Every so often, activist investors swarm around underperforming companies in a certain industry and pressure them to change strategy. Right now, it’s biotech startups that are flush with cash but still years from successful drug approvals that are in the crosshairs.

This year, managers at Jefferies Financial Group Inc., Evercore Inc. and PJT Partners Inc. say they’ve been inundated with CVs from the likes of Goldman, Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse.

Stubbornly high inflation, soaring borrowing costs and geopolitical uncertainty hindered dealmaking in 2022, sending global mergers and acquisitions activity down by almost a third compared with last year’s record haul.

Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN is nearing a large new partnership with sports-betting firm DraftKings Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

Some of the big-name startups expected to go public early this year have slowed their rush to market as stocks continue to whipsaw. Companies including Reddit Inc. and Cohesity Inc. each discussed listing shares as soon as the first quarter of 2022, people familiar with the matter have said. Though both have filed paperwork for an initial public offering, neither has taken the next steps toward making their market debuts.

Wall Street will continue reaping rewards from its embrace of blank-check companies for a long time, even if the record-breaking boom in listings comes to an end.

Former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez joined the roster of wealthy celebrities backing blank-check companies with a filing to raise $500 million for Slam Corp.