CDT Roundup: 27 Deals, 15 Firms, 244 Lawyers, $13.9B

East Coast firms continue to snap up new partners for the Texas offices of their respective private equity, M&A and capital markets practices, and many of the laterals are citing access to a more robust network of colleagues in their specialty areas. The moves also coincide with a continued onslaught of deal activity through the rest of the year and into 2022 – and has some of the laterals eager for what’s ahead.

Ed Rhyne, who made the move to Reed Smith’s private equity practice a little more than a week ago along with three other partners from Baker Botts, said that he saw his clients sit on the sidelines before they jumped in towards the end of last year. 

“Once they realized the world wasn’t going to stop turning, they got active,” said Rhyne, noting that was the case for both the family offices and private equity firms he works with.

“I’m really enthusiastic about the transaction activity for 2021 and beyond,” he added.

Garrett Johnson, a new partner at McGuireWoods and former counsel for Willkie Farr & Gallagher, also saw an influx of activity at the end of last year.

“There was a large buildup due to being on hiatus for four to five months. We have a strong economy; there’s lots of dry powder; financing is available; and I’m hopeful it’s going to continue throughout 2021 and 2022 in a strong way,” said Johnson, whose practice has traditionally been around private equity M&A representing Houston-based sponsors.

With an eye towards increased deal flow, Reed Smith Houston Managing Partner Kenneth Broughton pointed out that Texas is one of the firm’s top markets for growth, growing from one to three offices in the past seven years. Beyond the firm’s four new partner hires, Broughton said Reed Smith plans to grow the group further.

“That had been a goal of our group, not just here in Houston, but really the management of Reed Smith: We wanted to get private equity going in Texas. … Obviously we’re going to supplement with some associate hires in the coming weeks and months, and we’re talking to some other private equity laterals that are at other big Houston firms, as well,” he said.

Last week the Deal Tracker predicted an uptick, and this week the deals ticked up. And up.

The week ending March 27 saw 27 transactions worth $13.9 billion. Those included 14 M&A deals worth a reported $4.3 billion and 13 capital markets transactions worth $9.6 billion. The deals involved 15 separate firms and a record 244 lawyers, mostly Texas based.

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
31-May-2025	19	$23,381	11	166	12	$18,665	7	$4,717
24-May-2025	15	$24,033	11	121	13	$23,624	2	$409
17-May-2025	16	$21,760	12	145	11	$18,615	5	$3,145
10-May-2025	24	$33,175	16	206	19	$30,765	5	$2,410
03-May-2025	11	$4,249	13	90	11	$2,226.5	2	$2,022.5
26-Apr-2025	12	$8,787	9	168	9	$6,011	3	$2,776
19-Apr-2025	11	$8,097	7	138	9	$7,985	2	$112
12-Apr-2025	13	$2,392	8	152	10	$2,065	3	$327
05-Apr-2025	19	$27,762	15	188	16	$25,473	3	$2,289
29-Mar-2025	21	$8,188	10	258	16	$4,125	5	$4,064
22-Mar-2025	19	$6,485	14	231	15	$4,128	4	$2,857
15-Mar-2025	13	$13,737	13	151	10	$9,932	4	$3,805
8-Mar-2025	7	$2,234	5	66	5	$224	2	$2,100
1-Mar-2025	11	$3,050	8	75	10	$2,550	1	$500
24-Feb-25	12	$16,397	7	149	6	$6,635	6	$9,862
17-Feb-25	17	$12,136	13	134	10	$9,411	2	$2,725
10-Feb-25	14	$7,154	9	179	9	$4,950	5	$2,204
3-Feb-25	16	$10,068	7	200	11	$7,553	5	$2,515
25-Jan-25	14	$10,261	10	125	9	$2,207	5	$8,054
18-Jan-25	19	$7,382	15	316	12	$2,300	7	$5,082
11-Jan-25	21	$33,560	16	187	16	$32,521	5	$1,039
4-Jan-25	9	$6,827	9	80	9	$6,827	0	0
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	23	$26,616	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

The transaction numbers are the most logged since the final week of October 2018 when the Deal Tracker recorded 29 total transactions. The 244 lawyers named marked the first time the lawyer count has topped 200.

