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As Sir Mix-A-Lot might note if he was writing about M&A instead hip-hop fundament, "We like big numbers and we cannot lie." As a result, we decided to continue our look at 2023's remarkable run of billion-dollar deals, and whether inflation inflated our numbers. That and the usual roster of transactions reported last week.
Holland & Knight and Akin advised on the deal between the two Houston-based companies that extends the on-going upstream consolidations offshore, into the Gulf of Mexico.
Advised by Kirkland, Skadden and others, the deal has deep ties to a number of critical Texas energy and infrastructure projects. The Lawbook has the details, as well as the names of lawyers involved.
Advised by lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins, the deal brings to NG and LNG the same kind of billion-dollar consolidations taking place among major holders in the Permian Basin.
Lawyers from Vinson & Elkins and Kirkland & Ellis advised on the transaction which further consolidates gas production feeding the LNG terminals along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana.
Oxy's acquisition of the Midland-based independent, which includes the assumption of $1.2 billion in CrownRock debt, further consolidates Oxy's prime perch in the productive Permian Basin. The Lawbook has the names of all 72 lawyers involved in the deal.
Blue Wolf Capital and Stonepeak announced Monday that they are acquiring the Canada-based shipping specialists Logistec in an all-cash deal that values the company at $1.2 billion. Sidley advised Stonepeak on the transaction.
Energy is still king in Texas M&A, despite the diversification of the Texas economy and the rise of technology and manufacturing and infrastructure. ExxonMobil's decision to buy Pioneer Natural Resources for $59.5 billion is exhibit A. Still, energy deals have been fading in recent years as a share of the overall M&A market: from a 42 percent share of the overall Texas deal count in 2020 to only 32 percent this year, according to The Lawbook's exclusive Corporate Deal Tracker. But while capital markets have retreated from investment in hydrocarbon development, energy transition is gaining traction in a way that is transforming Texas energy M&A. And even traditional oil and gas is beginning to reap the benefit.
Panelists from five firms at the UT Law M&A Institute on Thursday concluded that ESG issues, both financial and legal, are moving toward greater focus in M&A transactions; perhaps at different paces depending on industry or geography, but evolving nonetheless in ways that need the attention of lawyers.
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