CDT Roundup: 21 Deals, 11 Firms, 176 Lawyers, $4.7B

In the 21 deals reported to The Roundup this week, there are two that deserve special attention.

They are small deals, each of them esoteric. Over the next five years they may prove to be windfalls for their investors, or they may not. But they each represent something about the current flow of dealmaking that seems important in the context of the uncertainties that pervade these pandemic times.

One involves Rock Tech, a Canadian mining company that raised $40 million in a private offering. Evercore provided the financial advice on the deal. Gibson Dunn Houston partner Hillary Holmes and London partner Chris Haynes advised Evercore.

Rock Tech mines lithium, a key element in the pursuit of more efficient batteries. More efficient energy storage is, in turn, key to more efficient energy supplies. And lithium, like other precious metals that seem vital to our cleantech aspirations, is in rare supply in concentrations that make it effective.

Rock Tech, however, is raising the money not to mine more lithium (although they intend to continue to do that) but to manufacture lithium hydroxide, a compound additive that can make batteries more effective. The goal is to create a full-scale battery recycling loop. The company is already building such a plant in Germany.

The other is a straight-forward acquisition: the sale of Dallas-based ProPath to Australia’s Sonic Healthcare. John McGowan and Randy Peak at Haynes and Boone advised ProPath and terms of the deal were undisclosed. But once again, it’s also the nature of the business itself that deserves notice.

ProPath was founded as a physician-owned pathology lab group. It analyzes cell samples and uses technology to diagnose illnesses. In March 2020 ProLab bought another pathology lab group with the splendid name New England Tissue Issue.

What the Rock Tech and ProPath deals have in common is their part in the increasingly important chain of technology each represents: one in the area of energy transition and renewables, the other in healthcare. And they are notable because the basics of both businesses are undergoing significant changes that are evident in similar transactions taking place almost every week.

For instance, according to Crunchbase, venture capital investment in healthcare and biotech startups this year had reached $108 billion by the end of October, about the same as all of both 2017 ($43.6 billion) and 2018 ($64.4 billion) combined. Some investment in healthcare technologies was provoked by the pandemic. But as in energy transition deals, many of these investments represent an acceleration of investments already taking place.

Just this year, the Corporate Deal Track database reveals a broad range of transactions in healthcare and biotech, both large and small. There are the usual acquisitions of health care centers and medical practices (for instance, the $1.1 billion Sidley-led sale in June of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare to Steward Healthcare Investors), or the sale of a tech platforms that would suit virtually any business.

But in 2021, for every such traditional transaction there are four diverse, tech-centered investments that are like nothing we might have seen just a few years ago:

• The merger, in March, of Austin-based Everly Health and Austin-based PWNHealth to create EverlyWell, the home-testing brand.
• The SPAC merger advised by Latham & Watkins from Houston that created Science 37, a platform that specializes in Accelerated Clinical Trials.
• The $1.6 billion acquisition by CooperCompanies of Generate Life Sciences, a provider of eggs, sperm, blood, tissue and cryopreservation for fertility and stem cell treatments (led by the Morgan Lewis Houston office).
• The $45 million acquisition of Houston-based Volumetric, another provider of biomaterials, by a 3D printing manufacturer in South Carolina that plans to create whole human organs through “bioprinting.” Alan Bickerstaff of Shearman & Sterling in Austin led that deal.

The pandemic may have challenged our demand for energy and our commitment to public health, but it has done nothing to curb the appetite of investors and dealmakers to fuel some new basics for change. And this week, like last week and likely next week, the deals are evidence.

It was a holiday week, but the year is also about to end. So it is no surprise that the week ending Dec. 25 saw 21 deals reported worth $4.7 billion. There were 16 M&A transactions valued at $3.4 billion and 5 Capital Markets deals worth $1.3 billion involving 176 mostly Texas lawyers at 11 unique firms.

Last week there were 26 deals worth $7.3 billion and this time last year 18 deals worth a whopping $15.9 billion.

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
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

Platinum Equity, Ball Corporation sell metal container unit for $1.35 billion

Deal Description: Platinum Equity announced Dec. 20 the $1.35 billion sale of Ball Metalpack, a subsidiary of Ball Corp., to Sonoco Products Company, a South Carolina based consumer packaging supplier and the world’s largest producer of composite cans, tubes and cores. Colorado-headquartered Ball, the familiar maker of consumer containers, paired with Los Angeles-based Platinum to retool Ball Metalpack as a stand-alone in 2018. The company has since invested $100 million in state-of-the-art packaging production facilities.