By comparison, the week before recorded 11 transactions worth $2 billion. The last week of March in 2020 saw 16 deals worth $6.5 billion.

M&A/PE FUNDING

Five Firms Advise on First Reserve Exit from Crestwood Equity Partners

Crestwood Equity Partners announced March 25 a series of strategic agreements aimed at the exit of one of its major stockholders First Reserve. First Reserve holds 17.5 million common units of Crestwood, a 24% interest that includes Crestwood’s general partner.

In the first transaction, Crestwood will acquire 11.5 million common units and the general partner interest from Crestwood Holdings for $268 million. The company plans to retire those 11.5 million common units and transition to a publicly elected board of directors.

In connection with those transactions, First Reserve announced a $132 million private placement of 6 million common units of Crestwood held through their control of Crestwood Gas Services Holdings and with that completing their exit from holdings in Crestwood.

Finally, the company also announced a $175 million repurchase of their common preferred units available through the end of 2022. The move is part of a plan to simplify the corporate structure of Crestwood and guide the company toward traditional broad-based public governance.

In Simpson Thacher advised First Reserve in the transactions with a team that included partner Chris May with associates Jacqui Bogucki and Sara Daniel from Houston, along with capital markets partners David Azarkh and Jean Park from New York.

Vinson & Elkins advised Crestwood Equity Partners in First Reserve’s private placement, and co-counsel with Hunton Andrews Kurth to Crestwood in a series of related agreements.

The V&E team included partner Gillian Hobson, with senior associates Bo Shi and Lucy Liu and associate Madison Bertrand. Also advising were partner Ryan Carney and senior partner Price Manford (tax) and partner Shane Tucker (executive compensation).

The HuntonAK team was led by partner Mike O’Leary with partners Taylor Landry and Henry Havre; counsel Jerry Chandapillai; associates Marshall Heins and Hannah Bradley.

Citi was Crestwood’s financial advisor.

Baker Botts advised Citi, which also served as placement agent in the private placement of Crestwood common units held by First Reserve. The Baker Botts team included Mollie Duckworth (Partner, Austin); Justin Hoffman (Partner, Houston); Grace Matthews (Associate, Austin); and Jack Chadderdon (Associate, Houston).

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld were legal advisors to Crestwood’s conflicts committee. Evercore advised the committee on finances.

The transactions do not affect ownership in Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings, a joint venture formed in November 2016 by Crestwood and First Reserve to develop, own, and operate midstream infrastructure assets in the Delaware Basin.

Robert Phillips, chaiman and CEO of Crestwood’s general partner described the moves as a “milestone” and “the next logical steps in our strategy to drive peer leading governance and set the stage for future growth by simplifying our organizational structure, increasing our public float and liquidity, and enhancing our financial flexibility as we strive to generate long-term value for our unitholders.”

Suntex Marina Investors Recapitalizes with Funds from Resilient and Centerbridge

Suntex Marina Investors announced March 24 that it had recapitalized with funding from Centerbridge Partners and Resilient Capital Partners, as well as investments by its own management.

Suntex owns and operates 31 marinas in 11 states providing docking, storage and other marine services.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised Suntex. Goldman Sachs was their exclusive financial advisor.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was legal counsel to Centerbridge.

Winston & Strawn advised Resilient Capital with a team from Dallas comprised of partners Bryan Goolsby, Ken Betts and Andrew Betaque.

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson acted as legal counsel to the selling shareholders.

Bank of America; BMO Harris Bank; BBVA; First United Bank & Trust Company; Synovus Bank; Veritex Community Bank; Goldman Sachs Bank; Iberia Bank; Raymond James; Gateway First Bank and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding are providing financing for the transaction.

Suntex was initially formed in 2015 by Johnny Powers, Bryan Redmond, Ron Rhoades and Scott McMullin, with anchor investments from funds affiliated with Wafra and Centaurus Capital.

Powers, CEO of Suntex, holds a J.D. from the University of Texas and has overseen more than $1 billion in transactions for Suntex and Sun Resorts International.

Powers and Brucker Stensrud formed Resilient Capital in 2020. Both had worked together at Suntex.

