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The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

  • Appellate
  • Bankruptcy
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Corp. Deal Tracker/M&A
  • GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.
  • Firm Management
  • White-Collar/Regulatory
  • Pro Bono/Public Service/D&I

CDT Roundup: 23 Deals, 14 Firms, 222 Lawyers, $22.6B

April 9, 2024 Claire Poole

Understandably, a lot of law firms have been doing data dumps as the Corporate Deal Tracker neared the end of the quarter and began the next one. We noticed one name stick out who led a lot of capital markets deals in the period: Justin Hoffman at Winston & Strawn in Houston. The four we received recently:

  • as underwriters’ counsel to Goldman Sachs & Co., Scotiabank and US Bancorp as joint book-running managers in connection with the registered public offering of $675 million of First Mortgage Bonds by Potomac Electric Power Co.;
  • as underwriters’ counsel to Barclays, Credit Agricole CIB and Mizuho as joint book-running managers in connection with the registered public offering of $900 million of 5.750% Green Senior Notes due 2054 by Constellation Energy Generation;
  • as underwriters’ counsel to BofA Securities, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley as joint book-running managers in connection with the registered public offering of $350 million of 5.400% Senior Notes due 2027 by GATX Corp.; and
  • as underwriters’ counsel to Barclays, BofA Securities, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley as joint book-running managers in connection with the registered public offering of $1.7 billion of notes by Exelon Corp.

In February, Hoffman also co-led (with partner Keerthika Subramanian in Chicago) the representation of KeHE Distributors in connection with an offering of $750 million in 9.000% senior secured notes due 2029 issued by KeHE Distributors, NextWave Distribution Inc. and KeHE Finance Corp. 

And just this past week, we received another one: Hoffman was part of the deal team led by Mike Blankenship representing EF Hutton as underwriters counsel in connection with U-BX Technology Ltd.’s closing of its $10 million initial public offering (see below).

Hoffman, an NYU Law grad, has jumped around firms. He started at Mayer Brown followed by a stint at Simpson Thacher in New York, later joining Kirkland & Ellis and Baker Botts in Houston before landing at Winston in 2022. He appears to be in a groove there.

The Corporate Deal Tracker decided to catch up with Hoffman to get his thoughts on his activity level and the capital markets.

Hoffman says he is busier at Winston for two main reasons: Their clients and deals are situated in the middle market, which means a wide range of deal values — from $10 million up to $1 billion — as well as robust activity. 

“And while energy is a core component of our practice in Houston and Texas, we are industry agnostic —we are working on deals in biotech, retail, food & beverage and new media/telecommunications,” he notes.

In terms of the macro drivers and trend lines, Hoffman says that despite global economic uncertainties, U.S. capital markets remain open and resilient when compared to others. 

“With the latest Fed announcements, the hope is that debt markets continue to stabilize over the next 12 months,” he says. “We also expect to see more liability management transactions as debt incurred during the height of the pandemic starts to come due.” All of which might lead to a very busy CapM lawyer.

The week ending April 6 saw 23 transactions reported with a value of $22.6 billion. That compares favorably to Easter week’s 12 deals and $9.3 billion and far more muscular than the 16 transactions reported for $7.9 billion this time last year.

Weekly Corporate Deal Tracker Roundup Stats

A compilation of weekly stats from The Lawbook's CDT Weekly Roundup
(Deal Values in Millions)

