CDT Roundup: 20 Deals, 15 Firms, 157 Lawyers, $23B

We’ve observed, even celebrated of late, the recent rise in oil prices driven by a return of demand lost during the pandemic. The WTI closed Tuesday at $78.50 bbl — up 62% YTD and 75% over a last year.

That’s a good thing, and a bit of evidence to suggest that optimism isn’t being usurped by bad news.

Last week ended with a warning that Covid-19 cases were once again rising, and Austria announced a full lockdown: bad news for future demand. This week began with the first coordinated release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves since 2011. Bad news, potentially, both for OPEC and for oil prices.

Still, the market response proved a trifle: Oil dropped to $75 for a few hours before bouncing back above $78. The Dow defiantly rose.

In a year notably marked by dearth and delay, the one product for which there seems no current shortage is optimism, especially in the M&A markets. And to that point comes the 17th annual Dykema Mergers & Acquisitions Outlook Survey, which is not only predicting a solid 2022, but doing so with record levels of survey optimism.

“It looks like nothing — not the latest surge in COVID-19 cases, the Biden administration’s legislative agenda or economic uncertainties — will be able to break the stride of M&A dealmakers,” says the foreword of the report.

A full 75% of the survey’s 266 respondents — a roster of CEOs, CFOs, owners, managing partners and other M&A dealmakers — expect the U.S. market to strengthen in the next 12 months; and to do so with volumes up at every level: from small market combinations to billion-dollar mega-deals.

By far, the global response to Covid-19 remains the biggest influence over the future M&A dealmaking, with 49% calling it the top challenge for U.S. business in the coming 12 months. But even on this a durable optimism prevails. While 35% predicted a negative impact, only 5% thought that impact would be significant. By contrast, 44% expect the impact to be positive, with 19% predicting the market will impact will be “significantly positive.”

The survey also suggests that dealmakers are more than comfortable with the direction of the Biden administration. At least 72% say Biden policies will have a positive impact on M&A activity, with 31% saying that impact will be “significant.” Only 17% predict a negative impact to any degree.

In fact, along with the surprising optimism about the future effects of Covid-19, there was no greater turn-around in survey optimism than dealmaker attitude toward the Biden administration.

Although the survey was taken before recent passage of an infrastructure bill, its/their implementation was seen in an overwhelmingly positive light. Two-thirds of respondents believed that passage would have a positive impact on the M&A market, while only 12% thought any impact would be a dampening effect.

Likewise, potential hikes in the minimum wage (56% positive, 26% negative), immigration reform (58% positive, 20% negative) and the overall Biden legislative agenda (56% positive, 24% negative) are seen, in terms of the M&A market, are seen in an overall positive light.

Finally, to bookend the above, there is dealmaking; then there is energy dealmaking. And since last year’s survey no sector has rebounded more significantly than energy in the eyes of M&A dealmakers.

In the 2020 survey, the energy sector wasn’t among those expected to be most active in 2021 (1. Automotive, 2. Healthcare, 3. Technology, 4. Consumer Products, 5. Financial Services).

But this year, in their predictions for 2022, Energy is back (1. Automotive, 2. Energy, 3. Financial Services, 4. Technology, Media and Telecoms, 5. Healthcare).

But if that surprises you, take a look at the deals below. As if on cue, there were a dozen M&A deals last week and six of them were energy deals. The big deal of the week was in digital infrastructure — KKR’s agreement to acquire Dallas-based CyrusOne for $15 billion — giving the week’s dealmaking a holiday shine.

In all, there were 20 deals reported worth $22.8 billion; they involved 15 firms and 157 mostly Texas lawyers. Of the 20 transactions, 12 were M&A deals worth $18.9 billion and eight were capital markets and financing deals valued at $3.9 billion.

That compares very favorably with last week’s 21 deals worth $26 billion and especially favorably with last year’s 14 pre-Thanksgiving week transactions worth $864 million.

