Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
The end of Q1 this week suggests a healthy M&A market during the opening round of 2024, with deal volumes rising globally by 26 percent, with the U.S. volumes even high and topping the $400 billion value mark, according to data from Dealogic. Claire Poole examines the deals behind the data in this week's CDT Roundup and reviews the Easter week action on the Texas M&A front.
It was an unusual week for M&A, especially energy deals. Not just for the fact that there were so many of them, but for the fact that the flavor of the week was oilfield services. Claire Poole caught up with Gibson partner Gerry Spedale, who led the biggest deal reported last week for his longtime client Dril-Quip, a $1.5 billion merger agreement with Innovex Downhole Solutions. He shared a few insights on what is making energy M&A so attractive these days — and she shares her usual list of Texas-related deals.
Even with an economy that seems headed for a soft landing, there are bumps on the runway. And one of the biggest and most obvious bumps to dealmakers is in real estate — especially commercial real estate, which had problems even before Covid sent workers home. The tumble in CRE hasn't reached a crash, but a correction is coming, according to a recent report by PitchBook. The Roundup this week takes a look at the report and its relevance to Texas, where even a surge in employment hasn't managed to fill a growing number of office buildings. Those details and the usual rundown of last week's Texas-related deals.
When watching the M&A markets it's easy to become fixated on billion-dollar deals. But the bread-and-butter transactions of a truly healthy market lie in the middle. Having looked at the high-end last week, the CDT Roundup this week checks out Citizens Financial's 13th annual survey of CEOs, CFOs and private equity principals which found them warming up to what they see as an economy free of the kind of headwinds that have chilled expectations in recent years. And the data suggests a surge may be in the making as 8 in 10 PE firms see themselves as stronger buyers than they were in 2023. Claire Poole has the particulars along with the usual summary of Texas-related deal activity last week.
Kirkland advised EQT and Latham assisted Equitrans on the combination, which would create a top vertically integrated natural gas business in the Appalachian region with an initial enterprise value of more than $35 billion.
Maybe you've already noticed, but M&A is buzzing in the first two months of 2024. But the buzz is not just in Texas. At the moment things are buzzing globally and across sectors, according to a report by LSEG Deals Intelligence. Boosted by nine megadeals ($10 billion or more), M&A transactions announced through February were valued at $522 billion, up 75 percent over the same period in 2023. This week's CDT Roundup takes a look at the fine print in that LSEG report, along with the 20 deals reported by Texas lawyers last week.
The Texas lawyers at Vinson & Elkins, Baker Botts and Latham & Watkins were the lead legal advisors for the most issuers and underwriters in capital market transactions in 2023.
Dallas finance lawyers from Sidley counseled IGT, which plans on using a big chunk of the proceeds to reduce debt and focus on its lottery business.
© Copyright 2025 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.