Week Ending
Deal CountAmountFirmsLawyersM&A CountM&A Value $MCapM Count
CapM Value $M
10-May-202524$33,1751620619$30,7655$2,410
03-May-202511$4,249139011$2,226.52$2,022.5
26-Apr-202512$8,78791689$6,0113$2,776
19-Apr-202511$8,09771389$7,9852$112
12-Apr-202513$2,392815210$2,0653$327
05-Apr-202519$27,7621518816$25,4733$2,289
29-Mar-202521$8,1881025816$4,1255$4,064
22-Mar-202519$6,4851423115$4,1284$2,857
15-Mar-202513$13,7371315110$9,9324$3,805
8-Mar-20257$2,2345665$2242$2,100
1-Mar-202511$3,05087510$2,5501$500
24-Feb-2512$16,39771496$6,6356$9,862
17-Feb-2517$12,1361313410$9,4112$2,725
10-Feb-2514$7,15491799$4,9505$2,204
3-Feb-2516 $10,068720011$7,5535$2,515
25-Jan-2514$10,261101259$2,2075$8,054
18-Jan-2519$7,3821531612$2,3007$5,082
11-Jan-2521$33,5601618716$32,5215$1,039
4-Jan-259$6,8279809$6,82700
21-Dec-2411$2,79811928$2,2293$570
14-Dec-2415$5,3231218612$3,8123$1,511
07-Dec-2416$4,7661023111$2,32152,445
30-Nov-2410$10,29191034$8,2906$2.001
23-Nov-2415$4,5531515311$3,3794$1,174
16-Nov-2417$11,4881124513$10,1864$1,303
09-Nov-2414$2,1101213912$1,4102$700
02-Nov-2412 $52,788 1110711$52,7381$50
26-Oct-248$3,1608657$3,0651$75
19-Oct-2412$5,3041113611$4,5541$750
12-Oct-2417$8,4381215015$8,1162$322
05-Oct-2422$23,1811218915$19,9807$3,201
28-Sep-2411$2,35671447$534$2,303
21-Sep-2412$9,568101695$4,1017$5,467
14-Sep-2424$10,9881223516$7,1758$3,813
7-Sep-2412$20,4201616811$20,3071$112.9
31-Aug-2413$20,631913412$14,7751$5,856
24-Aug-2419$8,4522132516$7,1023$1,350
17-Aug-2425$49,1961630411$39,38614$9,810
10-Aug-2420$12,2641531216$9,7944$2,470
03-Aug-2426$16,4981633418$8,1378$8,361
27-Jul-2419$16,4422127115$13,8384$2,604
20-Jul-2415$16,0161418410$14,2325$1,784
13-Jul-2420$17,220 1426518$7,146 2$10,074
6-Jul-2411$3,941 11958$2,650 3$1,291
29-Jun-2414$6,296 152248$6,296 6$1,927
22-Jun-2412$5,679 81375$210 7$5,469
15-Jun-2413$9,895 1621410$5,280 3$4,615
8-Jun-2419$23,859 1323912$19,436 7$4,423
1-Jun-2412$34,510 111479$26,110 3$8,400
25-May-2413$9,684 1517110$4,434 3$5,250
18-May-2411$5,490 111738$3,129 3$2,361
11-May-2422$14,855 1422716$11,105 6$3,750
4-May-2413$3,139 98710$1,297 3$1,842
27-Apr-2410$6,684 62810$6,684 00
20-Apr-2419$15,989 111479$5,208 10$10,781
13-Apr-2413$8,952 97610$1,652 3$7,300
6-Apr-2423$26,616 1422214$13,501 8$13,116
30-Mar-2412$9,286 81368$4,299 4$4,987
23-Mar-2418$5,451 1726616$4,759 2$692
16-Mar-2421$11,437 1318614$9,316 6$2,070
9-Mar-2423$4,695 2121819$2,723 4$1,972
2-Mar-2420$9,108 1937214$4,558 6$4,550
24-Feb-2419$16,382 1224815$9,507 4$6,875
17-Feb-2416$29,932 1515712$29,216 4$716
10-Feb-2425$10,750 1719619$5,372 6$5,379
3-Feb-2412$8,416 181259$3,416 3$5,000
27-Jan-249$8,165 9878$7,815 1$800
20-Jan-2414$4,084 1210912$3,219 2$865
13-Jan-2417$33,588 1225612$26,765 5$6,823
6-Jan-248$7,915 8846$7,265 2$650
30-Dec-2317$14,599 129915$2,714 2$11,885
23-Dec-2323$4,182 1321916$1,813 7$2,370
16-Dec-2313$16,436 132807$15,150 5$1,286
9-Dec-2326$14,633.90 1724416$8,095 10$6,538.90
2-Dec-2313$6,720 95712$6,630 1$90
25-Nov-239$4,835 91316$1,785 3$3,050
18-Nov-2322$6,568.70 1718414$4,709.20 8$1,859.50
11-Nov-2315$9,825 1317912$6,581 3$3,244
4-Nov-2315$20,582.50 1419312$19,417.50 3$1,165
28-Oct-2318$68,419.10 1815215$66,646 3$1,773.10
21-Oct-2316$6,755.90 1616515$6,755.90 1$3
14-Oct-2314$67,851.20 131259$61,998.50 5$5,852.70
7-Oct-2317$6,595.50 1322816$5,995.50 1$600
30-Sep-2317$1,896.45 1318914$806.45 3$1,090
23-Sep-2323$6,432.70 1723016$1,402.80 7$5,029.90
16-Sep-2325$23,226.70 2335316$17,239 9$5,987.70
9-Sep-2312$6,369 81027$4,311 5$2,058
2-Sep-2314$2,522 69213$1,322 1$1,200
26-Aug-2317$12,160.25 1320215$6,573.25 2$5,587.00
19-Aug-2319$11,505 1321315$11,255 4$250
12-Aug-2319$9,698.80 131847$3,270 12$6,428.80
5-Aug-2313$5,201 1211812$5,051 1$150
29-Jul-2315$21,031.60 1319611$18,292.00 4$2,739.60
22-Jul-2318$3,992 1213013$2,808 5$1,184
15-Jul-2313$8,254.95 138113$8,254.95 00
8-Jul-2316$5,441.45 1217211$2,443 5$2,998.45
1-Jul-2316$6,872 1010512$5,474 4$1,398
24-Jun-2313$10,914 1620110$7,874 3$3,040
17-Jun-2317$5,880.70 1515115$4,705.70 2$1,175
10-Jun-2319$8,516.10 1311116$6,252.40 3$2,263.70
June 3 202312$6,104.42 121388$4,256.92 4$1,847.50
27-May-2317$12,200 106711$6,165 6$6,035
20-May-2311$22,458.10 81034$19,455 7$3,003
13-May-2312$7,034 101018$5,460 4$1,574
6-May-2320$3,297.60 1819617$2,985.60 3$312
29-Apr-2323$3,691.20 1813517$1,969.70 6$1,721.50
22-Apr-2316$5,570 1410414$4,750 2$1,000
15-Apr-2312$23,818.10 95910$21,618.10 2$2,200
8-Apr-2316$7,949 91739$5,472 7$3,477
1-Apr-2321$18,676.70 1217511$10,926.70 10$7,750
25-Mar-2315$8,779.50 101415$2,362 10$6,416.50
18-Mar-237$14,048.80 6695$13,345 2$703.80
11-Mar-2321$11,576 1616516$8,131 5$3,445
4-Mar-2320$9,668 1122816$8,209 4$1,459
25-Feb-2313$5,335 1313012$4,235 1$1,200
18-Feb-2314$5,743.70 131588$898.70 6$4,845
11-Feb-2316$12,088 1213712$9,965 4$2,123
4-Feb-2317$8,066 1514013$5,614 4$2,452
28-Jan-237$2,180 7755$1,692.75 2$488
21-Jan-2317$5,768 1617412$1,918 5$3,850
14-Jan-2311$2, 800101028$421 3$2,400
7-Jan-2318$8,296 1116714$6,461 3$1,835
31-Dec-2214$2,732 119912$2,092 2$640
17-Dec14$7,919 1311512$7,419 1$500
10-Dec-2214$10,093 128811$7,093 3$3,000
3-Dec-2226$12,800.90 1117220$4,141 6$8,659.90
26-Nov-228$2,266.70 853$76 5$2,190.70