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 Count	Amount	Firms	Lawyers	M&A Count	M&A Value $M	CapM Count	CapM Value $M
21-Dec-24	11	$2,798	11	92	8	$2,229	3	$570
14-Dec-24	15	$5,323	12	186	12	$3,812	3	$1,511
07-Dec-24	16	$4,766	10	231	11	$2,321	5	2,445
30-Nov-24	10	$10,291	9	103	4	$8,290	6	$2.001
23-Nov-24	15	$4,553	15	153	11	$3,379	4	$1,174
16-Nov-24	17	$11,488	11	245	13	$10,186	4	$1,303
09-Nov-24	14	$2,110	12	139	12	$1,410	2	$700
02-Nov-24	12	$52,788	11	107	11	$52,738	1	$50
26-Oct-24	8	$3,160	8	65	7	$3,065	1	$75
19-Oct-24	12	$5,304	11	136	11	$4,554	1	$750
12-Oct-24	17	$8,438	12	150	15	$8,116	2	$322
05-Oct-24	22	$23,181	12	189	15	$19,980	7	$3,201
28-Sep-24	11	$2,356	7	144	7	$53	4	$2,303
21-Sep-24	12	$9,568	10	169	5	$4,101	7	$5,467
14-Sep-24	24	$10,988	12	235	16	$7,175	8	$3,813
7-Sep-24	12	$20,420	16	168	11	$20,307	1	$112.9
31-Aug-24	13	$20,631	9	134	12	$14,775	1	$5,856
24-Aug-24	19	$8,452	21	325	16	$7,102	3	$1,350
17-Aug-24	25	$49,196	16	304	11	$39,386	14	$9,810
10-Aug-24	20	$12,264	15	312	16	$9,794	4	$2,470
03-Aug-24	26	$16,498	16	334	18	$8,137	8	$8,361
27-Jul-24	19	$16,442	21	271	15	$13,838	4	$2,604
20-Jul-24	15	$16,016	14	184	10	$14,232	5	$1,784
13-Jul-24	20	$17,220	14	265	18	$7,146	2	$10,074
6-Jul-24	11	$3,941	11	95	8	$2,650	3	$1,291
29-Jun-24	14	$6,296	15	224	8	$6,296	6	$1,927
22-Jun-24	12	$5,679	8	137	5	$210	7	$5,469
15-Jun-24	13	$9,895	16	214	10	$5,280	3	$4,615
8-Jun-24	19	$23,859	13	239	12	$19,436	7	$4,423
1-Jun-24	12	$34,510	11	147	9	$26,110	3	$8,400
25-May-24	13	$9,684	15	171	10	$4,434	3	$5,250
18-May-24	11	$5,490	11	173	8	$3,129	3	$2,361
11-May-24	22	$14,855	14	227	16	$11,105	6	$3,750
4-May-24	13	$3,139	9	87	10	$1,297	3	$1,842
27-Apr-24	10	$6,684	6	28	10	$6,684	0	0
20-Apr-24	19	$15,989	11	147	9	$5,208	10	$10,781
13-Apr-24	13	$8,952	9	76	10	$1,652	3	$7,300
6-Apr-24	22	$22,616	14	222	14	$13,501	8	$13,116
30-Mar-24	12	$9,286	8	136	8	$4,299	4	$4,987
23-Mar-24	18	$5,451	17	266	16	$4,759	2	$692
16-Mar-24	21	$11,437	13	186	14	$9,316	6	$2,070
9-Mar-24	23	$4,695	21	218	19	$2,723	4	$1,972
2-Mar-24	20	$9,108	19	372	14	$4,558	6	$4,550
24-Feb-24	19	$16,382	12	248	15	$9,507	4	$6,875
17-Feb-24	16	$29,932	15	157	12	$29,216	4	$716
10-Feb-24	25	$10,750	17	196	19	$5,372	6	$5,379
3-Feb-24	12	$8,416	18	125	9	$3,416	3	$5,000
27-Jan-24	9	$8,165	9	87	8	$7,815	1	$800
20-Jan-24	14	$4,084	12	109	12	$3,219	2	$865
13-Jan-24	17	$33,588	12	256	12	$26,765	5	$6,823
6-Jan-24	8	$7,915	8	84	6	$7,265	2	$650
30-Dec-23	17	$14,599	12	99	15	$2,714	2	$11,885
23-Dec-23	23	$4,182	13	219	16	$1,813	7	$2,370
16-Dec-23	13	$16,436	13	280	7	$15,150	5	$1,286
9-Dec-23	26	$14,633.90	17	244	16	$8,095	10	$6,538.90
2-Dec-23	13	$6,720	9	57	12	$6,630	1	$90
25-Nov-23	9	$4,835	9	131	6	$1,785	3	$3,050
18-Nov-23	22	$6,568.70	17	184	14	$4,709.20	8	$1,859.50
11-Nov-23	15	$9,825	13	179	12	$6,581	3	$3,244
4-Nov-23	15	$20,582.50	14	193	12	$19,417.50	3	$1,165
28-Oct-23	18	$68,419.10	18	152	15	$66,646	3	$1,773.10
21-Oct-23	16	$6,755.90	16	165	15	$6,755.90	1	$3
14-Oct-23	14	$67,851.20	13	125	9	$61,998.50	5	$5,852.70
7-Oct-23	17	$6,595.50	13	228	16	$5,995.50	1	$600
30-Sep-23	17	$1,896.45	13	189	14	$806.45	3	$1,090
23-Sep-23	23	$6,432.70	17	230	16	$1,402.80	7	$5,029.90
16-Sep-23	25	$23,226.70	23	353	16	$17,239	9	$5,987.70
9-Sep-23	12	$6,369	8	102	7	$4,311	5	$2,058
2-Sep-23	14	$2,522	6	92	13	$1,322	1	$1,200
26-Aug-23	17	$12,160.25	13	202	15	$6,573.25	2	$5,587.00
19-Aug-23	19	$11,505	13	213	15	$11,255	4	$250
12-Aug-23	19	$9,698.80	13	184	7	$3,270	12	$6,428.80
5-Aug-23	13	$5,201	12	118	12	$5,051	1	$150
29-Jul-23	15	$21,031.60	13	196	11	$18,292.00	4	$2,739.60
22-Jul-23	18	$3,992	12	130	13	$2,808	5	$1,184
15-Jul-23	13	$8,254.95	13	81	13	$8,254.95	0	0
8-Jul-23	16	$5,441.45	12	172	11	$2,443	5	$2,998.45
1-Jul-23	16	$6,872	10	105	12	$5,474	4	$1,398
24-Jun-23	13	$10,914	16	201	10	$7,874	3	$3,040
17-Jun-23	17	$5,880.70	15	151	15	$4,705.70	2	$1,175
10-Jun-23	19	$8,516.10	13	111	16	$6,252.40	3	$2,263.70
June 3 2023	12	$6,104.42	12	138	8	$4,256.92	4	$1,847.50
27-May-23	17	$12,200	10	67	11	$6,165	6	$6,035
20-May-23	11	$22,458.10	8	103	4	$19,455	7	$3,003
13-May-23	12	$7,034	10	101	8	$5,460	4	$1,574
6-May-23	20	$3,297.60	18	196	17	$2,985.60	3	$312
29-Apr-23	23	$3,691.20	18	135	17	$1,969.70	6	$1,721.50
22-Apr-23	16	$5,570	14	104	14	$4,750	2	$1,000
15-Apr-23	12	$23,818.10	9	59	10	$21,618.10	2	$2,200