Ball Metalpack Financial Advisor(s): Goldman Sachs

Platinum Equity Outside Legal Counsel: Latham & Watkins

Sonoco Financial Advisor(s): J.P. Morgan Securities

Sonoco Outside Legal Counsel: Freshfields

Ball Corporation Outside Counsel: Skadden Arps with a team led by partners Shilpi Gupta from Chicago and Eric Otness from Houston.

Notes: Earlier this year Gupta and Otness also led Skadden’s representation of Middleby Corp in its $2.9 billion acquisition of foodservice rival Webilt.

BP acquires BP Midstream for $723M

Deal Description: BP plc announced Dec. 20 it agreed to buy what it does not already own of BP Midstream Partners. The outstanding stock represents 47.8 million common units. Reuters put the value at $723 million. Each outstanding unitholder of BP Midstream will receive 0.575 of an American Depositary Share of BP. The ratio is a 10.8% improvement over the 0.519 ratio originally proposed in August. Following consummation of the merger, BP Midstream will become an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of BP. BP said it’s in line with its strategy introduced last year of becoming an integrated energy company and will simplify the ownership and governance structure of the midstream assets.

Expected Closing: Q1 2022

BP In-House Counsel: Eugene Nikulin, BP America’s managing counsel for M&A (Western Hemisphere)

BP Outside Counsel: Baker Botts including corporate partner Joshua Davidson, senior associate Jamie Yarbrough and associate Parker Hinman in Houston and tax partners Michael Bresson and Derek Green and special counsel Chuck Campbell, also of Houston.

BP’s Financial Advisor: BofA Securities (managing director Alex Kroner in New York)

BP Midstream’s Outside Counsel: Vinson & Elkins led by partners Sarah Morgan and David Oelman in Houston with assistance from senior associate Jessica Lewis and associates Philip Turpin, Daniel Wicoff and Todd Hartis. Also advising from Texas were partner David D’Alessandro and counsel Dario Mendoza (executive compensation/benefits); partner Ryan Carney (tax); partner Matthew Dobbins and associates Austin Pierce (environmental); counsel Damien Lyster (energy regulation); and counsel Sarah Fortt (capital markets). The team had support from the Washington, D.C., office.

Financial Advisor to Conflicts Committee: Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (managing director Aaron Blomquist in Houston)

Outside Counsel to Conflicts Committee: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher including partners Hillary Holmes and Tull Florey and associates Stella Tang and Matthew Ross; partners James Chenoweth and Benjamin Fryer and associate Collin Metcalf advised on tax; partner Chris Haynes on capital markets; partner Sean Feller advised on benefits; partner Brian Lutz advised on securities; and of counsel Stephanie Connor advised on international trade.

Harley-Davidson EV unit merges with SPAC

Deal Description: Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire, the company’s nascent electric motorcycle unit, announced Dec. 13, that it has agreed to merge with AEA-Bridges Impact Corp, a blank check company sponsored by executives of AEA Investors and Bridges Fund Management. The company is expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “LVW.” Terms of the $600 million agreement include a $400 investment from the AEA-Bridges IPO trust account, $100 million from Harley-Davidson and a $100 million investment from KYMCO, the Taiwanese motorcycle manufacturer.

Harley-Davidson Financial Advisor: J.P. Morgan

Harley-Davidson Outside Counsel: Latham & Watkins advised with a team led by partners Ryan Maierson of Houston and Jason Morelli of Chicago. Texas-based team members included associates Thomas Verity, Ben Marek, Wole Oluborode, Christine Mainguy and Emily Fawcett, along with Latham lawyers from Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Century City, Brussels, the Bay Area and Washington, D.C.

ABIC Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis with a team led by Josh Kogan in New York and Melissa Kalka in Dallas. The team also included partners Matt Nadworthy and Stephen Jacobson in Houston.