19-Nov-2221$2,886 1521219$2,550 2$336
12-Nov-2213$15,093.70 9819$14,200 4$893.70
5-Nov-222519,337.201650922$8,267.20 3$11,070
29-Oct-2215$7,805.30 911614$7,180.30 1$625
22-Oct-2220$8,193.50 1325313$5,442 7$2,751.50
15-Oct-229$3,046.10 91397$2,588.30 2$457.80
8-Oct-2219$2,011.80 1211416$833.80 3$1,178
1-Oct-2223$5,532.90 1615618$4,952.30 5$580.60
24-Sep-2218$5,194 1421615$4,050 3$1,144
17-Sep-2221$8,352.30 1232015$4,759.60 6$3,592.70
10-Sep-2215$19,853.50 1012613$19,403.60 2$450
3-Sep-229$2,312 9629$2,312 00
27-Aug-2216$30,891.70 1013515$30,666.40 1227.7
20-Aug-2212$1,977 815299253$1,052
13-Aug-2218$8,004.70 1124211$2,844.70 7$5,160
6-Aug-2224$7,948.90 1224017$3,577 7$4,371.90
30-Jul-228$6,941 9787$6,839 1$102
23-Jul-2211$801 119210$801 10
16-Jul-2214$3,650 1012214$3,650 00
9-Jul-2210$3,557.70 7689$3,557.70 10
2-Jul-2218$8,609.40 1315215$2,754.40 3$5,855
25-Jun-2215$6,142 131469$2,017 6$4,125
18-Jun-2217$11,890.10 1422815$11,410 2479.7
11-Jun-2217$7,600 1212310$2,300 7$5,300
4-Jun-2212$2,937 101279$692 3$2,245
28-May-229$3,197.60 11869$3,197.60 00
21-May-2214$7,284.50 1218511$6,609 3$675.50
14-May-2211$306.60 98010$306.60 1$225
7-May-2216$10,451.75 1210812$1,827 4$8,624.75
30-Apr-2216$2,296.50 1615712$895.50 4$1,401
23-Apr-2210$2,241 11588$1,641 2$600
16-Apr-2211$6,643 71568$2,359 3$4,284
9-Apr-2217$4,429 1418411$1,690 6$2,739
2-Apr-2213$1,755 88410$1,145 3$610
26-Mar-2211$3,205 8656$200 5$3,005
19-Mar-2213$2,239.17 910613$2,239.17 00
12-Mar-2218$12,016 1123915$11,965 2$51.35
5-Mar-2217$6,786 1313713$5,161 4$1,625
26-Feb-2212$5,095 81499$4,437.50 3$658
19-Feb-2217$22,229 1717414$21,354 3$875
12-Feb-2212$2,344.70 10738$641.70 4$1,703
5-Feb-2211$2,503 89911$2,503 00
29-Jan-2211$3,872 1210112$3,872 00
22-Jan-2213$5,143.50 109912$4,842.50 1$301
15-Jan-2212$7,605 91559$6,480 3$1,025
8-Jan-2213$8,256.20 1110213$8,256.20 00
1-Jan-229$1,273.80 6509$1,273.80 00
25-Dec-2121$4,734.75 1117616$3,410 5$1,324.75
18-Dec-2126$7,325.20 1519318$3,640.20 8$3,685.20
11-Dec-2116$5,017 1010913$1,417 3$3,600
4-Dec-2114$2,310 8868$2,310 6$1,882.05
27-Nov-219$3.460.1101016$1,758 3$1,702.60
20-Nov-2120$22,792 1515712$18,864.50 8$3,928
13-Nov-2121$26,729 1217813$11,822 8$14,907
6-Nov-2112$8,303 1315710$6,682 3$1,621
30-Oct-2121$10,368 1521815$9,24.46$1,103.00
23-Oct-2121$18.783.11522211$12,314 10$6,468.60
16-Oct-2115$3,868 1111815$2,293 2$1,575
9-Oct-2120$8,610 1617516$7,795 4$815
2-Oct-2114$6,250 1113710$5,200 4$1,050
25-Sep-2111$11,460 9937$10,200 4$1,250
18-Sep-2111$16,603 8998$15,084 3$1,519
11-Sep-2117$10,653 1110313$8,503 4$2,150
4-Sep-2113$7,222 108911$6,715 2$507
28-Aug-2112$763 96311$663 1$100
21-Aug-2112$29,659 77911$29,579 1$80
14-Aug-2122$17,845 1119912$12,805 10$5,04
7-Aug-2117$13,670 1213915$11,766 2$1,904
31-Jul-2121$8,160 1113410$3,574 10$4,586
July 24,202121$6,367 1113915$3,712 6$2,655
17-Jul-2114$4,009 1112412$2,015 2$1,994
10-Jul-2116$3,997 1314311$1,597 4$2,4
3-Jul-2124$7,492 139416$3,769 8$3,722
26-Jun-2110$4,995 7858$3,847 2$1,148
19-Jun-2128$16,830 82289$1,861 19$14,968
12-Jun-2126$27,238 1520919$25,602 7$1,636
5-Jun-2115$15,539 1310013$14,709 2$600
29-May-2135$20,279 1114528$18,647$1,639
22-May-2124$53,208 1417417$51,047 7$2,161
15-May-2118$10,620 1322011$5,870 7$4,809
8-May-2117$10,400 1115615$8,386 2$2,500
1-May-2121$7,200 1611512$3,808 9$3,392
24-Apr-218$20,200 9318$20,200 00
17-Apr-2114$6,270 810211$40,180 3$2,260
10-Apr-2115$8,940 1312914$7,990 1$950
3-Apr-2118$19,513 1015112$16,923 6$2,590
27-Mar-2127$13,942 1524414$4,300 13$9,633.50
20-Mar-2111$2,046 41023$270 8$1,776
13-Mar-2115$3,270 91096$538 9$2,732
6-Mar-2124$13,617 1019613$10,395 11$3,222
27-Feb-2119$8,105 1213915$4,970 4$3,135
20-Feb-219$8,820 91538$8,520 1$300
13-Feb-2112$4,852.60 78172,7665$2,086.60
6-Feb-2118$9,752 1315314$5,222 4$4,530
30-Jan-2118$9,449 918215$8,753.80 3$695.30
23-Jan-2114$8,150 81186$4,000 8$4,150
16-Jan-2117$6,783 1313811$2,400 6$4,382.90
9-Jan-2122$6,829 1413518$3,139.30 4$3,690
2-Jan-217$1,466 7607$1,466 00
26-Dec-2018$15,900 1216316$5,300 1$600
19-Dec-2018$9,769 1411014$8,426 4$1,343
12-Dec-2010$7,200 91009$3,325 1$3,830
5-Dec-2015$4,261 91229$2,780 6$1,481
28-Nov-2019$7,758 1011013$4,003 6$3,755
14-Nov-2014$864.10 1415712$289.10 2$575
7-Nov-2013$6,332 91299$2,483.50 4$3,849
31-Oct-2010$3,995.80 81036$3,231.10 4$754.70
24-Oct-206$18,100 6585$17,709 1$350
17-Oct-208$351.90 5558$351.90 00
10-Oct-207$5,229 3504$735 3$4,494
3-Oct-2014$21,428 91739$17,535 5$3,893
26-Sep-2010$12,770 8935$10,300 5$2,470
19-Sep-2014$8,365 91016$1,020 8$7,345
12-Sep-206$4,406 8593$1,270 3$3,136
5-Sep-2011$5,191 81179$4,061 2$1,130
29-Aug-2011$2,531 9945$1,130 6$1,401
22-Aug-2018$6,574 121407$1,930 11$4,644
15-Aug-2013$4,991 10977$1,216 6$3,775
8-Aug-2012$32,092 111129$30,457 3$1,635
1-Aug-207$5,287 8765$3,687 2$1,600
25-Jul-209$18,751 6677$18,403 2$348
18-Jul-206$1,982.50 5504$1,407.50 2$575
11-Jul-2011$565.10 127510$65.10 1$500
4-Jul-2010$8,889 8989$8,788 1$100.30
27-Jun-208$6,874 10505$4,972.50 3$2,081.50
20-Jun-2012$4,444 91157$2,829 5$1,615
13-Jun-206$3,582 4372$350 4$3,232
6-Jun-2011$3,213.70 8657$470 4$2,743.70
30-May-208$7,335 7486$4,639 2$2,697
23-May-204$432.40 4343$432.40 10
16-May-206$310 6345$310 10
9-May-2018$5,630 1612414$3,180 4$2,450