Redwire Takes SPAC Route Public as Kirkland, Willkie Advise

Redwire, an aerospace investment platform backed by AE Industrial, announced March 25 that it is going public through a merger with Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., a blank check company back by AE Industrial Partners.The combined firm, to be known as Redwire, will trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The terms of the merger include an infusion of $270 million, including $170 million from the trust proceeds of the Genesis Park IPO and a $100 million fully committed PIPE with investments by Senvest Management and Crescent Park Management.

Since its formation by AE Industrial in June 2020, Redwire has taken on at least seven acquisitions in the space and defense sector, the latest being the add-on of Deployable Space Systems in February.

Willkie Farr & Gallgher and Sheppard Mullin advised Genesis Park on the transaction. The Willkie team was led by New York partner William Gump and Houston partner Jesse Myers.

Greenhill and KPMG are serving as financial advisors, Jefferies is serving as sole placement agent for the PIPE and capital markets advisor.

Kirkland and Ellis is legal counsel to Redwire, and has been for several of Redwire’s acquisitions. Jeffries is their financial advisor.

Redwire was formed by AE Industrial after they purchased two companies, Adcole Space and Deep Space Systems, and combined them. Based in Massachusetts, Redwire has gathered under its roof companies that claim a collective heritage of more than 50 years of space flight experience, as well as more than 100 patents and applications.

Among Redwire’s most significant acquisitions was of Made in Space, a Mountain View, California startup that has developed 3D printers that can be used in zero gravity environments allowing the in-flight manufacturing of satellites and their components. The technology, called OSAM (on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing) would alleviate the size and weight limitations of orbit-bound payloads by creating robotic assembly and supply chains in space.

The transaction values Redwire at a $615 million pro forma enterprise value, representing 9.6x estimated 2023 Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $64 million and 2.5x estimated 2025 Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $250 million. Redwire is backed by AE Industrial Partners, an aerospace and defense focused private equity firm based in Florida.

Redwire’s existing stockholders will hold approximately 55% of the fully diluted shares of common stock at the close of the deal, assuming no redemptions by Genesis Park’s existing public stockholders. AE Industrial Partners will remain a significant shareholder in Redwire following the completion of the proposed merger.

Watchmaker E. Gluck Combines with WITHit as V&E Advises

New York watchmaker E. Gluck announced March 23 the formation of a strategic partnership with WITHit, a wearable technology designer and manufacturer.

Anticipating continuing growth in the global smartwatch market, E. Gluck’s acquisition positions the Las Vegas brand WITHit provides both companies with access to a broader variety of distribution channels, international expansion opportunities, as well as operational synergies, scale and marketing

E. Gluck was advised in the acquisition by Vinson & Elkins with a team led from New York by partner John Kupiec, but with lots of assistance from Texas. The team included associates Olivia Espy Huntington, Julie Bontems and Delery Perret. Also advising were partner Jason McIntosh and associate Andrew Mandelbaum, both of Houston (tax); partner Tzvi Werzberger of New York and associates Alex Moosariparambil in Dallas and Cole Renicker in New York (finance); counsel Julia Petty and associate Maddison Riddick in Houston (executive compensation/benefits); Houston counsel Christie Alcala (labor/employment); and Austin senior associate Ben Cukerbaum (technology transactions/intellectual property).

East Wind Advisors provided financial advice.

WITHit was advised by Strategic Law Partners. Consensus advisors counseled on finance.

Founded in 2004, WITHit has become a brand well-regarded as one of the largest manufacturers of wearable technology and in the world. WITHit is also a leading supplier of reading accessories, with a complete line of reading lights and magnifiers.  Its products are sold in over 8,500 U.S. retail stores. It holds licenses to market its products with images and themes from Star Wars, Disney, French Bull, Dabney Lee and Peanuts.

“In WITHit, E. Gluck Corporation has found a younger version of itself,” said Bobbie Weichselbaum, CEO of E. Gluck Corporation.

Founded over 65 years ago, E. Gluck Corporation is a major force in the watch industry — manufacturing, bringing to market and shipping timepieces worldwide. Brands include Armitron, Anne Klein, Torgoen, Badgley Mischka, Juicy Couture, Nine West and Vince Camuto.

Latham Advises on Israeli Platform Merger with Thoma Bravo

In a $2.3 billion cross-border transaction, Israeli business app platform ironSource has decided to take the SPAC route to go public by merging with Thoma Bravo Advantage, a blank check company sponsored by Thoma Bravo.

