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Katherine Terrell Frank has fond memories of growing up watching Perry Mason with her grandfather. "I imagined the life of a lawyer as theatrical and dramatic, with cases neatly resolved within an hour," Frank said. But it was while she was with V&E that she discovered something different while working in their capital markets and M&A practice. "It turns out I really enjoy transactional work," Frank said.
The first week April was a busy one for Kirkland & Ellis' Brittany Sakowitz. The Houston M&A and PE partner led or co-led three separate deals. "[It] was an exciting one ... Three important clients, signing three different types of transactions and in three different industries, all in the same week." After pausing to catch her breath, Sakowitz caught up with The Texas Lawbook to discuss her career, M&A and her predictions for the rest the year.
Last week looked much like the week that preceded it. The week ending April 26 saw a dozen deals for $8.8 billion. The preceding week saw 11 deals for $8.1 billion. This time last year we were reporting 19 transactions for $16 billion. Deals for the week included a couple of upstream asset acquisitions, a de-SPAC merger involving potential cancer cures, the sale of a waste-to-energy recycler, the acquisition by Japanese investors of Australian-owned asset management businesses, a couple of data center deals and the purchase of a school bus company still shaking off the effects of the pandemic.
EQT Corporation announced late Tuesday that it had entered an agreement with Olympus Energy Holdings, Hyperion Midstream and Bow & Arrow Land Company to acquire Olympus Energy's upstream and midstream assets for $1.8 billion. Lawyers from Vinson & Elkins and Kirkland & Ellis are advising on the deal.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher announced Tuesday that it has hired two Texas-based partners, Jon Platt and Larry Hall, to its Dallas office, which was launched nearly a year ago. The duo joins from Baker Botts after each spent significant time working within the firm's transactional practices there.
For the week ending April 19, there were 11 transactions for $8.1 billion. The deals included nine acquisitions involving a home design group, a portfolio of lifestyle brands, a pair of data center operations, a pair of power stations, a pure-play FPGA chip developer, an IPO and several investments in upstream producers. That and more in this week's edition of CDT Roundup.
Lowe's announced on April 14 that it had entered an agreement to acquire Artisan Design Group, a Dallas-based designer, distributor and service provider for interior finishes, for $1.325 billion. Lawyers from Latham & Watkins and Covington & Burling are advising on the deal.
The week ending April 12 saw 14 deals reported with an aggregate value of only $2.7 billion. Don't let that mislead. It's both better and worse than the numbers suggest. There were 10 M&A/funding deals. But the bulk of the M&A/funding value was provided by a $1 billion fund closing. That and more in this week’s CDT Roundup, The Texas Lawbook's regular feature highlighting the work Texas dealmakers are doing inside and outside the state.
Andy Smetana took what he considers an unconventional path to transactional law. After graduating from Boston University School of Law, he sensed that the conditions weren't favorable for dealmaking. He patiently worked as a litigator while waiting for corporate and market opportunities to improve. Once they did, Smetana quickly transitioned into the transactional sector and has not looked back since, he told The Texas Lawbook.
In this edition of the CDT Roundup, we take a look at a more robust deal week than we've seen recently, while the first-quarter deadline for being included in the rankings is later today. Plus, a helpful guide is now available for all things Corporate Deal Tracker. That and more in this week's CDT Roundup, our regular feature highlighting the work Texas dealmakers are doing inside and outside the state.
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