2-May-201510,40010908$1,900 7$,8,500
25-Apr-208$3,400 9365$1,000 3$2,450
18-Apr-2019$9,500 14928$185.70 11$9,360
11-Apr-2012$6,000 9405$190 7$5,800
4-Apr-2014$8,200 116810$2,200 4$6,000
28-Mar-2016$6,500 139610$3,700 6$2,800
21-Mar-2011$11,910 7337$2,250 4$9,960
14-Mar-207809.86346684.81125
7-Mar-2016$2,500 157013$669 3$1,400
29-Feb-2013$15,260 1312811$11,760 2$3,500
22-Feb-2012$3,700 109210$2,560 2$1,130
15-Feb-2016$1,250 108412$35 4$1,222
8-Feb-2018$6,080 1412314$2,595 4$3,485
1-Feb-2021$20,900 1210114$17,860 7$3,060
25-Jan-2013$7,430 136212$6,430 1$1,000
18-Jan-2023$9,580 1512019$6,580 4$3,000
11-Jan-2021$14,200 1819916$1,020 5$13,200
4-Jan-2022$6,400 1111916$3,204 6$3,245
28-Dec-1922$7,150 1917518$6,800 4$327.40
14-Dec-1924$36,300 2316719$9,500 5$26,800
7-Dec-1911$10,400 11557$1,082 4$9,370
November 30. 201914$2,450 1212612$1,760 2$692.50
23-Nov-1916$1,995 104111$615 5$1,380
16-Nov-1915$3,820 1313511$2,500 4$1,271
9-Nov-1925$12,900 1718223$12,200 2$575
2-Nov-1910$2,470 126192,4503$22
26-Oct-1912$5,560 147011$3,860 1$1,700
19-Oct-198$6,600 81388$6,600 00
12-Oct-1919$4,300 145516$3,800 3$500
5-Oct-1918$14,500 1916615$11,100 3$3,400
28-Sep-1919$8,100 1813218$7,560 1$550
21-Sep-1914$6,300 166611$2,160 3$4,170
14-Sep-1915$23,800 125611$21,250 4$2,570
7-Sep-1917$3,500 159814$1,900 3$1,600
31-Aug-195$8,700 6505$8,700 00
24-Aug-1916$10,000 148215$4,250 1$5,750
16-Aug-1910$1,680 5527$650 3$950
9-Aug-1917$17,700 156814$3,900 3$13,800
2-Aug-1913$5,760 1210813$5,760 NANA
27-Jul-1911$7,300 13768$6,570 3$730
20-Jul-1913$11,800 1312511$5,300 2$6,500
13-Jul-1910$775 7468$542.50 2$233
6-Jul-197$2,500 9857$2,500 00
29-Jun-1923$8,290 1515417$2,300 6$5,970
22-Jun-1917$10,700 1013914$7,700 3$3,000
15-Jun-1911$13,500 1416011$13,500 NANA
8-Jun-1913$2,870 175511$1,570 2$1,300
1-Jun-1910$4,460 11608$4,140 2$315
25-May-1917$4,360 147914$3,700 3$612
18-May-1922$9,000 1715016$3,400 6$5,600
11-May-1918$19,800 1717715$18,300 3$1,500
4-May-1910$7,075 6328$6,900 2$175
27-Apr-1915$3,200 1411714$3,160 1$40
20-Apr-1913$13,500 10909$12,200 4$1,300
13-Apr-1916$38,900 149114$37,800 2$1,100
6-Apr-1912$6,870 119410$6,730 2$50
30-Mar-1915$6,470 128410$7,91.55$5,677
23-Mar-1918$6,450 149114$5,042 4$1,408
16-Mar-1914$10,180 1211511$8,800 3$1,300
9-Mar-199$1,800 6498$1,300 1$500
2-Mar-1920$3,033 1610714$1,817 6$1,262
23-Feb-1912$2,040 8699$614.60 3$1,430
16-Feb-1916$9,970 187716$9,970 00
9-Feb-1914$6,400 1011014$6,400 00
2-Feb-1918$6,740 159916$5,720 2$950
26-Jan-1913$2,770 116711$918.95 2$1,850
19-Jan-1915$3,819 167612$2,594 3$1,225
12-Jan-1918$7,283 149215$1,683 3$5,600
5-Jan-1910$529 125010$529 00
22-Dec-1817$2,570 138714$941 3$1,629
15-Dec-1810$2,860 8268$264 2$2,600
8-Dec-1815$1,819 166512$552 3$1,267
1-Dec-1812$7,500 10909$1,200 3$6,200
28-Nov-1815$4,500 1110714$4,000 1$500
19-Nov-1818$6,137 139813$2,142 5$3,995
14-Nov-1818$9,200 1315215$8,500 3$694
6-Nov-1816$17,300 1618314$16,361 2$950
29-Oct-1814$14,400 1812717$13,800 1$600
24-Oct-1813$6,140 1312611$5,122 2$1,018
17-Oct-1818$18,390 1512514$12,292 4$6,098
10-Oct-1829$3,149 1810420$1,647 9$819
2-Oct-1818$9,300 116714$7,300 4$2,000
25-Sep-1813$7,000 117510$6,000 3$995
18-Sep-189$3,570 7449$3,570 00
11-Sep-1813$5,900 1013213$5,900 00
7-Sep-1814$5,000 158611$4,000 3$1,000
29-Aug-1815$20,700 147913$4,700 2$16,000
20-Aug-1810$12,400 11538$11,380 3$1,057
14-Aug-1812$19,900 121329$18,889 3$1,011
7-Aug-1816$68,600 1110613$67,259 3$1,340
31-Jul-1815$15,100 159511$13,060 4$2,060
23-Jul-1813$2,130 156010$1,804 3$1,100
17-Jul-1814$5,370 17989$4,310 5$1,100
9-Jul-1816$11,200 157410$11,080 6$862
3-Jul-1813$7,000 78112$6,330 1$750
25-Jun-1815$8,800 13979$4,970 6$3,930
18-Jun-1813$14,200 14807$221 6$14,290
11-Jun-1812$6,300 8968$5,910 4$803
6-Jun-1813$14,500 10888$14,154 5$579
31-May-1811$4,890 10638$3,240 3$1,790
22-May-1815$20,400 11639$19,808 6$885
15-May-1815$4,700 1510610$3,900 5$643
9-May-1811$1,400 13889$1,300 2$560
1-May-188$14,250 7887$13,400 1$450
24-Apr-1812$5,300 66111$4,470 1$800
17-Apr-189$1,800 10447$2,330 2$1,434
11-Apr-1811$2,500 8326$1,690 5$809
3-Apr-1815$13,400 111219$12,020 6$1,090
28-Mar-1810$4,000 10927$3,870 3$215
19-Mar-1817$5,800 135110$590 7$5,165
12-Mar-1815$3,130 114311$2,360 4$788
6-Mar-1819$5,400 1311610$1,530 9$4,860
27-Feb-1820$6,600 136914$5,530 6$1,030
19-Feb-1815$5,500 1411110$3,990 6$1,980
12-Feb-1823$10,900 1715712$7,110 11$3,840
5-Feb-1816$8,600 131007$1,330 9$7,800
30-Jan-1811$12,600 11685$7,300 6$4,982
24-Jan-1819$9,400 151295$2,010 14$7,337
18-Jan-1810$6,280 8492$2,100 8$4,188
9-Jan-1812$16,500 12929$15,890 3$475
3-Jan-1810$2,500 9478$2,350 2$150
27-Dec-1715$9,000 151139$7,568 6$1,784
18-Dec-1715$13,800 161649$13,010 7$1,118
11-Dec-1714$9,700 1012612$2,940 4$8,500
4-Dec-176$1,800 6315$1,510 1$300
28-Nov-177$3,850 8764$3,260 3$285
16-Nov-1710$2,700 10486$1,840 4$856
8-Nov-1715$2,380 179110$1,860 5$516
1-Nov-1712$4,700 17949$3,400 4$1,300
23-Oct-1715$10,500 106710$9,780 4$1,530
18-Oct-176$2,000 373$225 3$1,820
10-Oct-1712$6,570 1009$3,880 3$3,360
2-Oct-178$3,100 11193$1,630 5$1,750
25-Sep-178$4,880 8795$2,660 5$2,070
18-Sep-179$4,770 3$300 6$4,470
12-Sep-1711$4,430 8$2,030 3$2,400
1-Sep-174$1,310 3$317 1$1,000
23-Aug-1711$13,640 98$11,840 3$1,800