The transaction includes a cash exchange of $2.3 billion — $1 billion in trust proceeds from the TBA IPO and a $1.3 billion oversubscribed Class A PIPE that includes Riger Global Management, Morgan Stanley-backed Counterpoint Global, Nuveen, Hedosophia, Wellington Management, the Baupost Group, an affiliate of Thoma Bravo and funds managed by Fidelity Investments Canada.

The combined company will have an implied pro forma equity value of $11.1 billion.

Latham & Watkins advised ironSource with a team led from New York by partner Eyal Orgad and from Houston by partner Ryan Maierson. The team also included lawyers from London and Washington D.C.

Based in Tel Aviv, ironSource two development suites primarily to game developers. The ironSource Sonic provides basic launch, monetization and scaling for game-oriented apps. The ironSource Aura suite provides distribution channels for in-game content delivery on a variety of devices.

The company says its platform is currently involved with 87% of the top 100 games, including some of the top names downloaded from the Apple App Store of the Google Play Store.

Tall Oak Midstream Acquires Redcliff Midstream

Tall Oak Midstream, a provider of diverse midstream energy services in the central U.S., announced March 24 that it is acquiring Redcliff Midstream, a provider of gas gathering, treating and processing services to producers in Oklahoma’s STACK play. Terms were undisclosed.

It is the first acquisition by Tall Oak since it was acquired by Dallas-based Tailwater Capital in January.

Redcliff was founded in 2017 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Canyon Midstream Partners. The company’s infrastructure includes more than 200 miles of gathering pipeline, a network of five field compression stations and a 240 MMcf/day cryogenic gas producing plant.

Locke Lord advised Tall Oak and TW Midcon Holdings, both portfolio companies of Tailwater Capital. The Locke Lord team was led from Houston by partners Bill Swanstrom and Jennie Simmons. They were assisted by Pat Beaton, David Harrell, Jerry Higdon, Eric Larson, Sara Longtain, Tammi Niven, Ed Razim, Tom Johnson and Andrew Nelson, all of Houston, Geoff Polma from Dallas and Andrew Capalbo from Providence.

DLA Piper, Porter Hedges and Vinson & Elkins advised the sellers.

“Redcliff brings an attractive asset base with newly-built pipelines and high-quality compression and processing facilities that augment Tall Oak’s existing capabilities and grow the existing platform,” said Jason Downie, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Tailwater Capital. “The Northern STACK Extension encompasses a robust inventory of economic undeveloped drilling locations and underutilized midstream infrastructure that Tall Oak is actively evaluating as it searches for accretive bolt-on opportunities to expand its regional footprint.”

Based in Oklahoma City, Tall Oak provides natural gas gathering, compression, treating and processing; crude oil gathering and transportation; condensate and water handling; and product marketing solutions. Tall Oak was founded in 2014 by Ryan Lewellyn, Carlos Evans, Max Myers and Lindel Larison.

Dallas-based Tailwater Capital was founded in 2013 by Jason Downie and Ed Herring, both active on the boards of a number of Southwest energy companies. Downie is a University of Texas business grad and was a partner at HM Capital. Herring, also active on a number of energy boards, sits on the executive board of UT’s McCombs School of Business.

V&E Advises Oasis Petroleum in Sale of Remaining DevCo Assets

Oasis Petroleum Inc. has sold its remaining DevCo interests. The publicly traded Houston exploration and production company entered into a contribution and simplification agreement that would pass along its remaining interests in BearTooth DevCo and BobCat DevCo to Oasis Midstream Partners. The simplification eliminates Oasis Petroleum’s incentive distribution rights in exchange for $229 million in cash and 14.8 million OMP common units, or about $510 million, based on OMP’s 20-day volume weighted average price as of March 19. 

Vinson & Elkins is serving as legal advisor to Oasis Petroleum with a team led by partners David Oelman and Brittany Sakowitz, with assistance from associates David Lassetter, John Daywalt and Heather Jones. Partners Ryan Carney and Jim Meyer and associates Curt Wimberly and Ben Livni advised on tax matters. Also assisting were senior associate Andrew Schulte and associates Billy Vranish, and Philip Turpin.

