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Jason Philyaw

Targa Buys Stakeholder Midstream for $1.25B

Targa Resources said Monday that it agreed to acquire Stakeholder Midstream for $1.25 billion in cash,  expanding the Houston midstream services provider’s footprint in the Permian Basin. Latham & Watkins represented Targa with a national team led by Houston partners Ryan Maierson and James Garrett. Willkie and Clifford Chance advised Stakeholder. 

Willkie's Texas-based team was led by Houston partner Sarah McLean. Gerald Shrader has been Targa's general counsel since December 2023.

Jason Philyaw

Holiday Hangover Hits the Deal Table

The abbreviated Thanksgiving week that ended Nov. 29 saw six deals reported to the CDT Roundup with a total reported value of $4.1 billion.

We'd compare it to last week's 20 deals for $5 billion, but there's really no comparison. It's easy to hide value in 14 M&A/Funding transactions. With only two M&A deals reported on the week, it's hard to hide anything.

It was the lowest number of M&A transactions since mid-June 2020. And there's no pandemic to blame it on.

That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.

Jason Philyaw

SPACs Gobble Targets Ahead of Thanksgiving

The week that ended Nov. 22 saw 20 deals reported with a total reported value of $5.5 billion, heavy on deal volume and private equity transactions, including a PE firm buying a majority stake in Topgolf. The seven days prior saw 16 deals at $16.4 billion, marking ten straight deal-weeks of $11 billion or more. Tailing that streak, a week in the single-digit billions seems like a literal downer.

But this time last year saw fewer deals (15) at a lower reported value ($4.55 billion), and a heavy volume of private transactions tends to depress reported values.

It also proved a special week for SPACs — that and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.

Jason Philyaw

From Jet Engines to Electric Wings: Aerospace Leads the Week

The week that ended Nov. 15 saw 16 deals reported to the Roundup, evenly split between M&A and capital/credit markets, with a total value of $16.4 billion. That's down more than a tad from last week's 21 deals valued at nearly $76 billion. But it continues a remarkable run of nine consecutive weeks with total reported values of $11 billion or more.

That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.

Jason Philyaw

Kimberly-Clark Buys Kenvue in $48.7B Deal that Forms Consumer Products Monolith

Kimberly-Clark Corp. said Monday that it has agreed to acquire Kenvue Inc. in a cash and stock deal that values the maker of Tylenol, which was spun off by Johnson & Johnson in 2023, at about $48.7 billion.

Kirkland & Ellis is Kimberly-Clark’s outside legal counsel and Grant McGee is the company’s general counsel. In-house lawyers for Kimberly-Clark who assisted McGee on the deal included vice president and deputy general counsel Courtney Roane on M&A activities and vice president and deputy general counsel Suzana Blades on litigation matters, as well as vice president, deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer Adam Crawford on regulatory matters.

Jason Philyaw

Banking Steals Deal Spotlight This Week as Consolidation Continues

For the week ended Nov. 1, the CDT saw 20 deals come across the wires with a total value of $25.9 billion.

If you care to be really picky, that's a drop from the 19-deal $61.5 billion stretch the week prior, and less again than the 12-deal $52 billion week at this time last year.

But that's being really, really picky. In the eight weeks since mid-September, we've seen six with values over $20 billion, and two of those over $40 billion.

That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.

Jason Philyaw

Huntington Expands in Texas and Across the South with Purchase of Cadence Bank for $7.4B

Another week means another bank consolidation in Texas. Huntington Bancshares said Monday that it is acquiring Cadence Bank in a stock swap valued at about $7.4 billion. Cadence — with dual headquarters in Houston and Tupelo, Miss. — has more than 390 locations across Texas and the South.

Wachtell and Sullivan & Cromwell advised on the deal. Cadence's Houston-based chief legal officer is Shanna Kuzdzal, who replaced the bank's longtime in-house leader Chuck Pignuolo in 2023 when he retired.

Jason Philyaw

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