Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
A federal court in Delaware last week approved an end to the Venezuelan Citgo Petroleum saga, authorizing the sale of the company's parent PDVSA to an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management for $5.9 billion.
Texas is at the center of a historic boom in power and utility M&A, fueled by the massive energy demands of data center expansions and the global power race driven by the AI revolution.
It’s no secret that energy, particularly in the form of electricity, has become the foundation of dealmaking in anticipation of the need for hyperscale computing and data storage.
But the demand for power and utility deals, large and small, would be hard to overstate.
In the first three quarters of 2025, Texas lawyers handled more M&A transactions involving power and utility projects than in any full year since 2018.
Not only are there more deals, but they are larger. Far larger. In the first three quarters of 2025, Texas-related deals in the power and utilities sector hit $106.5 billion. By comparison, the record-setting M&A year of 2021 saw eight P&U transactions totaling $3.7 billion. (Photo by Stephanie Tacy/NurPhoto via AP)
The aerospace manufacturer, founded in 2011, is being sold to Nashville-based Arcline Investment Management. Kirkland & Ellis, Ropes & Gray and Paul Hastings are legal advisors on the deal.
In Dykema's 21st Annual Mergers & Acquisitions Outlook Survey the operative words are "cautious optimism" with an emphasis on optimism: 74 percent of respondents saying the M&A market will strengthen over the next 12 months. Let's dig into the survey and see what data from the Corporate Deal Tracker says, as well.
The combined companies will operate under Sonida, which will continue to be traded on the NYSE. Acquisition of the non-traded REIT and its more than 7,500 senior living units, creates the eighth largest owner of senior living assets in the nation. Outside legal counsel included Fried Frank, Sidley Austin and Arnold & Porter.
Gibson Dunn, Paul Weiss and Vinson & Elkins were among the firms advising on the deal that complements Ovintiv's assets on both sides of the border; in the Permian as well as Canada's Montney Basin in northwestern Alberta and beyond.
Gibson Dunn and Kirkland & Ellis advised on the deal, which will create the 10th largest oil & gas independent in the nation.
Deals involving hundreds of millions and billions of dollars are, by their nature, complicated. But over the past two years, publicly reported deals, even as described in their regulatory releases, have grown more intricate and detailed. The reasons vary from deal to deal, but complexity has become a near constant.
The Japanese power company was advised by Baker Botts on the deal with Williams Companies and GEP Haynesville II, its JV with GeoSouthern Energy. The acquisition builds on JERA's existing longterm contracts with Gulf Coast LNG exporters.
Erin Hopkins, a veteran energy transactions partner at Baker Botts, is moving to the Houston office of Paul Hastings, his new law firm announced Tuesday. Hopkins brings with him 15 years of experience in energy and renewables transactions.
© Copyright 2026 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.