Tailwater’s Producers II buys assets from Midcoast

Deal Description: Producers Midstream II, a Dallas-based portfolio company of Tailwater Capital, announced Dec. 20 that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire all of Midcoast Energy’s gas gathering and processing assets in the Anadarko Basin and a 35% operating interest in Texas Express Gathering. Terms weren’t disclosed. Producers Midstream will integrate the acquired assets with its existing Scurry and Fisher County gas gathering and processing system through Anadarko G&P’s Palo Duro Pipeline. Producers Midstream II said the addition will enhance its service offering and geographic reach.

Tailwater/Producers II’s Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis including a Texas team led by corporate partners Kevin Crews and Courtney Roane and associates Catharine Hansard, Jessica Berkowitz, Brock Baker and John Morgan; tax partners David Wheat and Lane Morgan; executive compensation partner Rob Fowler; and real assets partner Chad Smith and associate Will Eiland. Others helped out from New York, Boston and Chicago.

Midcoast’s Outside Counsel: Gibson Dunn, including counsel James Robertson in Houston

Midcoast’s Financial Advisor: Moelis (managing director Brian Jinks in Houston)

Mondee Holdings going public in $292 million merger with SPAC

Deal Description: Mondee Inc. — a provider of such digital travel platforms as TripPro, RocketTrip and TripPlanet — announced that it is heading to Nasdaq via de-SPAC merger with blank check ITHAX Acquisition Corp. The terms include a $291.5 million cash infusion for Mondee, consisting of $241.5 million in proceeds from the ITHAX IPO in February and a $50 million PIPE.

Mondee Financial Advisor(s): Cantor Fitzgerald and Union Square Advisors.

Mondee Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis advised Mondee with a team led by Michael Considine of Dallas and Michele Cumpston of Los Angeles. The team included associates Allison Lancaster of Austin and Sara Phipps of Dallas, as well as lawyers from the firm’s Boston office.

ITHAX PIPE Placement: Deutsche Bank Securities and AXIA Capital Markets.

ITHAX Capital Markets Advisors: Deutsche Bank Securities and Cantor Fitzerald.

ITHAX Outside Counsel: Reed Smith.

Security firm ZeroFox to merge with Victory Park-sponsored SPAC

Deal Description: Baltimore-based ZeroFox, the SaaS cybersecurity provider, has moved to go public with the Dec. 20 announcement that it is merging with L&F Acquisition Corp, a blank check firm sponsored by Victory Park Capital. As part of the deal, ZeroFox is acquiring, prior to the merger, digital privacy protection platform IDX. The deal is a $345 million transaction, which includes proceeds from L&F’s $175 million IPO in November 2020 and $170 million in financing led by Monarch Alternative Capital.

ZeroFox Financial Advisor(s): Stifel

ZeroFox Outside Counsel: Venable.

IDX Financial Advisor(s): DBO Partners.

IDX Outside Counsel: Wilson Sonsini.

L&F Acquisition Financial Advisor(s): Jefferies.

L&F Acquisition Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis advised Chicago-based L&F from Texas led by partner John Kaercher and associate Daniel Cadis from Austin. Assisting were Dallas associates Tess Elizabeth Dennis and Bridget Hamway, along with New York partners Peter Seligson, Tamar Donikyan and Aslam Rawoof and Chicago partner Richard Campbell.

PIPE Placement: Jefferies and Stifel are acting as co-placement agents.

Monarch Outside Counsel: Stroock & Stroock & Lavan

Triller Hold to go public in $100M reverse merger with SeaChange

Deal Description: In a reverse merger designed to take the company public, emerging social media company, Triller Hold — makers of AI-driven, Tik Tok platform rival Triller — has merged with another social media platform SeaChange. The new company will be known as TrillerVerz Corp. The transaction, as structured, values TrillerVerz at about $5 billion. Under the agreement shareholders in the publicly traded SeaChange will a pro rata portion of a $25 million cash payment along with their portion of $75 million 5% merger notes. The notes will convert in 12 months to Class A shares of TrillerVerz. Originally conceived as an AI-driven video editor, the app was reconfigured as a social media platform designed to challenge Tik Tok during a period when the Chinese-owned app was under fire for alleged security risks in the U.S., India and other social media-heavy countries.