The deal announced March 22 is expected to reduce Oasis’ net debt at year-end 2020 by $16 million.

Weil Advises Arcosa in Acquisition of StonePoint

Dallas-based Arcosa Inc. announced on March 22 plans to acquire StonePoint Ultimate Holdings and affiliated entities for $375 million in cash from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners.

Arcosa expects to fund the acquisition through a combination of cash on-hand and borrowings through its revolving $500 million credit facility. The company also noted that it could refinance the borrowings with long-term debt.

The move is expected to help Arcosa, a publicly traded provider of infrastructure-related products and solutions, expand its Aggregates business and into new territories. 

Weil, Gotshal, & Manges is legal advisor to Arcosa. The team was led by Dallas corporate partner Rick Frye, in addition to Dallas’ Partner David Gail; Counsel Andrew Stotts; and associates Seth Jaskoviak and Patrick Hosch. Weil Tax partner Jonathan Macke and associate Jesse Hong of New York and were also part of the group, as were Environmental Partner Annemargaret Connolly and Environmental Counsel Tom Goslin.

Arcosa engaged Evercore as its financial advisor.

Kirkland & Ellis is advising Sun Capital.

The transaction is expected to close in April, subject to customary closing conditions, and has already been approved unanimously by the Arcosa board of directors. Under Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, it has also received regulatory approval.

Noble Corp. to Acquire Pacific Drilling

Two Houston area companies announced on March 25 they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Noble Corp., an offshore drilling contractor based in Sugar Land, plans to acquire Houston’s Pacific Drilling Co. in an all-stock transaction.

The move is expected to bolster the Noble drillship fleet, bolstering the company’s position in the ultra deep-water market, in addition to facilitating re-entry into the West African and Mexican regions and strengthening its Gulf of Mexico presence in the U.S. Noble also anticipates pre-tax cost synergies of at least $30 million. 

The merger was approved unanimously by both boards of directors, and has already been approved by a majority of Pacific Drilling shareholders, who are set to receive 16.6 million or 24.9% of Noble shares.

The transaction is expected to be completed next month, pending customary closing conditions.

Kirkland & Ellis is acting as legal advisor to Noble with a team led by corporate partners Sean Wheeler, Debbie Yee, Doug Bacon and Cephas Sekhar and associates Camille Walker and Josh Teahen; tax partner David Wheat; and executive compensation partners Rob Fowler and Stephanie Jeane.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is working with Pacific Drilling. 

Ducera Partners and DNB Markets, part of DNB Bank ASA, are financial advisors to Noble, while Houlihan Lokey Capital Inc. is acting as financial advisor to Pacific Drilling.

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher partner Hillary Holmes and associate Justine Robinson advised Houlihan Lokey from Houston.

Late last year, Pacific Drilling emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, eliminating more than $1 billion in debt obligations in the process. The company filed for bankruptcy relief in the Southern District of Texas in October.

Gibson Dunn Advises Partnership on Affordable Pharmaceuticals

Two Texas partners at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher advised Abdul Latif Jameel Health in its joint venture with Evelo Biosciences to develop and commercialize an inflammation product in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa.

Based in Monaco, Abdul Latif Jameel Health is a global health company owned by one of the largest family firms from the Middle East that aspires to create affordable medicines and treatments.

Partners Stephen Olson and David Sinak advised on the creation of the partnership with Evelo that provides the Massachusetts-based company with funding to proceed with its development of EDP1815, an investigational oral medicine that has shown promise in the treatment inflammatory diseases as diverse as psoriasis and Covid-19.

EDP1815 is a non-live pharmaceutically modified strain of Prevotella histicola. The bacterium is shown to provide anti-inflammatory effects that cover multiple paths of inflammation without colonizing the gut or modifying the microbiome.

Under the agreement, announced on March 23, Evelo received an undisclosed upfront payment and equity investment. Evelo will be responsible for the development and manufacturing of EDP1815, and Abdul Latif Jameel Health will be responsible for regulatory submissions and commercialization of the drug as it develops in the agree-upon regions. Evelo and Abdul Latif Jameel Health will share evenly in any profits from sales in those regions.