8-Apr-23	16	$7,949	9	173	9	$5,472	7	$3,477
1-Apr-23	21	$18,676.70	12	175	11	$10,926.70	10	$7,750
25-Mar-23	15	$8,779.50	10	141	5	$2,362	10	$6,416.50
18-Mar-23	7	$14,048.80	6	69	5	$13,345	2	$703.80
11-Mar-23	21	$11,576	16	165	16	$8,131	5	$3,445
4-Mar-23	20	$9,668	11	228	16	$8,209	4	$1,459
25-Feb-23	13	$5,335	13	130	12	$4,235	1	$1,200
18-Feb-23	14	$5,743.70	13	158	8	$898.70	6	$4,845
11-Feb-23	16	$12,088	12	137	12	$9,965	4	$2,123
4-Feb-23	17	$8,066	15	140	13	$5,614	4	$2,452
28-Jan-23	7	$2,180	7	75	5	$1,692.75	2	$488
21-Jan-23	17	$5,768	16	174	12	$1,918	5	$3,850
14-Jan-23	11	$2, 800	10	102	8	$421	3	$2,400
7-Jan-23	18	$8,296	11	167	14	$6,461	3	$1,835
31-Dec-22	14	$2,732	11	99	12	$2,092	2	$640
17-Dec	14	$7,919	13	115	12	$7,419	1	$500
10-Dec-22	14	$10,093	12	88	11	$7,093	3	$3,000
3-Dec-22	26	$12,800.90	11	172	20	$4,141	6	$8,659.90
26-Nov-22	8	$2,266.70	8	5	3	$76	5	$2,190.70
19-Nov-22	21	$2,886	15	212	19	$2,550	2	$336
12-Nov-22	13	$15,093.70	9	81	9	$14,200	4	$893.70
5-Nov-22	25	19,337.20	16	509	22	$8,267.20	3	$11,070
29-Oct-22	15	$7,805.30	9	116	14	$7,180.30	1	$625
22-Oct-22	20	$8,193.50	13	253	13	$5,442	7	$2,751.50
15-Oct-22	9	$3,046.10	9	139	7	$2,588.30	2	$457.80
8-Oct-22	19	$2,011.80	12	114	16	$833.80	3	$1,178
1-Oct-22	23	$5,532.90	16	156	18	$4,952.30	5	$580.60
24-Sep-22	18	$5,194	14	216	15	$4,050	3	$1,144
17-Sep-22	21	$8,352.30	12	320	15	$4,759.60	6	$3,592.70
10-Sep-22	15	$19,853.50	10	126	13	$19,403.60	2	$450
3-Sep-22	9	$2,312	9	62	9	$2,312	0	0
27-Aug-22	16	$30,891.70	10	135	15	$30,666.40	1	227.7
20-Aug-22	12	$1,977	8	152	9	925	3	$1,052
13-Aug-22	18	$8,004.70	11	242	11	$2,844.70	7	$5,160
6-Aug-22	24	$7,948.90	12	240	17	$3,577	7	$4,371.90
30-Jul-22	8	$6,941	9	78	7	$6,839	1	$102
23-Jul-22	11	$801	11	92	10	$801	1	0
16-Jul-22	14	$3,650	10	122	14	$3,650	0	0
9-Jul-22	10	$3,557.70	7	68	9	$3,557.70	1	0
2-Jul-22	18	$8,609.40	13	152	15	$2,754.40	3	$5,855
25-Jun-22	15	$6,142	13	146	9	$2,017	6	$4,125
18-Jun-22	17	$11,890.10	14	228	15	$11,410	2	479.7
11-Jun-22	17	$7,600	12	123	10	$2,300	7	$5,300
4-Jun-22	12	$2,937	10	127	9	$692	3	$2,245
28-May-22	9	$3,197.60	11	86	9	$3,197.60	0	0
21-May-22	14	$7,284.50	12	185	11	$6,609	3	$675.50
14-May-22	11	$306.60	9	80	10	$306.60	1	$225
7-May-22	16	$10,451.75	12	108	12	$1,827	4	$8,624.75
30-Apr-22	16	$2,296.50	16	157	12	$895.50	4	$1,401
23-Apr-22	10	$2,241	11	58	8	$1,641	2	$600
16-Apr-22	11	$6,643	7	156	8	$2,359	3	$4,284
9-Apr-22	17	$4,429	14	184	11	$1,690	6	$2,739
2-Apr-22	13	$1,755	8	84	10	$1,145	3	$610
26-Mar-22	11	$3,205	8	65	6	$200	5	$3,005
19-Mar-22	13	$2,239.17	9	106	13	$2,239.17	0	0
12-Mar-22	18	$12,016	11	239	15	$11,965	2	$51.35
5-Mar-22	17	$6,786	13	137	13	$5,161	4	$1,625
26-Feb-22	12	$5,095	8	149	9	$4,437.50	3	$658
19-Feb-22	17	$22,229	17	174	14	$21,354	3	$875
12-Feb-22	12	$2,344.70	10	73	8	$641.70	4	$1,703
5-Feb-22	11	$2,503	8	99	11	$2,503	0	0
29-Jan-22	11	$3,872	12	101	12	$3,872	0	0
22-Jan-22	13	$5,143.50	10	99	12	$4,842.50	1	$301
15-Jan-22	12	$7,605	9	155	9	$6,480	3	$1,025
8-Jan-22	13	$8,256.20	11	102	13	$8,256.20	0	0
1-Jan-22	9	$1,273.80	6	50	9	$1,273.80	0	0
25-Dec-21	21	$4,734.75	11	176	16	$3,410	5	$1,324.75
18-Dec-21	26	$7,325.20	15	193	18	$3,640.20	8	$3,685.20
11-Dec-21	16	$5,017	10	109	13	$1,417	3	$3,600
4-Dec-21	14	$2,310	8	86	8	$2,310	6	$1,882.05
27-Nov-21	9	$3.460.1	10	101	6	$1,758	3	$1,702.60
20-Nov-21	20	$22,792	15	157	12	$18,864.50	8	$3,928
13-Nov-21	21	$26,729	12	178	13	$11,822	8	$14,907
6-Nov-21	12	$8,303	13	157	10	$6,682	3	$1,621
30-Oct-21	21	$10,368	15	218	15	$9,24.4	6	$1,103.00
23-Oct-21	21	$18.783.1	15	222	11	$12,314	10	$6,468.60
16-Oct-21	15	$3,868	11	118	15	$2,293	2	$1,575
9-Oct-21	20	$8,610	16	175	16	$7,795	4	$815
2-Oct-21	14	$6,250	11	137	10	$5,200	4	$1,050
25-Sep-21	11	$11,460	9	93	7	$10,200	4	$1,250
18-Sep-21	11	$16,603	8	99	8	$15,084	3	$1,519
11-Sep-21	17	$10,653	11	103	13	$8,503	4	$2,150
4-Sep-21	13	$7,222	10	89	11	$6,715	2	$507
28-Aug-21	12	$763	9	63	11	$663	1	$100
21-Aug-21	12	$29,659	7	79	11	$29,579	1	$80
14-Aug-21	22	$17,845	11	199	12	$12,805	10	$5,04
7-Aug-21	17	$13,670	12	139	15	$11,766	2	$1,904
31-Jul-21	21	$8,160	11	134	10	$3,574	10	$4,586
July 24,2021	21	$6,367	11	139	15	$3,712	6	$2,655
17-Jul-21	14	$4,009	11	124	12	$2,015	2	$1,994
10-Jul-21	16	$3,997	13	143	11	$1,597	4	$2,4
3-Jul-21	24	$7,492	13	94	16	$3,769	8	$3,722
26-Jun-21	10	$4,995	7	85	8	$3,847	2	$1,148
