Baker Hughes Sells Waygate Technologies to Swedish Firm for $1.45B
Houston energy technology company Baker Hughes has agreed to sell its Waygate Technologies business to Hexagon, a Swedish measurement technologies firm, for about $1.45 billion cash.
CDT Roundup: Deal Flow Slows, but Debt Steps In to Fill the Gap
For the week ended April 11, the CDT Roundup saw 10 deals reported with a total valuation of just over $5 billion. The prior week had 11 deals reported with a total value of $33 billion, dominated by a $29.1 billion megamerger between food distribution giants Sysco and Jetro Restaurant Depot. A year ago at this time, the Roundup reported on eight deals valued at about $2.4 billion.
This week, however, credit and capital markets dominate the deal numbers. Maybe "dominate" is strong a word to describe three debt issues, a $167 million PIPE and a secondary equity offering that forced a dip in a company stock.
Ares Management Buys Whitestone REIT for $1.7B
Alternative investment manager Ares Management Corp. said on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Houston-based Whitestone REIT for $19 a share, or about $1.7 billion, in cash.
Kirkland is outside legal advisor to Ares and Whitestone's general counsel is Peter Tropoli.
Omar Samji Heads Back to Gibson Dunn
Omar Samji, the Houston-based lawyer whose career in power and renewables spans more than two decades and six law firms, has left Weil for Gibson Dunn, the firm is announcing today.
Two More Partners Move to King & Spalding’s Dallas Office
Another two Dallas partners have joined their former Winston & Strawn colleagues at King & Spalding. Jeff Cole and Brian Jansen were named partners in the finance and restructuring practice group.
CDT Roundup: Beyond Finally Bags The Container Store in Long-Courted Takeover
The CDT Roundup saw 11 deals reported for the week ended April 4 with a total valuation of nearly $33 billion. The prior week had 13 deals reported with a total value of $10.7 billion, while a year ago at this time there were 19 deals valued at $27.76 billion.
The bulk of the week’s value derives from a $29.1 billion megamerger between two food distribution giants, Sysco and Jetro Restaurant Depot.
But the most interesting may be the much smaller acquisition — finally — of The Container Store by Beyond, Inc., better known by its pre-bankruptcy moniker Bed Bath & Beyond.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
Abu Dhabi Investor Acquires EMG Pipeline Interests for $2.25B
An Abu Dhabi investor announced late Tuesday that it is taking a stake in two major natural gas pipelines that operate across and between the Upper Midwest and Canada.
Weil is advising on the deal with a team led from Houston.
O’Melveny Snags Doug Lionberger from Holland & Knight
O’Melveny & Myers announced this week that veteran capital markets advisor Doug Lionberger has joined the firm from Holland & Knight — the sixth partner to lateral to the firm’s Houston office in the last two years.
The Texas Reincorporation Trap — What the ExxonMobil Vote Reveals About Board Power
ExxonMobil’s shareholders are being asked to cast a vote this May that they may not fully understand. The company’s board has unanimously recommended moving its state of incorporation from New Jersey to Texas, framing the change as a step toward “maximizing shareholder value.” That framing is misleading. What the reincorporation actually does is place ExxonMobil under a body of Texas corporate law that gives the board sweeping authority to restrict shareholder rights at any time, through a simple bylaw amendment, without asking shareholders for permission. Shareholders are being invited to approve a transaction that hands the board the keys to a governance regime that those same shareholders may one day wish they had never unlocked.
Sysco Acquires Jetro Restaurant Depot for $29.1B
Houston food distribution giant Sysco said Monday that it agreed to acquire Jetro Restaurant Depot for $21.6 billion cash and 91.5 million common shares, representing a total enterprise value of about $29.1 billion.
Jennifer Kaplan Schott is Sysco's Chief Legal Officer and Eve McFadden is General Counsel.
Paul Weiss, Jones Day, Wachtell and Latham & Watkins advised on the deal.
CDT Roundup: Stable, Not Sluggish as Dealmakers Find Their March Rhythm
The week ended March 28 saw 13 deals with a total reported value of $10.7 billion. The week prior boasted 11 deals valued at $7.5 billion. This time a year ago, there were 21 deals valued at nearly $8.2 billion. We'll choose to reckon stability in those numbers.
Last week's deals had Texas companies in transactions for increased investment in healthcare-related AI platforms, more data centers, and geothermal power development. While Texas lawyers advised on deals for a gas-fired power plant in the West Texas town of Pecos, a mining outfit in Greenland, and a Canadian provider of liquid cooling technologies for AI development.
KKR sells CoolIT Systems to Ecolab for $4.75B
Minnesota-based Ecolab has agreed to acquire CoolIT Systems, a Calgary-based provider of liquid cooling technologies for AI and high-performance computing, from investment firm KKR for about $4.75 billion cash.
Kirkland & Ellis advised KKR and CoolIT, while Covington & Burling advised Ecolab.
