2019 Rising Stars of Private Equity.

Piper Jaffray and Sealed Air were also involved in dealmaking.

American Baker names BofA's Cathy Bessant the No. 1 Most Powerful Women in Banking. Mergers & Acquisitions seeks nominations for the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, due Oct. 14. Hyundai, Aptiv team for self-driving car joint venture.

Mooney was the first woman to lead a top-20 U.S.-based bank. Gorman, the Cleveland company's vice chairman and president of banking, will replace her on May 1.

Nearly a tenth of the industry’s deals this year were connected to the state, which boasts a good number of sought-after small banks.

An increase in credit union acquisitions of banks has been a blow to the morale of many commercial bankers, and some of their trade organizations are trying to slow down the trend. There may be little they can do.

First Community Bankshares will buy Highlands Bankshares for $91 million.