19-Jun-21	28	$16,830	8	228	9	$1,861	19	$14,968
12-Jun-21	26	$27,238	15	209	19	$25,602	7	$1,636
5-Jun-21	15	$15,539	13	100	13	$14,709	2	$600
29-May-21	35	$20,279	11	145	28	$18,64	7	$1,639
22-May-21	24	$53,208	14	174	17	$51,047	7	$2,161
15-May-21	18	$10,620	13	220	11	$5,870	7	$4,809
8-May-21	17	$10,400	11	156	15	$8,386	2	$2,500
1-May-21	21	$7,200	16	115	12	$3,808	9	$3,392
24-Apr-21	8	$20,200	9	31	8	$20,200	0	0
17-Apr-21	14	$6,270	8	102	11	$40,180	3	$2,260
10-Apr-21	15	$8,940	13	129	14	$7,990	1	$950
3-Apr-21	18	$19,513	10	151	12	$16,923	6	$2,590
27-Mar-21	27	$13,942	15	244	14	$4,300	13	$9,633.50
20-Mar-21	11	$2,046	4	102	3	$270	8	$1,776
13-Mar-21	15	$3,270	9	109	6	$538	9	$2,732
6-Mar-21	24	$13,617	10	196	13	$10,395	11	$3,222
27-Feb-21	19	$8,105	12	139	15	$4,970	4	$3,135
20-Feb-21	9	$8,820	9	153	8	$8,520	1	$300
13-Feb-21	12	$4,852.60	7	81	7	2,766	5	$2,086.60
6-Feb-21	18	$9,752	13	153	14	$5,222	4	$4,530
30-Jan-21	18	$9,449	9	182	15	$8,753.80	3	$695.30
23-Jan-21	14	$8,150	8	118	6	$4,000	8	$4,150
16-Jan-21	17	$6,783	13	138	11	$2,400	6	$4,382.90
9-Jan-21	22	$6,829	14	135	18	$3,139.30	4	$3,690
2-Jan-21	7	$1,466	7	60	7	$1,466	0	0
26-Dec-20	18	$15,900	12	163	16	$5,300	1	$600
19-Dec-20	18	$9,769	14	110	14	$8,426	4	$1,343
12-Dec-20	10	$7,200	9	100	9	$3,325	1	$3,830
5-Dec-20	15	$4,261	9	122	9	$2,780	6	$1,481
28-Nov-20	19	$7,758	10	110	13	$4,003	6	$3,755
14-Nov-20	14	$864.10	14	157	12	$289.10	2	$575
7-Nov-20	13	$6,332	9	129	9	$2,483.50	4	$3,849
31-Oct-20	10	$3,995.80	8	103	6	$3,231.10	4	$754.70
24-Oct-20	6	$18,100	6	58	5	$17,709	1	$350
17-Oct-20	8	$351.90	5	55	8	$351.90	0	0
10-Oct-20	7	$5,229	3	50	4	$735	3	$4,494
3-Oct-20	14	$21,428	9	173	9	$17,535	5	$3,893
26-Sep-20	10	$12,770	8	93	5	$10,300	5	$2,470
19-Sep-20	14	$8,365	9	101	6	$1,020	8	$7,345
12-Sep-20	6	$4,406	8	59	3	$1,270	3	$3,136
5-Sep-20	11	$5,191	8	117	9	$4,061	2	$1,130
29-Aug-20	11	$2,531	9	94	5	$1,130	6	$1,401
22-Aug-20	18	$6,574	12	140	7	$1,930	11	$4,644
15-Aug-20	13	$4,991	10	97	7	$1,216	6	$3,775
8-Aug-20	12	$32,092	11	112	9	$30,457	3	$1,635
1-Aug-20	7	$5,287	8	76	5	$3,687	2	$1,600
25-Jul-20	9	$18,751	6	67	7	$18,403	2	$348
18-Jul-20	6	$1,982.50	5	50	4	$1,407.50	2	$575
11-Jul-20	11	$565.10	12	75	10	$65.10	1	$500
4-Jul-20	10	$8,889	8	98	9	$8,788	1	$100.30
27-Jun-20	8	$6,874	10	50	5	$4,972.50	3	$2,081.50
20-Jun-20	12	$4,444	9	115	7	$2,829	5	$1,615
13-Jun-20	6	$3,582	4	37	2	$350	4	$3,232
6-Jun-20	11	$3,213.70	8	65	7	$470	4	$2,743.70
30-May-20	8	$7,335	7	48	6	$4,639	2	$2,697
23-May-20	4	$432.40	4	34	3	$432.40	1	0
16-May-20	6	$310	6	34	5	$310	1	0
9-May-20	18	$5,630	16	124	14	$3,180	4	$2,450
2-May-20	15	10,400	10	90	8	$1,900	7	$,8,500
25-Apr-20	8	$3,400	9	36	5	$1,000	3	$2,450
18-Apr-20	19	$9,500	14	92	8	$185.70	11	$9,360
11-Apr-20	12	$6,000	9	40	5	$190	7	$5,800
4-Apr-20	14	$8,200	11	68	10	$2,200	4	$6,000
28-Mar-20	16	$6,500	13	96	10	$3,700	6	$2,800
21-Mar-20	11	$11,910	7	33	7	$2,250	4	$9,960
14-Mar-20	7	809.8	6	34	6	684.8	1	125
7-Mar-20	16	$2,500	15	70	13	$669	3	$1,400
29-Feb-20	13	$15,260	13	128	11	$11,760	2	$3,500
22-Feb-20	12	$3,700	10	92	10	$2,560	2	$1,130
15-Feb-20	16	$1,250	10	84	12	$35	4	$1,222
8-Feb-20	18	$6,080	14	123	14	$2,595	4	$3,485
1-Feb-20	21	$20,900	12	101	14	$17,860	7	$3,060
25-Jan-20	13	$7,430	13	62	12	$6,430	1	$1,000
18-Jan-20	23	$9,580	15	120	19	$6,580	4	$3,000
11-Jan-20	21	$14,200	18	199	16	$1,020	5	$13,200
4-Jan-20	22	$6,400	11	119	16	$3,204	6	$3,245
28-Dec-19	22	$7,150	19	175	18	$6,800	4	$327.40
14-Dec-19	24	$36,300	23	167	19	$9,500	5	$26,800
7-Dec-19	11	$10,400	11	55	7	$1,082	4	$9,370
November 30. 2019	14	$2,450	12	126	12	$1,760	2	$692.50
23-Nov-19	16	$1,995	10	41	11	$615	5	$1,380
16-Nov-19	15	$3,820	13	135	11	$2,500	4	$1,271
9-Nov-19	25	$12,900	17	182	23	$12,200	2	$575
2-Nov-19	10	$2,470	12	61	9	2,450	3	$22
26-Oct-19	12	$5,560	14	70	11	$3,860	1	$1,700
19-Oct-19	8	$6,600	8	138	8	$6,600	0	0
12-Oct-19	19	$4,300	14	55	16	$3,800	3	$500
5-Oct-19	18	$14,500	19	166	15	$11,100	3	$3,400
28-Sep-19	19	$8,100	18	132	18	$7,560	1	$550
21-Sep-19	14	$6,300	16	66	11	$2,160	3	$4,170
14-Sep-19	15	$23,800	12	56	11	$21,250	4	$2,570
7-Sep-19	17	$3,500	15	98	14	$1,900	3	$1,600
31-Aug-19	5	$8,700	6	50	5	$8,700	0	0
24-Aug-19	16	$10,000	14	82	15	$4,250	1	$5,750
16-Aug-19	10	$1,680	5	52	7	$650	3	$950
9-Aug-19	17	$17,700	15	68	14	$3,900	3	$13,800
2-Aug-19	13	$5,760	12	108	13	$5,760	NA	NA
