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Whatever else may have happened in the Texas-related capital markets during 2024, the deals they represented left behind some unnervingly easy math. As is true of most years, debt issues outnumbered equity offerings about 2 to 1. But that doesn't mean there weren't some interesting trends and transactions alongside the usual reshuffling of debt.
The size of a deal may not always be an indicator of its success, but 2023 in Texas will certainly go down in history as the year of some massive billion-dollar transactions. Despite the fact that the global M&A market saw a 17 percent decline in value and 6 percent decline in volume, Texas had the distinction of leading the world with the two largest megadeals: ExxonMobil's $64.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron's $60 billion purchase of Hess Corp. Even ONEOK's $18 billion acquisition of Magellan Midstream Partners made it to the top dozen deals worldwide, as Texas demonstrated its energy prowess across the globe.
Below is a tabulation of M&A and Funding transactions by Texas-based lawyers reported to The Texas Lawbook for 2023. This list is designed to grow as new deals are reported. So if
H1 wasn't a kind environment for capital markets transactions. Saddled with lingering inflation, fed rate hikes, modest market volatility and the occasional bank failure, dealmakers relied on cash, credit and creativity for acquisitions. But with much of that flickering into the rear-view mirror, the stage may be set for a CapM comeback. The Lawbook has details.
The Texas deal numbers are in for the first half of 2023, and according to The Texas Lawbook's exclusive Corporate Deal Tracker they aren't especially pretty. But beneath the surface lies a sense among Texas dealmakers that the money is still there, that investors are more disciplined and that deals with legs are simply more complicated and creative and, above all, still part of a vibrant economic pipeline.
Sidley and Mergermarket have released the results of a survey testing the optimism of 150 executives from the PE and corporate dealmaking worlds. Considering the survey questions were answered in November, the optimism meter was running at low RPMs. Still, there are some interesting contrasts. Those and a review of the week's deals by the CDT Roundup's new addition, Anna Butler.
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