An informal survey of Texas dealmakers has revealed lots of optimism about the next 12 months. And they mostly depend on a single factor: dry powder. There is lots of it. Record amounts of it: VC money. PE money. Family money. All dressed up and looking for places to go. That combined with potential policy changes in Washington. CDT Roundup has that and last week’s transactions.
CDT Roundup: 15 Deals, 9 Firms, 109 Lawyers, $3.2B
Sidley and Mergermarket have released the results of a survey testing the optimism of 150 executives from the PE and corporate dealmaking worlds. Considering the survey questions were answered in November, the optimism meter was running at low RPMs. Still, there are some interesting contrasts. Those and a review of the week’s deals by the CDT Roundup’s new addition, Anna Butler.
Houston Energy Dealmaker A.J. Ericksen Laterals to White & Case
Ericksen had become a go-to deal lawyer at Baker Botts, where he started his career and made partner in 2014. The new White & Case partner had an active 2020.
Texas Lawbook Expands M&A Coverage with New Deal Writer
The Texas Lawbook is pleased to announce that Anna Butler, former director of operations for Patterson Thoma Family Office and former Dallas Business Journal managing editor, has joined our news team to lead our corporate transactions coverage. As this article states, Anna will take The Lawbook’s deal coverage to the next level.
A Modern Power Grid Can Deliver More Than Just Resiliency
In the wake of last month’s winter storm disaster, Texas has an opportunity to reinforce its position as a global energy leader by acting thoughtfully to guide the evolution of our electric grid. Parts of Texas’ grid were simply not built to withstand sustained freezing temperatures and significant frozen precipitation. Generation assets went offline at an alarming rate, leading to a shortfall in electric supply that forced tens of thousands of megawatts of customer load to be shed, leaving millions in the dark. This did not need to happen.
CDT Roundup: 24 Deals; 10 Firms, 196 Lawyers, $13.6B
Last December we reported on a $2 billion-plus merger agreement between Diamondback Energy and QEP Resources. The all-stock deal seemed like a good deal for both sides, since it included Diamondback’s assumption of $1.6 billion. But a major stockholder at QEP is having second thoughts, and their thinking is yet another sign that things are getting better. The CDT Roundup has the details of their concerns, as well as details of all 24 transactions.