27-Jul-19	11	$7,300	13	76	8	$6,570	3	$730
20-Jul-19	13	$11,800	13	125	11	$5,300	2	$6,500
13-Jul-19	10	$775	7	46	8	$542.50	2	$233
6-Jul-19	7	$2,500	9	85	7	$2,500	0	0
29-Jun-19	23	$8,290	15	154	17	$2,300	6	$5,970
22-Jun-19	17	$10,700	10	139	14	$7,700	3	$3,000
15-Jun-19	11	$13,500	14	160	11	$13,500	NA	NA
8-Jun-19	13	$2,870	17	55	11	$1,570	2	$1,300
1-Jun-19	10	$4,460	11	60	8	$4,140	2	$315
25-May-19	17	$4,360	14	79	14	$3,700	3	$612
18-May-19	22	$9,000	17	150	16	$3,400	6	$5,600
11-May-19	18	$19,800	17	177	15	$18,300	3	$1,500
4-May-19	10	$7,075	6	32	8	$6,900	2	$175
27-Apr-19	15	$3,200	14	117	14	$3,160	1	$40
20-Apr-19	13	$13,500	10	90	9	$12,200	4	$1,300
13-Apr-19	16	$38,900	14	91	14	$37,800	2	$1,100
6-Apr-19	12	$6,870	11	94	10	$6,730	2	$50
30-Mar-19	15	$6,470	12	84	10	$7,91.5	5	$5,677
23-Mar-19	18	$6,450	14	91	14	$5,042	4	$1,408
16-Mar-19	14	$10,180	12	115	11	$8,800	3	$1,300
9-Mar-19	9	$1,800	6	49	8	$1,300	1	$500
2-Mar-19	20	$3,033	16	107	14	$1,817	6	$1,262
23-Feb-19	12	$2,040	8	69	9	$614.60	3	$1,430
16-Feb-19	16	$9,970	18	77	16	$9,970	0	0
9-Feb-19	14	$6,400	10	110	14	$6,400	0	0
2-Feb-19	18	$6,740	15	99	16	$5,720	2	$950
26-Jan-19	13	$2,770	11	67	11	$918.95	2	$1,850
19-Jan-19	15	$3,819	16	76	12	$2,594	3	$1,225
12-Jan-19	18	$7,283	14	92	15	$1,683	3	$5,600
5-Jan-19	10	$529	12	50	10	$529	0	0
22-Dec-18	17	$2,570	13	87	14	$941	3	$1,629
15-Dec-18	10	$2,860	8	26	8	$264	2	$2,600
8-Dec-18	15	$1,819	16	65	12	$552	3	$1,267
1-Dec-18	12	$7,500	10	90	9	$1,200	3	$6,200
28-Nov-18	15	$4,500	11	107	14	$4,000	1	$500
19-Nov-18	18	$6,137	13	98	13	$2,142	5	$3,995
14-Nov-18	18	$9,200	13	152	15	$8,500	3	$694
6-Nov-18	16	$17,300	16	183	14	$16,361	2	$950
29-Oct-18	14	$14,400	18	127	17	$13,800	1	$600
24-Oct-18	13	$6,140	13	126	11	$5,122	2	$1,018
17-Oct-18	18	$18,390	15	125	14	$12,292	4	$6,098
10-Oct-18	29	$3,149	18	104	20	$1,647	9	$819
2-Oct-18	18	$9,300	11	67	14	$7,300	4	$2,000
25-Sep-18	13	$7,000	11	75	10	$6,000	3	$995
18-Sep-18	9	$3,570	7	44	9	$3,570	0	0
11-Sep-18	13	$5,900	10	132	13	$5,900	0	0
7-Sep-18	14	$5,000	15	86	11	$4,000	3	$1,000
29-Aug-18	15	$20,700	14	79	13	$4,700	2	$16,000
20-Aug-18	10	$12,400	11	53	8	$11,380	3	$1,057
14-Aug-18	12	$19,900	12	132	9	$18,889	3	$1,011
7-Aug-18	16	$68,600	11	106	13	$67,259	3	$1,340
31-Jul-18	15	$15,100	15	95	11	$13,060	4	$2,060
23-Jul-18	13	$2,130	15	60	10	$1,804	3	$1,100
17-Jul-18	14	$5,370	17	98	9	$4,310	5	$1,100
9-Jul-18	16	$11,200	15	74	10	$11,080	6	$862
3-Jul-18	13	$7,000	7	81	12	$6,330	1	$750
25-Jun-18	15	$8,800	13	97	9	$4,970	6	$3,930
18-Jun-18	13	$14,200	14	80	7	$221	6	$14,290
11-Jun-18	12	$6,300	8	96	8	$5,910	4	$803
6-Jun-18	13	$14,500	10	88	8	$14,154	5	$579
31-May-18	11	$4,890	10	63	8	$3,240	3	$1,790
22-May-18	15	$20,400	11	63	9	$19,808	6	$885
15-May-18	15	$4,700	15	106	10	$3,900	5	$643
9-May-18	11	$1,400	13	88	9	$1,300	2	$560
1-May-18	8	$14,250	7	88	7	$13,400	1	$450
24-Apr-18	12	$5,300	6	61	11	$4,470	1	$800
17-Apr-18	9	$1,800	10	44	7	$2,330	2	$1,434
11-Apr-18	11	$2,500	8	32	6	$1,690	5	$809
3-Apr-18	15	$13,400	11	121	9	$12,020	6	$1,090
28-Mar-18	10	$4,000	10	92	7	$3,870	3	$215
19-Mar-18	17	$5,800	13	51	10	$590	7	$5,165
12-Mar-18	15	$3,130	11	43	11	$2,360	4	$788
6-Mar-18	19	$5,400	13	116	10	$1,530	9	$4,860
27-Feb-18	20	$6,600	13	69	14	$5,530	6	$1,030
19-Feb-18	15	$5,500	14	111	10	$3,990	6	$1,980
12-Feb-18	23	$10,900	17	157	12	$7,110	11	$3,840
5-Feb-18	16	$8,600	13	100	7	$1,330	9	$7,800
30-Jan-18	11	$12,600	11	68	5	$7,300	6	$4,982
24-Jan-18	19	$9,400	15	129	5	$2,010	14	$7,337
18-Jan-18	10	$6,280	8	49	2	$2,100	8	$4,188
9-Jan-18	12	$16,500	12	92	9	$15,890	3	$475
3-Jan-18	10	$2,500	9	47	8	$2,350	2	$150
27-Dec-17	15	$9,000	15	113	9	$7,568	6	$1,784
18-Dec-17	15	$13,800	16	164	9	$13,010	7	$1,118
11-Dec-17	14	$9,700	10	126	12	$2,940	4	$8,500
4-Dec-17	6	$1,800	6	31	5	$1,510	1	$300
28-Nov-17	7	$3,850	8	76	4	$3,260	3	$285
16-Nov-17	10	$2,700	10	48	6	$1,840	4	$856
8-Nov-17	15	$2,380	17	91	10	$1,860	5	$516
1-Nov-17	12	$4,700	17	94	9	$3,400	4	$1,300
23-Oct-17	15	$10,500	10	67	10	$9,780	4	$1,530
18-Oct-17	6	$2,000		37	3	$225	3	$1,820
10-Oct-17	12	$6,570		100	9	$3,880	3	$3,360
2-Oct-17	8	$3,100	11	19	3	$1,630	5	$1,750
25-Sep-17	8	$4,880	8	79	5	$2,660	5	$2,070
18-Sep-17	9	$4,770			3	$300	6	$4,470
12-Sep-17	11	$4,430			8	$2,030	3	$2,400
1-Sep-17	4	$1,310			3	$317	1	$1,000
23-Aug-17	11	$13,640	9		8	$11,840	3	$1,800

