Latham Makes the Chris Heasley Move Official
After more than 11 years at Kirkland, Christopher Heasley has formally taken his diverse energy practice to Houston. The move was first reported by Bloomberg Law in late November.
Lone Star Sells SPX Flow to ITT for $4.8B
Gibson Dunn advised Dallas-based Lone Star on the mostly-cash deal. Paul Hastings counseled Connecticut-headquartered ITT. Lone Star acquired SPX Flow in a 2022 take-private transaction.
Adding Texas Divestitures, DOJ Approves $16.4B Constellation/Calpine Merger
A $16.4 billion merger that would create the nation's largest provider of wholesale electricity cleared its final hurdle Friday with an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice that Constellation Energy and Houston-based Calpine Energy had agreed to resolve antitrust concerns with the divestment of six power plants based in the Northeast and Texas.
VC Advisor Carmelo Gordian Departs A&O Shearman for Holland & Knight
Veteran venture capital lawyer Carmelo Gordian, a longtime Austin-based specialist in emerging companies, has signed on as a partner with Holland & Knight, leaving A&O Shearman after a nearly eight-year run.
Delaware Judge Clears Citgo Parent Sale, Wrapping Up Venezuela Debt Fight
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.
Electricity Is the New Oil: Texas Power Deals Top $100 Billion So Far This Year
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)
KKR Exits Novaria Group for $2.2B
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.
Annual Dykema M&A Survey Cites “Cautious Optimism”; Q3 CDT Stats Validate Both
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.
Sonida Senior Living to Acquire CNL Healthcare Properties for $1.8B
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.
Ovintiv Acquires Canada’s NuVista Energy for $2.7B
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.