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A special master for a federal court in Delaware has named Amber Energy Inc. as its court-approved bidder for CITGO, one of the largest refiners and distributors of petroleum products in the U.S. The sale, which values Houston-based CITGO at $7.28 billion, is aimed at settling some of the $21.3 billion in claims against CITGO's former owners, the state-controlled energy company of Venezuela.
The two-deal parlay by TPG, which formally ends AT&Ts $49 billion venture into the home entertainment business, was advised by Gibson Dunn, Ropes & Gray, Cleary Gottlieb, Steptoe & Johnson, HWG, Crowell & Morning, White & Case and Mintz, Levin.
Since the record year of 2021, IPOs have been scarce by any standard. Even SPACs have been in decline. The two non-SPAC IPOs that reached the CDT Roundup last week hardly represent a bumper crop. But with 145 logged with the SEC so far this year, we may be on a pace for the most IPOs since 2021. The CDT Roundup takes a look at those two new IPOs and what they might tell us about the market in Texas and elsewhere — along with the usual summary of last week's Texas transactional action.
Texas lawyers from Latham & Watkins and Sidley Austin advised Vistra on the acquisition of the last 15 percent of Vistra Vision not already owned by Vistra. Vistra Vision owns and operates alternative energy facilities, including four nuclear plants.
Private equity is back; particularly in middle market deals. Pitchbook says so in a report released last week. In their study of H1 data Pitchbook forecasts that middle market deal counts will reach 3,400 by the end of the year, with values of as much as $345 billion. That would make it the third-best year for middle market PE deals, ever. If you want particulars, look no further than this week's CDT Roundup, in which 13 of last week's 16 M&A/Funding deals involved some form of PE participation. The Roundup even has the names of the lawyers behind them.
Deals are all about numbers: enterprise value, debt, return on investment, EBITDA, yield, etc. The CDT this week looks at a few of the deals from last week whose terms were undisclosed but suggest values that could make a week look far better than it does on paper. That, along with the usual summaries of Texas-related deals reported last week — whether they had values attached or not.
The combination will create a firm of more than 1,600 lawyers in 35 offices which last year reported more than $1.5 billion in revenues, placing it in the top 30 of the Am Law 100 rankings.
Kent Zimmermann, a strategic adviser and principal with the Zeughauser Group, introduced the two firms and describes the combination as "the most appealing in recent history."
Debevoise & Plimpton advised Verizon. Cravath, Swain & Moore advised Frontier. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison counseled Frontier's strategic review committee.
Others are beginning to notice what The Texas Lawbook has been following for some time: that despite the carping of state lawmakers and fossil fuel grumps, renewables are being woven into the fabric of Texas energy — both in its dealmaking and its grid. The analysts at Preqin are the latest to say so out loud. This week's CDT Roundup has their observations along with the usual roster of last week's deals.
Claire Poole, one of the brightest lights in business journalism, is retiring. Her last day is today. For decades, she has written about dealmaking in Texas and beyond with integrity, talent and grit. But the biggest story she's been involved with may well be her own.
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