M&A/FUNDINGS

Kirkland Advises Consortium in $15B Acquisition of CyrusOne

In one of the biggest non-energy transactions of the year Dallas-based CyrusOne, a data infrastructure real estate investment trust, has agreed to be acquired by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners for a whopping $15 billion.

As previously reported, the Kirkland team was led by Houston corporate partners Andy Calder and John Pitts, as well as Dallas partners Melissa Kalka and Ben Hardison. Rami Totari and Houston associate Brittany Scheier also advised, along with Dallas associates Abbey Zuech and Reese Gwin.

Partners Roald Nashi in Houston and Sebastian Chan in New York advised on debt and finance, while real estate partners Andrew Small and David Rosenberg pitched in from Chicago. Partner Julian Seiguer advised on capital markets from Houston.

For more on that transaction click here.

GIP sells interest in Freeport LNG to JERA Americas for $2.5B 

Deal Description: Global Infrastructure Partners said Nov. 15 it agreed to sell its 25.7% interest in Freeport LNG Development to JERA Americas Inc. for $2.5 billion. GIP’s second flagship fund, Global Infrastructure Partners II, acquired the stake in 2015. JERA Americas Inc. is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Japan’s JERA Co. Inc., the world’s largest buyer of liquefied natural gas. JERA owns 25% of Freeport LNG Train 1 and purchases and transports LNG for use in Japan and other LNG importing countries. Closing of the transaction must clear regulators. Freeport owns and operates an LNG export facility on Quintana Island, near Freeport, Texas, and is the seventh largest LNG facility in the world and the second largest in the U.S.

GIP’s Financial Advisors: Rothschild (John Grause in New York) and Mizuho Securities USA

GIP’s Outside Legal Counsel: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, including partner Eli Hunt and associates Amy Hutchings and Austin Uhm in New York

JERA’s Financial Advisor: Goldman Sachs, including Rebecca Kruger in New York and Mark Berger, Stephanie Wisner, Rebecca Volkers and Raffaele Acuna in Houston

JERA’s Outside Legal Counsel:  Sidley Austin, including Houston partners Brian Bradshaw and Cliff Vrielink, counsel Atman Shukla and associates Jeff Kinney and Maegan Quejada and partners Heather Palmer and Zackary Pullin with support from the firm’s San Francisco and Washington, D.C., offices

JERA’s Inside Counsel: David Sladic, regional general counsel at JERA Americas in Houston, and Ian Wright, senior supervisor of the legal group at JERA Co. Inc. in Tokyo 

Notes: Sladic spent 18 years in the legal department at GenOn and four years at Dynegy as group GC before joining JERA last year..

Northern Oil acquires Permian assets from Carnelian-backed Veritas for $406.5M

Deal Description: Northern Oil and Gas Inc. said Nov. 16 that it agreed to acquire substantially all of the non-operated Permian Basin assets owned by entities affiliated with Veritas Energy of Fort Worth for $406.5 million. The assets are primarily located in Lea and Eddy counties, N.M., and Loving, Reeves, Ward and Winkler counties, Texas. As part of the deal, Northern will issue the seller about 1.9 million seven-year equity warrants with a strike price of $28.30 at closing. Northern expects to begin a public equity offering to fund a portion of the acquisition. Veritas is backed by Carnelian Energy Capital Management.

Northern’s Financial Advisors: Morgan Stanley (including Nathan Cherry) and Bank of America

Northern’s Outside Legal Advisors: Kirkland & Ellis led by corporate partners David Castro Jr. and Rahul Vashi and associates Will Eiland, Matt Gibson, Clayton Hart, Jonathan Strom and Braxton Smith; tax partner Mark Dundon; capital markets partners Matt Pacey and Bryan Flannery and associate Ieuan Adrian List; debt finance partners Will Bos and Mary Kogut and associate Laura Bielinski; and environmental transactions partner Jon Kidwell and of counsel Jennifer Cornejo.

Veritas’  Financial Advisors: Tudor, Pickering, Holt, including Jake Boos

Veritas’s Legal Advisor: Willkie Farr & Gallagher led by partners Michael De Voe Piazza and Steven Torello and including associate Lynn Abell in Houston

Notes: Kirkland’s Castro and Vashi also advised Northern Oil and Gas on its $154 million acquisition of interests across 400 producing wellbores primarily in North Dakota. Willkie’s Piazza represented Carnelian in connection with multiple equity commitments to upstream oil and gas companies, including SandPoint Resources, Veritas Permian II and Percussion Petroleum

Calumet brings in $300M from Oaktree for renewable diesel business

Deal Description: Calumet Specialty Products Partners announced Nov. 19 a series of strategic transactions in connection with its Renewable Diesel business. The transactions establish Montana Renewables as an unrestricted pure-play renewables unit of Calumet and has purchased Calumet’s hydrocracker. MRL closed on a $300 million convertible debt investment from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management and a $145 million preferred equity investment by Calumet, including $44 million for renewable diesel project capital expenditures to date and $101 million cash.  Calumet still owns 100% of the equity of MRL.

Calumet’s Outside Counsel: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, including as part of the team partners Hillary Holmes and associates Robbie Hopkins and Brian Downs. Partner Shalla Prichard advised on financing and partner James Chenoweth on tax.

Calumet’s Financial Advisors: Cowen and Co. and Intrepid Partners

Oaktree’s Financial Advisors: Guggenheim Securities

Oaktree’s Outside Counsel: Latham & Watkins, including Houston partners Tim Fenn and Bryant Lee on tax, Houston partner Joel Mack on environmental and on commercial and industry matters by Houston partners Jonathan Castelan and Thomas Brandt with associate Sam Bentley

GT Gettaxi to go public through $283M merger with SPAC

Deal Description: GT Gettaxi, a London-based transportation platform that can accommodate to scale consumer hail-ride and commercial fleet dispatch, announced Nov. 10 that it is going public in a merger with Rosecliff Acquisition Corp. Rosecliff brings a $253 million trust account investment along with $30 million in PIPE funds. The new company will be traded under the name Gett, Inc.

GT Gettaxi Financial Advisors: Jefferies was financial and capital markets advisor to Gett.

GT Gettaxi Outside Counsel: Davis Polk & Wardwell and DLA Piper advised GT Gett.

Rosecliff Outside Counsel: Latham & Watkins advised Rosecliff with a team led by Houston partners John Greer and Ryan Maierson. The team included Boston partner Hans Brigham with associates Bryan Ryan, Kristin Rulison, Kate Wang, Katherine Cody, Jacob Weiner, Austin Sheehy and Corynn Wilson. Also advising were Latham lawyers from Boston, Frankfurt and Washington, D.C.

PIPE Investors’ Outside Counsel: Shearman & Sterling advised PIPE investor MCA Capital SA, a European private equity group. The Shearman team was led by corporate partners Pawel Szaja in London and Alain Dermarkar in Dallas and included Dallas associates Tim Doyle and Dominic Frappolli.

Capital Markets Advisors:  Pareto Securities AB, SberCIB, and ITI Group Ltd.

