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Corporate Deal Tracker
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CDT SNAPSHOT
1,713
The Corporate Deal Tracker tallied a record 1,713 transactions with a combined value of $1.20 trillion in 2025. But even those eye-popping numbers were eclipsed last week when Gibson Dunn’s Rob Little co-led a SpaceX–xAI deal pegged at a staggering $1.25 trillion in enterprise value.
CDT DATABASE YEAR-TO-DATE TRANSACTION TOTALS
FEB. 8, 2026
DEAL COUNT
52
DEAL VALUE
$338.9B
FEB. 8, 2025
DEAL COUNT
187
DEAL VALUE
$150.7B

Tariff to Trillion: Texas Deal Lawyers Had a Blockbuster Year (and Hardly Saw It Coming)

It didn't feel like it at the time, but 2025 turned out to be a blockbuster year for M&A lawyers in Texas. The Lone Star State may no longer be matching national trends in M&A; it could be surpassing them. A good year elsewhere was a great year in Texas, regardless of the small print. Put simply, there were more deals made for more money (lots more) than we anticipated, and The Texas Lawbook’s Corporate Deal Tracker has the exclusive details.

Allen Pusey

Saltchuk Takes Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Private for $1.2B Cash

Privately held Seattle freight transportation, marine service and energy distribution conglomerate Saltchuk said Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Houston-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. for about $1.2 billion cash. Sidley Austin advised Great Lakes and its CLO Vivienne Schiffer, while Fried Frank represented Saltchuk.

Jason Philyaw

Transocean Acquires Valaris for $5.8B, Creating Deepwater Drilling Behemoth

Transocean announced Monday it has acquired Valaris Ltd. for about $5.8 billion in an all-stock transaction that creates an offshore drilling behemoth with 33 ultra-deepwater drillships, nine semisubmersibles and 31 modern jackups. Skadden advised Valaris with a team led by Eric Otness in Houston and Stephen Arcano and Max Troper in New York. Davor Vukadin is GC at Valaris, and Brady Long is Transocean's chief legal officer.

Jason Philyaw

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