Celanese GC Lynne Puckett Led DFW’s 2022 M&A Transaction of the Year

As a CIA intelligence officer focusing on Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Lynne Puckett “got a ringside seat to the dissolution of Eastern Europe as communist-controlled in 1989. It was also when she realized she wanted to go to law school.

Three decades later, Puckett is the general counsel of Celanese Corporation, an Irving-based global chemical and specialty materials company with a market cap of $12 billion. In November 2022, Puckett and her legal team closed an $11 billion acquisition of a majority ownership in DuPont’s mobility and materials business.

Citing the deal’s extraordinary complexity, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook named Puckett, her in-house legal team at Celanese and outside counsel at Baker Botts as the recipient of the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for M&A Transaction of the Year.

March 30, 2023 Mark Curriden

Energy Transfer buys EnCap’s Lotus for $1.45B

Vinson & Elkins, Sidley Austin and Shearman & Sterling advised on the cash and stock acquisition, which includes about 3,000 miles of pipeline through major areas of the Permian. After closing, Dallas-based Energy Transfer plans a new 30-mile connection with the Cushing hub in Oklahoma. Claire Poole details the deal and the names of the lawyers involved.

March 27, 2023 Claire Poole

CDT Roundup: 7 Deals, 7 Firms, 78 Lawyers, $14B

It's been five years since New York-headquartered Shearman & Sterling opened its first offices in Texas. The CDT Roundup thought it might be a good time to check in with Bill Nelson, the head of those Texas offices. His thoughts about the transition and the changes he's seen in his practice are featured this week, along with a relatively skimpy roll call of the 78 lawyers who ignored spring break to turn in this week's roster of deals.

March 21, 2023 Claire Poole & Allen Pusey

Latham Advises Incitec Pivot on $1.68B sale of Louisiana Ammonia Facility

The sale to CF Holdings, coupled with a long-term supply agreement, is part of a plan announced last November to spin off its industrial explosives subsidiary Dyno Nobel Americas. CF has energy transition upgrades planned for the site. Allen Pusey has the deal details, as well as the Latham lawyers involved.

March 20, 2023 Allen Pusey

CDT Roundup: 21 Deals, 17 Firms, 165 Lawyers, $11.6B

CERAWeek, the prestigious Houston energy confab, wrapped up last week. One of the more significant observations emerged from former Goldman Sachs analyst Arjun Murti, now a partner at Veritan. He thinks, for instance, it's time for the term "energy transition" to transition from a political Rorschach test to something more universal, understandable and verifiable. Claire Poole reflects on a few of his other observations in this week's CDT Roundup, along with the usual rollcall of deals and dealmakers who reported for duty during last week.

March 14, 2023 Claire Poole

Shearman Advises SAP SE in $12.5B Qualtrics Take-Private Deal

Several Texas-based lawyers were involved in the take-private deal, which comes barely two years after the business software company went public in a January 2021 IPO. An earlier headline has been changed to reflect the overall deal value.

March 13, 2023 Allen Pusey

Texas Startups Hope to Continue Raising Capital Despite Tech Downturn

While last year was challenging for the tech industry, Texas startups still raised billions of dollars, though often with lower valuations and more stringent deal terms. Now venture capital funds are flush with dry powder from record-high fundraising in 2022. So what does it take for startups to increase their chances of raising capital in a turbulent market?

March 9, 2023 Michael Torosian & Christopher Palermo

Foreign Investment Still Welcome in the U.S. Despite Buy American Rules

The good news for foreign investors and manufacturers is that Buy American regulations typically do not apply to investment in privately owned facilities. Opportunities, tax credits and other incentives abound.

March 7, 2023 Doug McCullough