Energywell snags $100M from Oaktree, Hartree for sustainable energy platform

Deal Description: Energywell announced Nov. 18 it had attracted a $100 million capital commitment from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management and Hartree Partners to create a technology-driven sustainable energy platform. Energywell will be led by Michael Fallquist and Christian McArthur as co-CEO’s, Roop Bhullar as CFO and Jonathan Rubenstein as GC. Energywell’s strategy is to create a sustainable energy platform powered by its proprietary technology and intends to scale quickly through acquisitions and the development of innovative products and sales channels. 

Energywell’s Outside Counsel: Baker Botts including partner Bryan Henderson and associates Nic O’Brien and Victor Ochieng from corporate and partner Steve Marcus and associate Snow Rui on tax, all in Dallas

Notes: Rubenstein most recently served as a partner in the Dallas office of Baker Botts, where he spent nearly two decades representing clients in the energy and technology industries, including Crius Energy. Fallquist, McArthur and Bhullar served in executive roles at Crius, an independent energy marketer of retail electricity, natural gas and solar products to residential and commercial customers, until July 2019, when it was acquired by Vistra Energy.

FiscalNote Holdings enters the markets via SPAC

Deal Description: FiscalNote, an AI-driven SaaS business information platform with a broad array of investors and admirers — Mark Cuban, Steve Case and Jerry Yang to name a few — announced Nov. 8 its decision to merge with Duddell Street Acquisition Corp., taking the SPAC route to Nasdaq. The company will receive $275 million consisting of $175 million from the Duddell Street IPO trust and another $100 million in funds from PIPE investments.

PIPE Placement Agents: Citi, J.P. Morgan

Outside Counsel for Placement Agents: Shearman & Sterling advised Citigroup and J.P. Morgan with a team led by partners Kyungwon Lee and Bill Nelson.

Financial Advisor to FiscalNote: J.P. Morgan

Outside Counsel to FiscalNote: Paul Hastings

Capital Markets Advisors: Citi and BTIG advised Duddell Street

Duddell Street Outside Counsel: Davis Polk & Wardwell

Ironwood Midstream merges with Nuevo Midstream Dos

Deal Description: Ironwood Midstream Energy Partners II announced Nov. 16 it was merging with Nuevo Midstream Dos. Terms weren’t disclosed. The deal expands Ironwood II’s crude oil midstream footprint in the Eagle Ford Shale region of Texas. Through the transaction, Ironwood II assumes management of Nuevo’s assets, including 100 miles of crude oil gathering pipeline and 300,000 barrels of crude oil storage. The system also includes a 26-mile intermediate pipeline that moves crude oil to third-party transportation pipelines with access to refineries, petrochemical plants and export terminals on the Texas Gulf Coast. Ironwood is backed by EnCap Flatrock Midstream.

Ironwood’s Outside Counsel: Mayer Brown led by Houston partners Larry Murphy and Carl von Merz and included corporate and securities partner Dale Smith and associate Stan Williams; and tax transactions and consulting partner Greg Matlock and associate Chris Odell, with litigation and dispute resolution support from  Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Nuevo Midstream Dos’ Outside Counsel: Locke Lord led by Eric Larson and Jennie Simmons and including Ed Razim, Buddy Sanders, Tammi Niven all of Houston and with support from Boston.

EnCap Flatrock’s Outside Counsel: Shearman & Sterling partner Sarah McLean and Todd Lowther with associate Erin Kaufman

Notes: Shearman’s McLean regularly represents EnCap on deals. 

Silver Hill acquires Haynesville Assets owned by EnSight

Deal Description: Silver Hill Haynesville E&P, an affilate of Silver Hill Energy Holdings, acquired Haynesville assets owned by EnSight. Terms were not disclosed. The deal was sighed Sept. 27 and closed Nov. 12. Founded in late 2018, Silver Hill is focused on direct asset acquisitions and indirect equity and joint venture investments across the energy space. Silver Hill is based in Dallas and led by Kyle Miller, the former president, CEO and founder of Silver Hill Energy Partners and Silver Hill Energy Partners II, which in October 2016 jointly agreed to sell to RSP Permian Inc. for $2.5 billion in cash and stock. Miller also also served as a managing member of Outrigger Delaware Midstream, which sold to Targa Resources Corp. in 2017 for $1 billion. Miller was previously at Energy Trust Partners, Energy Spectrum Advisors and Wells Fargo.

Silver Hill’s Outside Counsel: Shearman & Sterling partner Sarah McLean and Todd Lowther with associates Erin Kaufman and and Julia Pashin

HGGC buys stake in fitness group PF Atlantic Holdings

Deal Description: PF Atlantic Holdings, described as a top-15 franchise holder in the Planet Fitness health club system, announced Nov. 18 that HGGC, a California-based PE investor, has assumed a majority interest. Upon closing, the firm is rebranding as Grand Fitness Partners with Monogram Capital, the current majority owner continuing as a minority investor. PF Atlantic owns 42 Planet Fitness clubs. Terms of the transaction were undisclosed.

HGGC Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis advised HGGC with a 27-lawyer team led from Dallas by partners Thomas Laughlin and Jack Shirley. The group also included partner Marc Browning, who splits his time between Austin and Palo Alto, Houston partner William Dong and Dallas associate Brock Baker. The rest of the Kirkland team billed from Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Boston, Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C.

Financial Advisors: Carlyle’s Global Credit and Goldman Sachs Global Asset Management’s private credit division is financing the transaction.

Notes: Based in Toms River, N.J., Grand Fitness Partners owns and operates Planet Fitness clubs in New Jersey, California, Florida and Pennsylvania. The company holds the rights for continued expansion in Central California, South Florida and New Jersey.

Global business firm acquires Greyline Partners

Deal Description: Astorg-backed IQ-EQ, a global business services group, announced Nov. 16 that it is acquiring Greyline Partners, a U.S. business compliance firm based in San Francisco with offices in Dallas, New York, Chicago, Boston and London. Terms of the transaction were undisclosed.

Greyline Partners Outside Counsel: Greenberg Traurig advised Greyline with a team led by Dallas shareholder Steve Bartz. The team also included shareholder Thédoor Melchers in Amsterdam and a broad-based roster of Texas lawyers. In Austin: shareholders Gregory Casas and Labry Welty; and in Dallas: shareholders Lou Ann Brunenn and Jerry Fellows, of counsel Tanya Boyle and Alicia Voltmer with associates Ruth Guo, Margaret Kim Heitjan, Blake Martin, Josh Prywes and lawyers from Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Atlantic Aviation and Ross Aviation agree to combine

Deal Description: Fixed base operators Atlantic Aviation and Ross Aviation announced Nov. 16 that they had agreed to a merger, creating one of the nation’s top private aviation support networks. Under the agreement, KKR-backed Atlantic, headquartered in Plano, will absorb Ross Aviation, a portfolio company of Denver-based KSL Capital Partners, and its 19 FBOs. KSL Capital will become a significant minority investor in the combined company, which will operate under the name Atlantic Aviation. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.

KKR/Atlantic Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis advised KKR and Atlantic with a Texas-based team led by Houston partner John Pitts and Austin partner Emily Lichtenheld and associates Fern Langa and Monica Dion; tax partner David Wheat and associate Ryan Phelps; antitrust partner Carla Hine; investment funds partners Michael Belsley and Matt Nadworny; and debt finance partners Lucas Spivey and Jordan Roberts and associate Osaro Aifuwa.