Triller Hold Outside Counsel: Akin Gump advised Triller Hold with a team led from Houston by David Elder and Patrick Hurley and included fellow partners Chip Cowell and Eric Muñoz and associates Leana Garipova, Allyson Li, Alan Sanchez, Grace Seidl, Marissa Etter and Patrick Perrier; tax partners Alison Chen, senior counsel Brandon Morris and associate Sangita Sahasranaman; employee benefits partner Rebecca Coccaro and senior counsel Michael Gerald and international trade partner Wynn Segall with senior counsel Alexis Guinan.

Inhance acquires Advance Research Chemicals

Deal Description: Houston-based Inhance Technologies, a polymer materials provider backed by Aurora Capital Partners, announced Dec. 14 it completed the acquisition of Advance Research Chemicals Inc., a producer of chemicals and materials. Terms were not disclosed.

Advance’s Outside Counsel: Locke Lord led by Whit Roberts, Ashley Thurman and Mitch Bell in Dallas. Additional assistance was provided by Van Jolas, Sahil Nooruddin, Phil Bush, Will Becker, Mark Backofen, Geoffrey Polma, Elizabeth Mack, Susan Rainey, Kimberly Williams, Richard Franchek, Jennifer McCoy, David Kolenda, Eleanor Gilbert and Sean Horan with support from its Boston and Stamford offices.

Businessolver attracts investment from Stone Point 

Deal Description: Businessolver, a provider of SaaS-based benefits technology and services, said Dec. 1 that it attracted a strategic investment from Stone Point Capital. Terms weren’t disclosed. Stone Point joins existing investors Warburg Pincus and JMI Equity as Businessolver accelerates its growth on its path to market leadership. The transaction enables Businessolver to continue its innovation with intelligent applications and increase its footprint across the U.S.

Outside Counsel for Businessolver founder/shareholder Jon Shanahan: Locke Lord co-led by Whit Roberts in Dallas. Additional assistance was provided by Steve Quiring (Austin) and Phil Bush, Robin Shaughnessy and Sarah Nelson (all of Dallas) with support from Chicago and Boston.

Financial advisor to Businessolver: William Blair 

Lufkin Industries buys US Rod/Patriot Pump

Deal Description: Lufkin Industries, a portfolio company of KPS Capital Partners, announced Dec. 1 that it completed the acquisitions of US Rod and Patriot Pump. US Rod is a manufacturer and provider of artificial lift products, including sucker rods, rod guides, couplings, pony rods, stabilizer and sinker bars. US Rod manufactures 100% U.S.-made products at its manufacturing facility in Nappanee, IN. Patriot Pump, based in Williston, ND, is a provider of rod lift downhole products and services to the premier oil and gas operators in North Dakota, Montana, Colorado and Kansas. US Rod and Patriot Pump further enhance Lufkin’s capabilities to provide its customers with fully-integrated rod pumping systems and services, including sucker rods, downhole pumps, beam pumping units and automation.

Targets’ Outside Counsel: Locke Lord led by Jennie Simmons and Eric Larson in Houston. Additional assistance was provided by Jerry Higdon, Joe Perillo, Ed Razim, Kenton Wilson, DeLaina Mulcahy and Emily Travis, all of Houston.

Crown/Crump sell assets to Brigham

Deal Description: Shearman & Sterling said Dec. 20 it advised Midland-based Crown Oil Partners VI and Crump Energy Partners III on their sale of non-operating working interest assets to Brigham Exploration Co. Terms weren’t disclosed. The deal closed Dec. 17. Crown is backed by Post Oak Capital.

Shearman & Sterling attorneys: Partners Sarah McLean (Austin and Houston) and Todd Lowther (Houston) and associate Erin Kaufman (Houston)

Special Welding acquires cooling tower services company

Deal Description: Specialty Welding and Turnarounds, an industrial maintenance services provider, announced December 20 that it is acquiring Midwest Cooling Tower Services from Dorilton Capital. Midwest provides cooling towers and other services to industrial sites. Both companies are based in Louisiana. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. Specialty Welding was acquired in 2020 by ORIX Capital in partnership with Hastings Capital and the SWAT management team.

Midwest Cooling Financial Advisor(s): Stifel.

Midwest Cooling Outside Counsel: Jones Day.

