Claire Poole

Australian mining giant BHP Billiton announced it sold its U.S. shale properties for $10.8 billion in cash.

The buyers were BP, which picked up BHP’s Eagle Ford, Haynesville and Permian properties under unit Petrohawk Energy for $10.5 billion; and Merit Energy, whose unit MMGJ Hugoton III agreed to acquire BHP’s Fayetteville Shale assets for $300 million.

January 2018 was greeted by stable energy markets, pent-up private equity and a spanking new investor-friendly tax law. That sounds like the elements of a record year, right?

Deal activity among Texas lawyers last week was dominated by transactions in the energy sector, from exploration and production assets changing hands to the continued consolidation of the oilfield services industry.

There’s a whole lot of private equity money out there. At the end of June, according to data from Preqin, alternative investment firms worldwide had $1.8 trillion in “dry powder.” All that available cash has slowed down capital raisings in the first half of this year. But investment activity continues, a chunk of it creating work for transactional lawyers in

Oil and gas M&A transactions in the U.S. dropped in the second quarter, well below quarterly averages experienced since 2009, even as global activity blossomed. The reasons may, in part, be structural; but they also may be temporary, according to Drillinginfo. Claire Poole explains in The Texas Lawbook.

There are lots of reasons, but IPO’s are starting to pop up again in Texas dealmaking. A California oil and gas explorer and producer recently filed for an IPO in which Texas lawyers are involved. And last week a big Texas computer maker announced a deal that will take it public again – and make its billionaire CEO even richer. Claire Poole has all details on those deals and more in The Texas Lawbook.

For the first half of the year, more than $2.35 trillion in M&A transactions have been reported globally – a record pace – thanks to economic growth, low interest rates, technology shifts and the Trump-driven tax cuts, according to analysts. And Texas attorneys benefitted last week to the tune of 13 deals worth $7 billion. Claire Poole has the particulars in her weekly Corporate Deal Tracker Roundup.

Private equity-related M&A activity in the middle market – transactions valued at $10 million to $250 million – remains strong, with debt available to support deals and valuations climbing for