Cross-Border Dealmaking for TX Companies Plunges in 2017

Cross-border deals in Texas are down dramatically in 2017. Aside from the usual suspects – a strong dollar and undependable oil prices – is a new one: the uncertain parameters of the Trump administration’s “America First” policies. Some transactional lawyers think a lack of policy structure breeds uncertainty among foreign investors. Others think it has no effect at all. This exclusive in The Texas Lawbook has the numbers and the story behind them.

December 6, 2017 Mark Curriden & Makenna Brooks

Locke Lord’s Steve Jacobs Advises Brookfield on $855M Houston Center Purchase from J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Locke Lord partner Steve Jacobs snagged a big real estate deal this week, serving as local counsel for Brookfield Property Partners on its purchase of the Houston Center office-and-retail complex downtown from J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

December 4, 2017 Claire Poole

Corp. Deal Tracker Weekly Round-up: 6 Firms, 31 Lawyers, 6 Transactions, $1.8B, and a Dull Week for Texas Deal-Makers

Deals involving Royal Dutch Shell and Austin-based Bazaarvoice brightened an otherwise dull $1.8 billion week in Texas deal-making. Claire Poole has the names and the numbers behind the deals in The Texas Lawbook.

December 4, 2017 Claire Poole

Corp. Deal Tracker Weekly Round-Up: 8 Firms, 76 Lawyers, 7 Transactions, $3.85B and One Busy Steve Gill

A large oil and gas merger and some good-sized asset deals kept activity chugging during Thanksgiving Week, with seven deals announced worth $3.85 billion, versus eight transactions valued at $11.05 billion the previous week. Eight law firms and 76 Texas lawyers were involved, compared with nine firms and 62 Texas attorneys the previous week. The Texas Lawbook has the names and the numbers behind the numbers.

November 28, 2017 Claire Poole

V&E, Akin Gump Advise on Talos’ $1.9B Hookup with Stone

Leaders at Tacos Energy and Stone Energy say their combination will create a top offshore-focused exploration and production company with an initial equity market capitalization of $1.9 billion and an enterprise value of $2.5 billion. 

November 21, 2017 Claire Poole

Corp. Deal Tracker Weekly Round-Up: 9 Firms, 62 Lawyers, 8 Transactions, $11.05B

The corporate deal world in Texas saw fewer transactions the week before Thanksgiving, but capital markets activity caused deal value for Nov. 13-20 to jump to $11.05 billion. Activity ranged from private equity commitments and exits to a slew of public notes offerings as Wall Street marches toward year-end. The biggest deal transaction of the week was Marathon Petroleum’s $8.1 billion asset drop-down to affiliate MPLX followed by Energy Transfer Partners’ $1.5 billion sale of preferred units. Baker Botts' Josh Davidson led three of the transactions. The Texas Lawbook has all the names and details.

November 21, 2017 Claire Poole

Corp. Deal Tracker Weekly Round-Up: 10 Firms, 48 Lawyers, 10 Transactions, $2.7B

Deal activity - led by Noble Energy’s $608 million property sale to SRC Energy and BlackRock fund’s $600 million pipeline acquisition from NGL Energy Partners and SemGroup - was strong last week. There were 10 transactions between Nov. 6 and Nov. 13, which is down 33 percent from the week before, but total deal value jump to $2.7 billion - up from $2.38 billion the week before. The Texas Lawbook has all the deals and the legal and financial advisers who handled those transactions.

November 16, 2017 Claire Poole

V&E, Kirkland advise on $746M SandRidge-Bonanza Creek merger

SandRidge Energy announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Bonanza Creek Energy for $746 million. Both companies had emerged from bankruptcies filed last year. Claire Poole has details of the deal and the names of the lawyers who advised them.

November 15, 2017 Claire Poole

Corp. Deal Tracker Weekly Round-Up: 17 Firms, 91 Lawyers, 15 Transactions, $2.38B

Deal activity last week was slower and lower than the week previous. There were 15 deals at reported value of $2.38 billion, about half the value of deals reported the week before. Claire Poole has the details in The Texas Lawbook.

November 8, 2017 Claire Poole

Cowboys GC and Four Firms Lead Jerry Jones’ E-sports Acquisition

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Crescent owner Jason Goff turned to Cowboys GC Jason Cohen and assistant GC Kaleisha Stuart to lead a legal team that included lawyers from Winstead, O'Melveny, McCathern and Crain Caton to advise in this week's acquisition of e-sports team Complexity Gaming.

November 8, 2017 Mark Curriden

Corp. Deal Tracker Weekly Round-Up: 17 Firms, 94 Lawyers, 13 Transactions, $4.7B

Texas corporate dealmakers had another a brisk week. In addition to the $1.7 billion Vistra-Dynegy deal, there was activity in the food, financial services, chemicals, mining and waste industries, along with oil and gas. Claire Poole has the details in her weekly report.

November 1, 2017 Claire Poole

Gibson Dunn, Locke Lord & Akin Gump Advise on $815M Midstream Deal

Houston-based American Midstream Partners assistant GC Tom Leslie, a former U.S. Army captain who served in Baghdad and Friedberg, Germany, worked with Gibson Dunn in the comany's $815 million purchase of Southcross Energy Partners. Southcross GC Kelly Jameson of Dallas turned to Locke Lord as its legal adviser, while Akin Gump represented the Southcross conflicts committee.

November 1, 2017 Claire Poole