M&A/FUNDINGS

SLB acquires ChampionX for $7.7B

Deal Description: In yet another consolidating move in the energy sector, oil services giant SLB – aka Schlumberger – announced Tuesday it agreed to acquire ChampionX Corp. of The Woodlands in an all-stock transaction valued at $7.7 billion. The combination is expected to expand SLB’s presence in the less cyclical and growing production and recovery space. The transaction is SLB’s largest purchase since Cameron International and second over the last week. Latham & Watkins was the main outside counsel advising SLB while Weil assisted ChampionX. For more, click here.

Arctos closes Arctos Sports Partners Fund II at $4.1B

Deal Description: Dallas-based Arctos, a private investment firm that provides growth and liquidity solutions and value creation services to sports franchises and alternative asset managers, announced April 2 the final close of Arctos Sports Partners Fund II, the latest iteration of its flagship sports fund. Fund II, along with co-investment and parallel affiliated vehicles, closed with more than $4.1 billion in capital commitments from global investors, including some of the world’s leading pension funds, retirement systems, endowments, insurance companies, family offices and global wealth platforms, bringing Arctos’ sports-related assets under management to $7 billion. Fund II and its predecessor fund, Arctos Sports Partners Fund I, represent the world’s largest aggregation of institutional capital dedicated to professional sports franchise investments. Around a third of Fund II’s capital has been deployed across several investments, including Smith Entertainment Group, the holding company that owns the Utah Jazz; Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, the owner of New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers; Paris Saint-Germain F.C.; and Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team. Arctos is currently the only institutional investor approved to invest in multiple teams by MLB, the NBA, the NHL, MLS, global motor sports organizations and European soccer federations.

Placement Agent: Evercore Private Funds Group

Arctos’ Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis with a non-Texas team led by investment funds partners Patrick Valenti, Nadia Murad, Sam Scarcello and Jeff Kaplan and associates Margaret Waickman, Ross Greenspan and Heaven Chandler, all of Chicago. They had help from investment funds partners John O’Neil and Daniel Lavon-Krein in New York and John Berger in Chicago; regulatory partners Alpa Patel in Washington, D.C., and Chris Pristouris in New York; tax partners Don Rocap in Chicago and Alec Campbell in Boston; and employee benefits partner Sabrina Glaser in NYC.

Blue Owl buys Kuvare Asset Management for $750M

Deal Description: Blue Owl Capital Inc., an alternative asset manager, announced April 3 it agreed to acquire Kuvare Insurance Services, dba Kuvare Asset Management, for $750 million. KAM is a boutique investment management firm focused on providing asset management services to the insurance industry, including Kuvare UK Holdings. Blue Owl will fund the acquisition with $325 million in cash and $425 million in Blue Owl Class A common stock. Upon closing, most KAM employees are expected to join Blue Owl. There is potential for up to a $250 million earnout subject to adjustments and achievements of revenue targets. Separately, Blue Owl made a long-term investment in Kuvare, purchasing $250 million of preferred equity. Founded in 2015, Kuvare is a technology-enabled financial services firm operating several insurance and reinsurance businesses. It has become a top 20 fixed and indexed annuity writer in the U.S. Kuvare’s business segments include retail, institutional reinsurance and specialty insurance advisory services. Blue Owl and Kuvare entered into investment management agreements that will allow Blue Owl to deploy up to $3 billion of assets across its credit, GP strategic capital and real estate platforms. Upon the closing of the acquisition, Blue Owl will be allocated up to $20 billion in assets under management. The transactions are expected to be accretive to Blue Owl this year. Blue Own had $165 billion in assets under management at year-end. Kuvare has $37 billion in assets.

Expected Closing: Q2 or Q3 if it clears regulators and other closing conditions and termination rights

Blue Owl’s Financial Advisors: Ardea Partners and PJT Partners are lead advisors; BofA Securities, BMO Capital Markets Corp., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co., Mizuho and its affiliate Greenhill & Co, Morgan Stanley & Co. and Truist Securities Inc. are co-advisors.

Blue Owl’s Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis

KAM’s Financial Advisor: J.P. Morgan Securities is lead and co-placement agent; RBC also advised and is co-placement agent

KAM’s Outside Counsel: Sidley Austin including Aaron J. Rigby and Ryan M. Scofield, partners in private equity and insurance in Dallas, as well as PE/insurance partners Tony Ribaudo and John Grothaus in Chicago

Quinbrook closes $600M alt energy fund

Global investment manager Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners announced April 4 the closing of its $600 million Quinbrook Valley of Fire fund focused on large scale solar energy and storage projects. The fund is a continuation of its Low Carbon Power Fund, which held its final closing in 2019. The Quinbrook Valley of Fire Fund, whose lead investor is Blackstone Strategic Partners, has acquired 51 percent of the Gemini Solar + Storage project and 100 percent of the remaining Valley of Fire project development portfolio from LCPF and other equity holders. Gemini, located outside Las Vegas, is one of the largest such projects in the U.S. Quinbrook Infrastructure is headquartered in London.

Financial Advisor: PJT Partners

Quinbrook Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis advised with a team led from Houston by corporate partner Stephen Noh with support from investment funds partners Damian Jacobs, Mark Boyagi, Laura Stake and Matt Nadworny; and tax partners Steve Butler and Adam Nguyen; with assistance from corporate partner Fernanda Langa and associates Emma Balls and Dallin Miller; investment funds associates Michael Brar, Susan Czaikowski, Emily Hartney, Jordan Redler and Rachel Chung; tax associates Nicole Martin, Grace Bridwell and Lauren Deutsch; executive compensation partners Stephen Jacobson and Jabir Yusoff; project finance partner Rob Eberhardt and associate William Zakhary; and investment funds regulatory partners Alpa Patel and Mac Laban.

