‘A Jarring Wakeup Call’
Pickering Energy Partners’ Dan Pickering offers his views of the turmoil in the oil and gas markets and what it means for dealmaking and bankruptcies in the sector.
Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

Pickering Energy Partners’ Dan Pickering offers his views of the turmoil in the oil and gas markets and what it means for dealmaking and bankruptcies in the sector.
Oil prices and energy stocks are plunging, thanks to the coronavirus and Russia refusing to cut production, leading to worries about M&A and new bankruptcies. Observers are calling on companies to work toward generating more free cash flow by lowering spending and cutting production so they can pay down debt – and maybe acquire wounded competitors.

She was a bronze medalist in the 2000 Olympics, but Tasha Schwikert's role as an ex-athlete and lawyer may yet prove her most enduring. As Natalie Posgate explains, the reasons are personal.
Private equity firms’ rate of return isn’t so rosy due to record amounts of dry powder pushing up prices for deals, according to a recent report. Meanwhile, dealmaking was decent among Texas lawyers last week thanks to two MLP simplification deals worth almost $10 billion.
The KKR-backed buyer used Simpson Thacher attorneys in New York along with BMC’s general counsel.
Partner Ryan Maierson and his team aided Shell Midstream’s conflicts committee on eliminating incentive distribution rights and general partner interests and acquiring assets from sponsor Royal Dutch Shell, the second such transaction he’s worked on in a 24-hour period.
The actions include acquiring affiliate EQM Midstream, which is part of a continuing trend of companies and sponsors simplifying or eliminating their master limited partnerships.
Healthcare M&A may be down but transactions are growing larger while deal activity in cybersecurity is rising despite a fall in technology deals overall. That plus last week’s dealmaking by Texas lawyers, including a big cybersecurity divestiture by Dell.
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