Ross Aviation/KSL Capital Financial Advisors: Jefferies, Harris Williams

Ross Aviation/KSL Capital Outside Counsel: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised Ross Aviation and KSL Capital Partners with lawyers from the firm’s New York and Washington, D.C. offices.

Note: In June KKR acquired Atlantic Aviation from Macquarie Infrastructure for $4.475 billion.  Pitts and colleague Andy Calder also led the Kirkland team advising KKR on that deal.

CAPITAL MARKETS

PG&E issues $1.75B in first mortgage bonds

Deal Description: Pacific Gas and Electric Co. closed its issue of $300 million in floating rate first mortgage bonds due 2022, $900 million in 1.70% first mortgage bonds due 2023 and $550 million in 3.25% first mortgage bonds due 2031. PG&E, a unit of PG&E Corp., is a public utility operating company and provides natural gas and electric service to about 16 million people throughout a 70,000-square-mile service area in northern and central California.

Underwriters: Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA) Inc., Wells Fargo Securities and Barclays Capital

Underwiters Outside Counsel: Davis, Polk & Wardwell

Issuer’s Outside Counsel: Hunton Andrews Kurth, including tax partner Robert McNamara and associate Tim Strother in Houston

American Electric Power closed debt offering worth $750M

Deal Description: American Electric Power Co. Inc. closed on Nov. 15 on a debt offering of 3.875% fixed-to-fixed reset rate junior subordinated notes worth $750 million. The debentures due February 15, 2062. AEP, based in Columbus, Ohio, operates and maintains the country’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 223,000 miles of distribution lines to deliver power to nearly 5.5 million regulated customers in 11 states, including Texas. AEP also is one of the largest electricity producers with about 22,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including approximately 2,840 megawatts of renewable energy.

Underwriters: Morgan Stanley & Co., TD Securities (USA), RBC Capital Markets, Truist Securities, Banc of America Securities, US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo Securities

Underwiters Outside Counsel: Hunton Andrews Kurth, including tax partner Robert McNamara and associate Tim Strother in Houston

Issuer’s Outside Counsel: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

CubeSmart issues $688M public offering of common shares

Deal Description: CubeSmart, one of the nation’s largest self-storage providers, announced Nov. 16 the pricing of its most recent public offering at $688.5 million. The offering is for 13.5 million shares at $51 per. Headquartered in Pennsylvania, the company plans to use the funds to finance its acquisition of LAACO, another self-storage operation.

Underwriters: Wells Fargo Securities and BofA Securities are acting as lead joint book-running managers for the offering. Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, Jefferies and Truist Securities are acting as book-running managers for the offering. Stifel, BTIG, LLC, Regions Securities LLC, Berenberg, KeyBanc Capital Markets and Raymond James are acting as co-managers.

Outside Counsel: Vinson & Elkins advised the underwriters led by partners Chris Green and David Stone, with assistance from senior associate Stancell Haigwood and associates Joe Milano, Maria Black, Heather Jones and Ryan Wynne. Other key team members included partner Chris Mangin, senior associate Paige Anderson and tax associate Christina McLeod; environmental associate Kelly Rondinelli; and real estate associate Jason Robinson.

Notes: V&E had advised the underwriters on two earlier capital markets transactions worth approximately $1 billion.

Houston Airport System Issues $289M in bonds  

Deal Description: Bracewell said Nov. 18 that it had advised the city of Houston airport system on the completion of a bond issue of $289 million. The bond issue is intended to fund the construction of new multi-terminal baggage handling system and storage at Bush Intercontinental Airport and will be secured by rentals payments from United Airlines.

City of Houston Outside Counsel: Bracewell’s bond team was tapped led by partners Barron Wallace in Houston and Victoria Ozimek in Austin along with counsel Mary Buzak and counsel Peggy Christman, both in Houston, along with Dallas associate Sarah Tahir.

Nabors Energy Transition closes $276M IPO

Deal Description: Nabors Energy Transition Corp. announced Nov. 19 the closing of its initial public offering of 27.6 million units at $10 per unit. This includes the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to an additional 3.6 million units. The units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and trade under the ticker symbol “NETC.U.” Each unit consists of one share of the company’s Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one share of the company’s Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. Once the securities begin separate trading, the shares of Class A common stock and warrants are expected to be listed on the NYSE under the symbols “NETC” and “NETC.WS.” Nabors Energy Transition Corp. is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses.

Underwriters: Citigroup and Wells Fargo Securities

Underwriters’ Outside Counsel: Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Nabors’ Outside Counsel: Vinson & Elkins led by partners Mark Kelly, Doug McWilliams and Scott Rubinsky with assistance from senior associate Jackson O’Maley and associates Alex Lewis, Elisie Lee and Chase Browndorf. Other team members include partners David Peck and Lina Dimachkieh and associate Lauren Nieman (tax).

Circulus gains $100M in “green credit” facility

Deal Description: Circulus, an Houston-based plastics recycling company, announced Nov. 18 that it had received a $100 million “green loan” credit facility from Riverstone Credit Partners. The credit agreement is structured to be in compliance with standards set by the Loan Syndications and Trading Association for companies with processes aimed at environmental improvements. Circulus is a PBLLC (a public benefit limited liability company) backed by Ara Partners, a public equity firm that specializes in ecologically sound investments. Circulus is in the business of creating resins in a process that utilizes recycled low density plastic containers.

Circulus Financial Advisors: Guggenheim Securities

Circulus legal advisor: White & Case

Riverstone Outside Counsel: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised Riverstone with a team that included partner Matthew Einbinder (Houston), senior counsel Amy Beller (New York) and associates Sara Daniel (Houston) and Siwei Yang (Houston); and partner Lori Lesser and associate Kate Mirino (New York).

In House Counsel: Karthik Narasimhan is both chief operating officer and chief legal officer at Ara Partners.

Notes: Houston-based Ara Partners is a dedicated investor in companies operating on technologies that reduce the carbon footprint. In addition to Circulus, its portfolio companies include PriorityPower, PuraGlobe, Fluitron and Anesco.

New York Mortgage Trust in $75M stock issue

Deal Description: New York Mortgage Trust, a real estate investment trust, announced a public offering of 3,000,000 shares of its 7.000% Series G Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, liquidation preference $25.00 per share, for gross proceeds of $75 million. The deal was expected to close on Nov. 24. The company specializes in financing and managing mortgages for single-resident and multi-family residential properties.

NYMT Outside Counsel: Vinson & Elkins advised the company with a team led by Houston partner Chris Green. He was assisted by senior associate Zach Swartz and associates Maram Mahajna and Austin Scieszinski. Other key team members included partner Chris Mangin, senior associate Paige Anderson and tax associate Christina McLeod.

Notes: In April, Green advised NYMT, a longstanding V&E client, in a private placement of $100 million in senior notes.