Blackstone Outside Counsel: Proskauer Rose

Cadent buys AdTheorent for $324M

Deal Description: Cadent, one of the largest independent solutions providers for converged TV advertising, announced April 1 a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of publicly traded AdTheorent Holding Co. Inc., a machine learning pioneer and industry leader delivering measurable value for programmatic advertisers, for $3.21 per share in cash, or $324 million. The combination will create one of the largest independent omnichannel audience activation platforms for buyers and sellers of advertising. The entity will focus on providing expanded performance advertising solutions that cater to digital and traditional TV markets, powered by advanced machine learning and a unified media and data marketplace. Upon closing, the combined company will serve nearly 1,000 advertisers, and partner with leading holding companies, agency groups, independent agencies and premium publishers. Novacap, the Montreal-based private equity firm which acquired Cadent in August 2023, provided strategic services and funding support to Cadent for the transaction. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and completion of regulatory review and AdTheorent shareholder approval. 

Expected Closing: 90 days if it clears AdTheorent shareholders and regulators

Cadent’s Financial Advisor: Moelis & Co. and RBC Capital Markets 

Cadent’s Outside Counsel: Baker Botts including: Private Equity/M&A: Neil Torpey, Nicole Perez, Nikolai Gryzunov, Tyler Kendler; Finance: Clint Culpepper, Dela Peimani, Morgan Copher; Employee Benefits: Robin Melman, Jared DaCosta; Antitrust: Michael P. Bodosky; Privacy/Data Security: Matthew Baker, Elizabeth Rogers; Intellectual Property: Luke Pedersen, Andrew Wilson, Tyler Beas; Tax: Steve Marcus, Jordan Hahn; Real Property: Jeff Wutzke, Taylor Gamboa; International Trade & Compliance: Paul T. Luther, Alexander P. Reinert; and Environmental: Aileen M. Hooks.

AdTheorent’s Financial Advisor: Canaccord Genuity 

AdTheorent’s Outside Counsel: McDermott Will & Emery

MoeGo gets $24M in funding

Deal Description: Norton Rose Fulbright announced last week that it had advised MoeGo on its Series A funding, which raised $24 million. Based in Los Angeles, MoeGo is a leader in “the pet vertical SaaS industry,” which means to most of us that it has created a platform for businesses in the pet care space. The investment was led by San Francisco-based venture capital firm Base10 Partners and included Mars Petcare’s Digitalis Ventures, Conductive Ventures and Uphonest Capital. MoeGo says the funding will support its product development and expansion to a broader range of pet care businesses. MoeGo was founded in 2019 by Ethan Dong.

Outside counsel to MoeGo: The NRF team included partner Kevin Friedmann in Chicago, senior counsel Siyuan An in Los Angeles, associate Juan Felipe Velasquez (Houston) and associate Jason Goolsby in Dallas.

Austin-based Hapax gains $2.6M in funding from hometown investor RHS

Hapax, an Austin-based AI-driven fintec company, announced April 3 that it received $2.6 million in seed funding from crosstown VC investor RHS Investments. The Hapax platform utilizes AI to analyze complex financial decisions enabling smaller financial institutions to compete with their larger competitors. No law firm has acknowledged advising the deal.

NGP-backed Mesa Royalties III acquires mineral, royalty interests in Haynesville

Deal Description: Houston-based Mesa Royalties III Holdings announced April 3 its acquisition of oil and gas mineral and royalty interests in the Haynesville shale play from an undisclosed private seller. Terms weren’t disclosed. The acquisition included about 6,200 net royalty acres across various counties and parishes in the core of the Haynesville. The purchase includes 253 gross and two net producing wells operated by top operators Aethon, Southwestern and Chesapeake. The deal is a continuation of Mesa’s efforts to expand its footprint underlying the prolific Haynesville and Mid-Bossier zones in North Louisiana and East Texas. Mesa funded the acquisition using equity commitments from NGP Energy Capital Management. Mesa will now own more than 11,000 net royalty acres in the Haynesville and plans to continue to aggregate to scale the position, Mesa CEO and president Darin Zanovich said.

Mesa’s Outside Counsel: Weil, Gotshal & Manges including partner Cody Carper and associate Greg Kerr in Houston

Race Rock Infrastructure buys Texas Corrugators – Austin Division

Deal Description: Locke Lord said April 2 a team led by Rachel Fitzgerald, Shumaila Dhuka and Tammi Niven in Houston represented Race Rock Infrastructure on its acquisition of Texas Corrugators – Austin Division, a provider of guardrail, bridge rail, sign posts, corrugated pipe and other highway and construction products. Terms weren’t disclosed on the deal, which was announced March 28. Texas Corrugators, based in Hutto, TX, supplements Race Rock’s existing Texas operations in Fort Worth and Houston as well as its other manufacturing sites in Glastonbury, Conn. and Marion, Ohio. Race Rock is a Houston-based manufacturer of infrastructure products and solutions for the transportation, energy transmission/distribution, telecommunications and other end markets.

Race Rock Outside Counsel: Locke Lord advised with a team led by Rachel Fitzgerald, Shumaila Dhuka and Tammi Niven in Houston. The team also included Laura L. Ferguson, Jerry Higdon, Andrew Reed, Buddy Sanders, Michelle Gutierrez-Begin, Shaylen Jessop, Grace Elliott and Andrew Nelson, all of Houston, and Mark Backofen in Dallas

Debt Financing Provider: A syndicate led by JP Morgan

Seller’s Advisor: Anderson LeNeave

Seller’s Legal Counsel: Husch Blackwell

Riverside’s OutSolve acquires FWLLI

The Riverside Company announced April 3 that its portfolio company OutSolve is acquiring Houston’s Federal Wage & Labor Law Institute, a legal consultant on labor matters. Founded in 1989 by Mark and Lisa Haag, FWLLI advises small businesses on compliance matters with the U.S. Department of Labor. Terms were undisclosed, but Riverside that the acquisition advances their plans for OutSolve to expand its HR-related services in the labor compliance space.

Seal For Life sold by Arsenal Capital to Henkel AG

Arsenal Capital Partners announced April 4 that it has sold Houston-based Seal for Life, its portfolio manufacturer of paints, coatings and adhesives, to to German industrial conglomerate Henkel AG. The company employs more than 650 people and has a global production network. Seal For Life offers innovative coating and sealing products such as heat-shrink sleeves, visco-elastic coatings, epoxy & urethane coatings, fire protection, insulation, and sound dampening coatings.

Seal for Life Financial Advisors: J.P. Morgan Securities

Seal for Life Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis

Vehicle Accessories Inc. buys Maxton Group Inc.

Deal Description: Vehicle Accessories Inc. announced April 3 that it is acquiring Maxton Group, a designer of emblem overlays, badging, LED light products and other automotive accessories. Terms of the acquisition were undisclosed, but it is the eight add-on transaction for Kinderhook-backed VAI.

Financial Support: Twin Brook Capital Partners, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, Alliance Partners, Cliffwater and United Community Bank

Outside Legal Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis and Sidley Austin

The Sidley team was led from New York by private equity partner Elazar Guttman, with support that included senior managing associates Mo Green and Andrew Smith and associate John Torabi in New York, as well as tax partner Tara Lancaster in Dallas

Houston-based DC Partners acquires Design Build

Deal Description: Reaching outside its Texas orbit, Houston real estate developers DC Partners announced April 2 it acquired New York-based Design Build Partners. Once combined, the two firms plan to create a platform for acquisitions, capital investment and asset management, in addition to commercial real estate development and construction. Arsean Maqami, managing partner of Design Build, will become co-president with Roberto Contreras of DC Partners of the combined organizations. Established in 2011, DC Partners claims a portfolio that exceeds $1 billion. Design Build has projects in California, Connecticut and McKinney, Texas.

