Despite rising valuations, investors remain giddy about private equity, with 40% of those surveyed saying they planned to commit more capital to the asset class and 68% looking to target small to mid-market buyout funds. Claire Poole reports on that plus dealmaking involving Texas lawyers last week.
CDT Roundup: 15 Deals, 12 Firms, 56 Lawyers, $23.8B
Activist investors hit one of Texas’ largest companies and dealmaking value reached high numbers thanks to one law firm’s advice to a new real estate fund, the largest ever.
King & Spalding Transactional Partner Jeff Malonson Jumping to Weil
The move, which King & Spalding has apparently known for weeks, is part of the planned expansion of Weil’s Houston office.
Latham, Kirkland Advise on Energy Transfer’s $5.1B Acquisition of SemGroup
Analysts say the acquisition represents a sharp reversal from Energy Transfer’s recent messaging on portfolio management, capital discipline and accelerated deleveraging.
CDT Roundup: 17 Deals, 15 Firms, 98 Lawyers, $3.5B
The public markets are shrinking while private equity is expanding, with investors putting 14% of their assets in private markets, a number that’s expected to balloon to 20% over the next 10 years. Private equity deals are increasingly showing up on the Corporate Deal Tracker, making up half of last week’s activity after the Labor Day holiday. Claire Poole reports on the trend.
Kirkland, DLA, Gibson Dunn Counsel on Concho’s $925M Asset Sale to KKR’s Spur
The Midland-based seller plans to use the proceeds to buy back stock and pay down debt in an investor-friendly move.
CDT Roundup: 5 Deals, 6 Firms, 50 Lawyers, $8.7B
Almost 75% of alternative investors think equity markets have hit their peak, up from 61% at the end of last year, according to Preqin, with most believing a correction is coming next year or beyond. Slower-than-usual deal flow – especially this past week – may be reflecting those worries, as Claire Poole reports.
V&E, Baker Botts counseling on $3B Blackstone offer for rest of Tallgrass Energy
Analysts think Blackstone’s take-private offer comes at an attractive valuation for Tallgrass’ shareholders given a challenging recontracting environment for its marquee assets.
Baker Botts, Kirkland Advise on BP Alaska Sale to Hilcorp for $5.6B
BP’s sale of its long-owned Alaska assets to Houston billionaire Jeffery Hildebrand will help it achieve its $10 billion divestment target and advance its strategic agenda.
CDT Roundup: 16 Deals, 14 Firms, 82 Lawyers, $10B
Oil and gas dealmaking expo NAPE saw fewer attendees last week, which many observers attribute to low commodity prices – and deal flow – that are hurting the industry. Claire Poole reports on that and what Texas deal lawyers have been working on.