Atma Kabad Moves from Kirkland to Gibson Dunn
While at Kirkland the capital markets partner worked with such clients as Orix, Marathon Oil, Kimmeridge Texas Gas and Omat Technologies.
Diamondback/Viper to Acquire Sitio Royalties for $4.1B
The deal adds more than 25,000 royalty acres to Diamondback's Permian inventory and cuts Viper's dividend breakeven to under $20 per barrel WTI. Wachtell, Vinson & Elkins and Gibson Dunn advised on the deal.
CDT Roundup: Another Week for the $20B Streak, Unusual Deals and a SPAC Twist
The week ending May 31 saw 19 deals reported involving Texas businesses or Texas lawyers. They were valued at $23.4 billion, representing the fourth week in a row reporting transactions valued at a total of $20 billion or more. Last week, we saw 15 deals for $24 billion. And this time last year, there were 12 transactions for $34 billion. And it was a week that was more than usually unusual.
GATX, Brookfield to Purchase Wells Fargo Railway Fleet for $4.4B
The deal, advised by Skadden and Mayer Brown, involves 105,000 rail cars, a potential 10-year buyout by GATX and a separate purchase of Wells Fargo rail leasing assets.
EOG Resources to Acquire Encino Acquisition Partners for $5.6 Billion
The deal, which makes Houston-based EOG one of the largest producers in Appalachia's Utica shale play was advised by Wachtell, Akin and Latham & Watkins.
Megan Knell Joins Steptoe & Johnson
The hiring of the former Dykema member, a board-certified oil, gas and minerals lawyer, brings the Steptoe & Johnson headcount in Dallas to 31.
SCOTUS to Consider Chevron Removal Case
In April, a Louisiana state jury decided that Houston-based Chevron Corp. owes Plaquemines Parish $740 million for harm done to the local coastal environment by Chevron and its corporate predecessors during oil and gas exploration more than seven decades ago. On Thursday (May 29), the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to consider a grant of certiorari for an argument by Chevron and other oil companies that the case shouldn't have been heard by a state court in the first place. The Texas Lawbook backgrounds the case.
CDT Roundup: Texas Lawyers Deliver Rare $20B+ Hat Trick
In this edition of CDT Roundup, the week ending May 24 saw 15 deals reported for a total of $24 billion. The week prior saw 16 deals for $21.7 billion. In fact, it's the third week in a row we tallied $20 billion or more for transactions handled by Texas lawyers. And that's the first time that's happened since we started keeping these stats for deals reported to the CDT Roundup. It's also the first time we've seen three consecutive weeks of $10 billion or more since the three weeks the third quarter of 2024.
How Waste Management and Charles Boettcher Sealed the Stericycle Deal
Waste Management’s $7.2 billion acquisition of Stericycle was highly complex, merging WM’s $20 billion solid waste business with Stericycle’s $2.6 billion medical waste operation. The deal faced hurdles including class action litigation, a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation, and major integration challenges. Over several years, WM’s Chief Legal Officer, Charles Boettcher, played a key role in strategy, evaluation, and execution — culminating in one of 2024’s most significant transactions, with outside counsel Vinson & Elkins. As a result, Waste Management's acquisition of Stericycle is one of two finalists for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for M&A Transaction of the Year. The award will be presented by the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook today at the Four Seasons in Houston.
Simpson Thacher Hires Project Finance Veteran
Fern Han spent more than 14 years at White & Case advising on large-scale infrastructure finance. Her hiring raises the STB Houston office headcount to 85 lawyers.