ORIX/SWAT Outside Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis advised with a team led from Dallas by partners Kevin Crews and Courtney Jamison Roane. The Kirkland team also included partners Kimberly Perdue and Lane Morgan, along with associates Catharine Hansard, Sara Phipps, Ben Moore and Layton Bell, all of Dallas. Houston partner Robert Fowler and associate Courtney Loyack pitched in from Houston along with lawyers from New York, Chicago and Washington D.C.

Comscore to acquire Shareablee, Inc.

Deal Description: Comscore, a media analytics firm, announced Dec. 17 that it is acquiring Shareablee a New York-based real-time data intelligence platform for social media content. Shareablee says its DataExplorer suite tracks and evaluates more than 20 million brands, publishers and creators over 70 countries to compile data insights across social media platforms. Terms of the transaction were undisclosed.

Comscore Outside Counsel: The V&E corporate team was led Houston by partner Benji Barron and associate Olivia Espy Huntington, with assistance from associates Jessica Cymbaluk in New York and Michelle Yang in Houston. Also advising were Mary Daniel Morgan in Houston (compensation), senior associate Peter Rogers and associate Jeff Slusher, both in Dallas (tax); counsel Rajesh Patel in Houston, associate Alexa Chally in Austin (IP/technology); partner Sean Becker and associates Peter Goetschel and Andrew Cox (employment/labor); and partner Darin Schultz and associate Joe Higdon (finance).

Notes: Shareablee was created as a startup by Tania Yuki, a former employee at Comscore. She will continue in a top role in Shareablee management.

Freeman Spogli agrees to partnership in Houston car wash company

Deal Description: Houston-based WhiteWater Express Car Wash announced Dec. 23 that it has partnered with PE Freeman Spogli. SkyKnight Capital and WhiteWater’s founders — Steve Mathis, Clayton Clark and Shane Wilson — intend to remain significant investors. The company operates in 60 locations under a unified brand in five states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

WhiteWater/SkyKnight Financial Advisor: Harris Williams

WhiteWater/SkyKnight Outside Counsel: Holland & Knight

Freeman Spogli Financial Advisor: J.P. Morgan

Freeman Spogli Outside Counsel: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher advised Freeman Spogli, led by partner Stephen Olson and a team that included associates Jonathan Sapp, William Bald, and Gerald Kimani. partner Shalla Prichard and associate Jason Friedman advised on financing. Partner James Chenoweth advised on tax aspects, and partner Krista Hanvey and associate Tyler Richardson advised on benefits. Counsel Andrew Cline advised on antitrust aspects.

Debt Financing: Crescent Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, New Mountain Finance

ProPath acquired by Sonic Healthcare

Deal Description: ProPath, a Dallas-based anatomical pathology company, has been acquired by Sonic Healthcare, the Australian lab services giant. Terms of the deal, which closed on December 16, were not announced. ProPath provides lab analyses and diagnoses and was the largest physician-owned firms of its kind in the U.S.

ProPath Outside Counsel: Haynes and Boone advised ProPath with a team led from Dallas by corporate partner John McGowan and Randy Peak, co-chair of the firm’s healthcare and life-sciences practice.

Notes: In March 2020 ProPath acquired Massachusetts-headquartered New England Tissue Issue, a dermatopathology group.

Debt buyer Oliphant United sells controlling interest

Deal Description: Oliphant United, a Florida-based debt buyer announced Dec. 1 that it had sold a controlling interest in the company to Skypeak Fund I and the International Capital Access Group. Oliphant is based in Sarasota, Florida. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. International Capital Access Group is a boutique merchant bank backed by Conway Capital Partners, a family office also located in Sarasota and led by Colin Conway.

Oliphant Outside Counsel: Shearman & Sterling led by Dallas partners Robert Cardone and Carmelo Gordian, along with associate Tim Doyle.

CAPITAL MARKETS/FINANCINGS

Navios Maritime snares $550M in debt financing

Deal Description: Navios Maritime Holdings Inc., a global seaborne shipping and logistics company, announced Dec. 14 that it entered into agreements providing Navios Maritime Holdings with $550 million of debt financing. The financing includes $287 million in commercial bank facilities and sale-leaseback agreements and $262.6 million in secured loan arrangements from its chairwoman and CEO and related unsecured convertible debentures. The proceeds together with available cash will be used to repay at maturity all of Navios’ outstanding 7.375% first priority ship mortgage notes due Jan. 15, 2022 and redeem $50 million of Navios’ outstanding 11.25% senior secured notes due on Aug, 15, 2022, after which $105 million will remain outstanding.