DC Partners Outside Legal Counsel: BakerHostetler with a team from Houston led by M&A partner Cleve Glenn with corporate associate Tess Wafelbakker

Note: Glenn, a University of Miami Law grad, joined BakerHostetler in October from Frost Brown Todd, where he worked for more than three years.

Vandemoortele buys majority stake in Banneton Bakery

Deal Description: Vandemoortele, a leading European family-owned food group, anounced April 3 a strategic partnership with Banneton, a manufacturer of premium freezer-to-oven croissants, Danishes and pastries based in Swedesboro, N.J. As part of the agreement, Vandemoortele will acquire a majority stake in Banneton and Banneton’s founders will stay invested and continue to lead the day-to-day management of the business after closing.

Vandemoortele Outside Counsel: Baker McKenzie with a team led by M&A partners Dieter Schmitz from Chicago and Koen Vanhaerents in Brussels with partner Kai Kramer of Houston providing advice on tax matters.

CAPITAL MARKETS/FINANCINGS

TotalEnergies offers $4.25B in bonds

Deal Description: TotalEnergies, an integrated energy company active in about 120 countries, closed a U.S. public offering of $1.25 billion of 5.150% notes due 2034, $1.75 billion of 5.488% notes due 2054 and $1.25 billion of 5.638% notes due 2064. TotalEnergies Capital issued each bond guaranteed by TotalEnergies SE. The bonds priced on April 2.

TotalEnergies‘ Outside Counsel: Latham & Watkins with a cross-border corporate team led by Paris partner Roberto Reyes Gaskin and Houston partners Ryan Lynch and Ryan Maierson with Paris partner Thomas Vogel supported by associates Bryan Ryan, Brian Bruzzo, Alexandra Cumberland and Madeleine Hahn de Bykhovetz. Advice was also provided on U.S. tax matters by Houston partners Tim Fenn, Bryant Lee and Jared Grimley; and on French tax matters by Paris partner Olivia Rauch-Ravisé with associates Alexis Caminel and Andréa Stapts.

McDermott refinances $2.6B in debt

Deal Description: Bracewell said April 3 it represented Crédit Agricole CIB on the refinancing of about $2.6 billion of letter of credit and term loan facilities for McDermott International Ltd., an engineering and construction business. The refinancing, which closed on March 25, amends and extends the facilities through June 2027. The refinancing was implemented through a cross-border restructuring process, including a transaction support agreement among a steering committee of letter of credit issuers and lenders and an ad hoc group of crossover lenders, participants and shareholders agreed in September 2023. Implementation of the amend and extend, which was contested by several creditor groups, was accomplished through the English Court’s sanctioning of the restructuring plan on Feb. 27 and the Dutch Court’s confirmation of the two wet homologatie onderhands akkoord plans on March 21 and compromised around $1 billion of unsecured litigation claims. The English and Dutch orders received Chapter 15 recognition in the U.S. on March 22.

From Bracewell: Partners Jeris Diana Brunette (New York), Andrew C.J. Bueso (Houston), Olivia Caddy (London), William H. Ebert (Washington, D.C.), Rachel B. Goldman (New York), Thomas M. Tomlinson (Houston), William A. (Trey) Wood III (Houston) and Manuel Vera (Houston); of counsel Robin J. Miles (New York); senior counsel Bagya Nambron (Dubai); and associates June Jhe (New York), Katie J. Jones (New York), Jeonghoon Ha (New York), Sameer K. Ahuja (London), Emily A. Banse (Houston), Dylan W. Benac (Houston), Nour Haikal (Houston), Christie L. Latimer (Dallas), Shruthi N. Prabhu (Houston) and Kenni C. Wilkinson (Houston)

USA Compression Partners offer $1B in notes

Deal Description: USA Compression Partners, together with its wholly owned subsidiary USA Compression Finance Corp., announced it issued $1 billion of 7.125% senior notes due 2029. The deal closed March 18. USA Compression is one of the nation’s largest independent providers of natural gas compression services in terms of total compression fleet horsepower.

Initial Purchasers’ Outside Counsel: Hunton Andrews Kurth led by partners Mike O’Leary and Phil Haines, with assistance from associates Erin Jennings, Kathleen Dill and Davis Neitzschman for corporate matters; partners Robert McNamara and Allison Mantor for tax matters; and counsel David Terry for environmental matters.

USA Compression’s Outside Counsel: Sidley Austin including partners Brian Minyard in Houston, Johnny Skumpija in New York and George Vlahakos in Houston, senior managing sssociates Tanner Groce and John Stribling in Houston and associate Amanda Ibrahim in Houston

Baytex closes $575M offering of notes

Deal Description: Houston-based Baytex Energy Corp. announced April 1 the closing of its private placement offering of $575 million in senior unsecured notes due 2032. The notes bear interest at a rate of 7.375% per year and mature on March 15, 2032. Baytex intends to use the net proceeds to redeem $409.8 million of its outstanding 8.75% notes due April 1, 2027, to repay a portion of the debt outstanding on its credit facilities and for general corporate purposes.

Baytex’s Outside Counsel: Vinson & Elkins with a corporate team was led by partners Mike Telle and David Wicklund and senior associate Layton Suchma with assistance from associates Chandler Jones, Natalie Harrison, Cole Leveque and Rivers Stephens. Also advising were partner Natan Leyva, counsel Allyson Seger and associate Steve Campbell (Tax); partner Joe Lee, senior associate Mary Daniel Morgan and associate Kenneth Strain (executive compensation & benefits); partner Matt Dobbins and associate Alyssa Sieja (environmental); and partner Becky Baker and associate Jordan Peck (labor & employment).

Comstock Resources prices $400M of senior unsecured notes

Deal Description: Frisco, Texas-based Comstock Resources Inc. announced April 2 the pricing of its private placement of new 6.75% senior unsecured notes due 2029 totaling $400.0 million, which was increased from the originally proposed $375 million. The offering was expected to close on April 9. The net proceeds are expected to be $365 million, after deducting the initial purchasers’ discounts and other offering expenses. The company intends to use the proceeds to repay a portion of the borrowings outstanding under its bank credit facility and pay fees and expenses.

Initial Purchasers’ Outside Counsel: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher with a corporate team led by partner Doug Rayburn and includes of counsel Justine Robinson and associates William Bald and Andrew Watson. Partner Michael Cannon and associate Blake Hoerster are advising on tax aspects.

Comstock’s Outside Counsel: Dallas partners Jack Jacobsen and Will Becker led an all-Dallas team at O’Melveny that included counsel Ashley Thurman, as well as associates Sahil Nooruddin and Sarah Nelson and Eleanor Gilbert.