“We are honored to be selected as Abdul Latif Jameel Health’s first therapeutic biotech collaborator,” said Simba Gill, CEO of Evelo. He said the two organizations share a mutual desire to make affordable medicines available in emerging regions where a broad range of inflammatory diseases affect the welfare of hundreds of millions of people.

Abdul Latif Jameel Health is one in a network of businesses supported by investment from Abdul Latif Jameel, a global investor and diversified business operating in 30 markets across six continents. It is a family business named after Abdul Latif Jameel, a Saudi businessman who made an early fortune selling Toyotas in the region.

Austin-based Everlywell Combines with Two Competitors to Become Everly Health

Austin-based home-testing company Everlywell announced March 24 that it has combined with home-testing competitors PWNHealth and Home Access Health Corporation to form Everly Health.

PWNHealth investors Spectrum Equity and the Blue Venture Fund, a Blue Cross and Blue Shield venture fund program, will continue to have an ownership position in Everly Health.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Everlywell, along with Hyman, Phelps & McNamara. J.P. Morgan Securities were its financial advisors.

From Washington, D.C., Alexis Gilroy of Jones Day advised PWNHealth along with Choate, Hall and Stewart. Financial advice was provided by Evercore.

Julia Cheek, founder & CEO of Everlywell, will be CEO of Everly Health. Sanjay Pingle, PWNHealth’s CEO, will join the Everly Health board.

“The pandemic significantly accelerated the growth of consumer-friendly lab testing within the $85 billion testing market, resulting in a watershed moment for all aspects of diagnostics,” said Cheek. “People now expect affordable, high-quality, and easy diagnostic testing more than ever before.”

Founded in 2015, Everlywell provides more than 35 home collection lab tests which are sold online and in major retailers such as Target, CVS, and Walgreens. In May 2020, the company became the first digital health company to receive FDA authorization for a mail-in COVID-19 test and is one of the first companies to receive DTC or “direct to consumer” authorization from the FDA for its COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit DTC.

In the last year, Everlywell saw over 300% growth, reflecting the demand for accessible and affordable testing long after doctor’s offices and clinics have largely resumed normal services.

Jones Day Advises Riverside Exit from ARCOS

The Riverside Company said March 17 that it had signed an agreement to sell its interest in the resource management company ARCOS to Robert Smith’s Vista Equity Partners. Terms were undisclosed.

ARCOS is a resource management software platform utilized by such large-scale operations as utilities and airlines.

Jones Day advised Riverside in the deal with a team led from Chicago by Brian Mulcahy.

The Lightning Company served as financial advisors to Riverside.

Harris Williams & Co were financial advisors to Austin-based Vista Equity and ARCOS.

Riverside’s exit from ARCOS comes after the company absorbed two acquisitions: SAMsix in 2016 and RosterApps in 2018. The acquisitions added the further dimension of mobile allocation of damage assessment and crew location to its suite of services.

“For essential workers in industries like utilities and critical infrastructure, the ability to assess resources and respond quickly can make the difference between success and failure,” said Bruce Duff, CEO of ARCOS. “Our partnership with Riverside has been very fruitful, and we plan to continue bringing our best-in-breed technology solutions to these industries, as well as explore new areas for product expansion to help our clients continue to modernize practices and processes so they can respond and restore services quickly.”

Hunt Energy Forms Partnership to Aid ERCOT

On March 25, Hunt Energy Network announced a venture in collaboration with Manulife Investment Management to develop and manage within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) a 500MW energy storage project. Terms were undisclosed.

The company, to be known as HEN Infrastructure will utilize Hunt Energy’s TraDER platform. ERCOT, the quasi-governmental operator of the Texas utility grid has been under fire — and the subject of lawsuits — for its uneven response to massive blackouts across the state during February’s freezing temperatures.

HEN Infrastructure’s energy storage assets will provide ERCOT with a portfolio of distributed, coordinated, fast-responding generation and load resources to efficiently balance power across the grid. The TraDER platform, which creates data-driven strategies for project siting and asset-optimization will automate trading and settlement activities across the portfolio.

Hunt Energy Network was advised by Baker Botts with a team led by global projects partner Erin Hopkins from Houston, along with corporate partner Jon Platt in Dallas. The team also included Washington D.C. partner Elaine Walsh, Houston associate Kyle Doherty and Dallas associate Jaqueline Scioli.