Outside Counsel to Navios’ Special Committee on the $262.6 million loan: Latham & Watkins led by partners Nick Dhesi, Matthew Jones and Ryan Maierson with associates Max Fin and Daisy Clifton-Lee. Assistance was also provided by London partner Matthew Brown and associate Charlotte Hawkins.

Financial Advisor to Navios’ Special Committee: Pareto Securities

Navios’ Outside Counsel: Thompson Hine 

Lender’s Outside Counsel: Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson and the Ince Group Plc

Lender’s Financial Advisor: S. Goldman Advisors

$345M SPAC IPO eyes European merger

Deal Description: Blank check company Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp. I announced December 17 that it had closed its upsized IPO of 34.5 million shares at the SPAC standard $10 per share. The company, as it name suggests, intends to focus on merger targets in Western Europe and Turkey that specialize in niche manufacturing and technology.

Underwriters: Citigroup and Credit Suisse.

Underwriters Counsel: Skadden Arps.

Investcorp Europe Outside Counsel: Shearman & Sterling advised the blank check company with a team led from Texas partners Bill Nelson and Emily Leitch in Houston and Alain Dermarkar in Dallas. Pitching in were associates Israel Augenstein and Eitan Morris in New York and  Michael Walraven and Sara Prendergast in Dallas.

Notes: Investcorp Europe is sponsored by European Acquisition Holdings Ltd., a portfolio company of Bahrain-based Investcorp. Investcorp was founded in 1982 by Nemir Kirdar, an Iraq-born businessman who spent much of his life in the U.S. Kirdar died in 2020.

Wealth firm in $200 million offering

Deal Description: Focus Financial Partners announced their December 16 underwritten offering of the company’s Class A common stock at $200 million, or $57.99 per share. The offering closed December 20. The company is using the proceeds to redeem units of Focus LLC from certain existing shareholders. Based in New York, Focus Financial partners with wealth management firms in the U.S., Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Joint Book-running Managers: Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities and SPC Capital Markets.

Outside Counsel: Vinson & Elkins advised on the offering. The V&E team was led from New York by partner Brenda Lenahan and senior associate Stancell Haigwood, with assistance from associates Johnathan Nixon in Houston and Waid Barfield in New York Advising on tax matters were partner Lina Dimachkieh (Houston), senior associate Allyson Seger (Austin) and Houston associate Sarah Coe.

Blue Ocean SPAC offering nets $190M for media target

Deal Description: Blue Ocean Acquisition Corp. — a blank check company affiliated with North Base Media — announced Dec. 9 that its underwritten IPO had yielded $189.75 million in proceeds. Blue Ocean — whose governance includes such media luminaries as Norman Pearlstine, former executive editor of the Wall Street Journal, and Paul Bascobert, former CEO of Gannett — says it plans to pursue merger targets in the digital media and consumer internet industries.

Underwriter: Needham & Company acted as sole book-running manager for the offering.

Blue Ocean Outside Counsel: Sidley Austin advised Blue Ocean on the IPO with a team led by partners Samir Gandhi in New York and Jon Daly in Houston. The team also included Kenny Terrero, of counsel in New York and partners David Buck in Houston and David Ni in New York. In addition, Houston partner Angela Richards and Houston associates Alan Williams and Kevin Carson advised.

Rock Tech Lithium Plans $40M in Private Offering

Deal Description: Rock Tech, a Canadian mining company with cleantech aspirations, announced December 20, a private offering of 9.5 million units they value at $40 million. The capital is expected to help finance their first planned lithium hydroxide converter in Germany. The company hopes to become the first “closed-loop” lithium source, recycling and reusing lithium batteries. Lithium, a key element used in energy storage, is abundant in nature but rare in necessary concentrations. Lithium hydroxide helps raise energy concentration for greater battery efficiency.

Issue Placement Agent: Evercore.

Evercore Legal Counsel: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher advised Evercore in the private placement with a corporate team led by Hillary Holmes and Chris Haynes. The team was rounded out with counsel Eric Scarazzo and associates Harrison Tucker and David Sterngold. Partner Michelle Kirschner and associate Martin Coombes advised on financial regulation.