MN8 Energy announces closing of $325M private placement

Deal Description: MN8 Energy announced April 1 the closing of its private placement with gross proceeds of $325 million from the issuance and sale of shares of its convertible preferred stock. The proceeds will be used to fund the company’s expanded operations and growth. The private placement is comprised of a $200 million investment by Mercuria Energy Group, one of the world’s leading independent energy and commodity groups, and $125 million by Ridgewood Infrastructure, a infrastructure investor in the U.S. Stockholders can choose to convert their preferred stock into converted common stock at a future date. As part of the agreement, Mercuria will receive one seat as well as an observer seat on MN8’s board of directors while Ridgewood will get an observer seat. With the closing of the placement, MN8 and Mercuria formed a collaboration supporting the identification of commercial opportunities aimed at advancing more sustainable, affordable and reliable energy systems.

MN8 Energy’s Outside Counsel: Vinson & Elkins with a team led by partners Todd Triller and Crosby Scofield with assistance from senior associate David Lassetter and associates David Smith, Walt Baker, Connor Rabalais and Chris Chiavaroli. Other team members included partner Lina Dimachkieh and associate Keleigh Carver (tax); partner David D’Alessandro, counsel Katherine Mull and associate Hayden Rutledge (executive compensation/benefits); associate David Albano (finance); and partners Doug McWilliams, Sarah Morgan and Jackson O’Maley (corporate).

U-BX Technology closing $10M IPO

Deal Description: U-BX Technology Ltd., a Beijing-based artificial intelligence-driven services and products provider to insurance carriers, announced April 1 the closing of its initial public offering of 2 million ordinary shares at a price of $5 per share for gross proceeds of $10 million before deducting underwriting discounts and other offering expenses. The ordinary shares began trading on Nasdaq Capital Market on March 28 under the ticker symbol “UBXG”. The company granted underwriter EF Hutton an option to purchase up to an additional 300,000 shares at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts, to cover any over-allotments within 45 days from the offering’s closing date. The company intends to use the proceeds for research and development (60%), advertising and marketing (30%) and general working capital.

U-BX’s U.S. Counsel: Ortoli Rosenstadt

EF Hutton’s U.S. Counsel: Winston & Strawn with a team led by Mike Blankenship and including Justin Hoffman, Hannah Miller and Robbie Oakes

Massimo Group pricing $5.85M IPO

Deal Description: Garland, Texas-based Massimo Group, a manufacturer and distributor of powersports vehicles and pontoon boats, announced April 2 the pricing of its initial public offering of 1 .3 million shares of its common stock at $4.50 per share. The gross proceeds to Massimo from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by the company, are expected to be $5.85 million. The company has granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the closing of the offering to purchase up to an additional 195,000 shares of common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering was expected to close on April 4 and the shares began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on April 2 under the symbol “MAMO.” The company expects to use the net proceeds for marketing and promotion of its branded products to expand its business; research and development activities, which are expected to include new products and new electric vehicle-related technology; establish new assembly and distribution operations; and expand recruitment of personnel. The company also plans to use a portion of the proceeds as working capital.

Book-Running Manager: Craft Capital Management

Co-Underwriter: R.F. Lafferty & Co. Inc.

Massimo‘s Outside Counsel: Ellenoff Grossman & Schole in New York (Richard Anslow and Vincent McGill)

Underwriters’ Outside Counsel: Pryor Cashman in New York (M. Ali Panjwani)

Pasha attracts term loan from Morgan Stanley 

Deal Description: Morgan Stanley Investment Management, through investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners announced April 1 it provided an unsecured term loan to the Pasha Group, a family-owned maritime transportation company, to support continued infrastructure investment in the Hawaii trade. Terms weren’t disclosed. The company’s largest segment is Pasha Hawaii, an ocean freight and automobile shipping business operating in the U.S. West Coast-Hawaii shipping market. Pasha Hawaii provides critical transportation infrastructure required to support Hawaii’s population, featuring vessels with over 40-year useful lives. With limited on-island inventory and storage capacity in Hawaii, MSIP believes Pasha has well-established its position in the U.S.-Hawaii trade landscape, securing the timely and delivery of goods to the islands. Daniel Sailors is managing director for MSIP, which has $16 billion in assets under management. 

MSIP’s Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis with a team was led by debt finance partners Jordan Roberts and Layton Bell; corporate partners Kevin Crews and Adam Garmezy; and tax partners David Wheat and Jon Nelsen, with assistance from debt finance associates Christina Godard and Hope Rovner.

Pasha’s Outside Counsel: Nixon Peabody 

Pasha’s Capital Markets Advisor: BofA Securities Inc.

OTHER MATTERS

Blank checker StoneBridge Acquisition Corp. announced April 2 that it had finally closed its agreement to merge with Indonesian fintec DigiAsia Bios. The SPAC, listed on Nasdaq, is sponsored by Texas-based M&A advisors StoneBridge. Headquartered in Southlake, StoneBridge specializes in small-to-middle market investments in South Asian and Eastern Mediterranean companies that stand ready to go public. The merger was announced in January 2023, but proved plagued by redemptions — with only $26.5 million remaining from its July 2021 IPO. As reported last year by the Lawbook, Winston & Strawn advised StoneBridge with a team led from Houston by Mike Blankenship.

***

Akin said April 1 it represented EQT Corp. on certain Federal Energy Regulatory Commission aspects of its $5.5 billion, all-stock acquisition of Equitrans Midstream Corp., a deal announced on March 11. The team included partner Emily Mallen in Washington, D.C., and associates Jameson Calitri in Boston and Brannen Caraway in Houston. The merger creates a large-scale, vertically integrated natural gas company.

* * *

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, an Austin-based movie theater chain backed by Altamont Capital Partners and Fortress Investment Group, is for sale, according to a report by Deadline. The cinema chains counts 41 locations across 13 states, 17 of which are franchise-owned. Alamo Drafthouse emerged from bankruptcy in June 2021.

* * *

Norton Rose Fulbright said April 3 it was development counsel to CarbonFree in its definitive agreement with U.S. Steel Corp. to capture carbon emissions from blast furnaces at Gary Works, U.S. Steel’s largest manufacturing plant in Gary, Indiana. The firm’s projects team was led by Luke Edney and included Becky Diffen, Mike Stimson and Torie Cadis Berkowitz (Austin), John Young and Kayce Borders (Chicago), Jesse Hollingsworth (Dallas), Bob Greenslade (Denver), Erin Mitchell (Houston) and Bryan Stephan (New York). The agreement sets in motion a project to construct the first commercial-scale carbon capture utilization facility at a North American steel plant using CarbonFree’s patented SkyCycle technology, which converts carbon emissions into a carbon-neutral version of calcium carbonate before they enter the atmosphere. The plant is expected to capture and mineralize up to 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Construction is set to begin this summer with operations starting in 2026. The agreement has a term of 20-year term.

Claire Poole

Claire Poole is a senior writer at The Texas Lawbook, where she covers corporate transactions.

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