Devon Energy Scoops Up Validus, Expanding Position in Eagle Ford
Vinson & Elkins represented Validus while Kirkland & Ellis advised Devon on a deal that came as a surprise to analysts. Claire Poole has more on the transaction.
K/G’s Ryan Gravelle: “We’re a startup; we just sell legal widgets.”
Kastner Gravelle founding partner Ryan Gravelle wasn’t always a tech lawyer, but he says he got there as fast as he could. In this Q&A, the Austin corporate lawyer talks about the climate for startup funding and M&A for tech companies, competitors that have moved to Austin and how a potential recession will affect Austin's tech community.
CDT Roundup: 8 Deals, 9 Firms, 78 Lawyers, $6.9B
There are two energy deals this week — the week's two largest deals, in fact — that are both more, and less, than they seem. While on the surface they involve the mergers of large energy corporations, they are simply simplifications of two large corporate structures. What's going on here? The Corporate Deal Tracker Roundup has the details, as well as the names of all of the Texas lawyers behind this week's deals.
CDT: H1 2022 – A Time for Smaller Deals
The first half of the year in Texas M&A was dominated by the mid- to lower-market transactions, according to data gathered by The Texas Lawbook Corporate Deal Tracker. Although dealmaking was robust, the values of those deals declined dramatically. Of 507 deals reported by Texas lawyers, only a handful were valued at $5 billion or more, and deals valued at more than $1 billion declined dramatically from 2021. On the other hand, deals valued under $100 million help push the year's deal counts to impressive levels. The Texas Lawbook has the details.
Texas M&A Lawyers Look Ahead: More of the Same, Maybe
This week, The Texas Lawbook published new Corporate Deal Tracker data showing M&A lawyers were busier during the first six months of 2022 than they have ever been. The article quoted several of the state’s leading dealmakers on the trends they saw during H1 2022. Now, we asked those same M&A lawyers to look into their crystal balls for the second half of the year? The bottom line: Opinions differed.
Shell USA acquires Shell Midstream Partners for $1.96B
Shell USA announced Monday that it is paying $1.96 billion to acquire all outstanding stock of its subsidiary Shell Midstream Partners, which has assets involved in crude oil and refined products pipelines and terminals that serve as key infrastructure to transport onshore and offshore crude oil production to U.S. Gulf Coast and Midwest refining markets. The entities chose Houston lawyers from Baker Botts and Gibson Dunn as its legal advisors. The Lawbook has lawyer names and other details.
CDT Roundup: 11 Deals, 10 Firms, 92 Lawyers, $801M
Rumblings of a couple of deals in the offing involving properties owned by ConocoPhillips and Shell provided a touch of piquance to a week that was otherwise bland to the taste. The Roundup offers a few hints at what those deals might be, as well as its weekly run-down of the deals that actually happened, including the names of the Texas lawyers they involved.
Texas M&A Dealmaking Hits Another Record in H1 2022
Texas Corporate dealmakers thought there was no way 2022 could match the record number of M&A transactions they handled in H1 or H2 2021 - both were records. But new data from by The Texas Lawbook’s Corporate Deal Tracker shows M&A activity hit another record high during the first six months of 2022 - albeit by an inch or so.
The dollar value of transactions declined significantly from the year before because there were no megadeals announced by the likes of AT&T, Chevron or Match.com. As you might expect, the energy sector led the way. The Texas Lawbook has the data and insight from the experts.