Manulife’s investment was sourced for the John Hancock Life Insurance Company balance sheet as a third party managed account.

CAPITAL MARKETS

Kirkland Advises Dallas SPAC in $200M IPO

Dallas-based Glass Houses Acquisition, a blank check corporation backed by the founders of Stronghold Resource Partners, announced March 23 the launch of their initial public offering targeted at attracting $200 million.The units are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Markets exchange.

The purpose of the SPAC, according to its prospectus, is to identify for investment and/or merger “businesses that underpin the technologies currently disrupting the industrial economy across multiple end markets, including renewable energy, hardware for digital technologies, infrastructure, healthcare, specialized manufacturing, aerospace and defense, and space exploration.”

The SPAC is represented by Kirkland & Ellis with a team led by capital markets partner Julian Seiguer and associates Atma Kabad, Yasin Khan and Hunter Richey; transactional partners Shubi Arora and Jhett Nelson and associates Alastair Papworth, Jenna McCord and Colton Lyons; investment funds partners Matt Nadworny and Brian Delaney and associate Mike Pangrac; tax partners Mark Dundon and Stephen Butler and associate Victoria Chang; and executive compensation partner Stephen Jacobson. 

Jefferies is acting as book-running manager for the offering.

Founders of Glass Houses include Billy Fennebresque and Ryan Turner, a co-founders and managing partners of Stronghold. The company’s CEO is Quincy Fennebresque, a former hedge fund manager and a cousin of Billy Fennebresque. Tonya Clark, former CEO and CFO at Heritage Health Solutions before its acquisition by private equity, is CFO.

Baker Botts Advises on $310M Shelf Drilling Notes Offering

Shelf Drilling announced March 26 that it had closed on an offering of $310 million in 8.875% senior secured first lien notes due 2024. The notes were issued at an issue price of 98.082% and are secured by a first-priority lien on substantially all of the assets of the company and its subsidiaries.

The company, with headquarters in the United Arab Emirates, is a shallow water offshore drilling contractor, intends to use net proceeds of the equitizing offering to terminate its revolver and the outstanding 8.75% senior secured notes. The notes are traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Initial purchasers of the notes were represented by Baker Botts with a team led from Houston by corporate partners Jim Marshall and Justin Hoffman. The corporate team also include associates Garrett Hughey, Malakeh Hijazi and Princess Rogers. They were assisted on finance by partner Luke Weedon in Dallas, special counsel Clint Culpepper in Austin, Timothy Coxon in New York and Regan Vicknair in Houston.

Tax advice was provided by partner Derek Green and senior associate Katie McEvilly, both from Houston with environmental counsel from partner Matthrew Kuryla and senior associate Harrison Reback, also from Houston.

Texas-based Build Acquisition Closes $200M IPO

Build Acquisition Corp., an Austin-based blank check company dealing in the software and tech-enabled services industries in North America, has closed its initial public offering. 

The special-purpose company closed the offering of 20,000,000 units priced at $10 per unit on March 19 after it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 17.

Shearman & Sterling advised Build Acquisition. The team includes Houston’s Bill Nelson, Dallas’ Alain Dermarkar, Christopher Forrester, Dallas’ Ann Marie Cowdrey, Minkyu Park, Rachel Hyun Ju Kim, Dallas’ Emily Poulsen and Houston’s Catherine Zachry.

Cowen and Allen & Company acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.

Inaugural Blackstone Growth Fund Closes With Aid From Simpson Thacher

Blackstone announced the final close of its first-ever Blackstone Growth Fund, which is tied to the investment firm’s global growth equity business. 

The fund, which was oversubscribed, closed at $4.5 billion, its hard-cap. Capital commitments came from family offices, entrepreneurs, endowments, strategic institutional investors, pension funds and high-net-worth individuals, among other investors.

Blackstone Growth, or BXG, began investing in 2020 and has offices in New York, San Francisco and London. It’s provided capital to companies such as Austin-based dating service Bumble, which recently completed an initial public offering, and enterprise business software company ISN. BXG is focused on making investments in the financial services, enterprise and consumer technologies, healthcare and consumer sectors.

Simpson Thacher is advising Blackstone. Houston-based team members include Private Funds partner James Hays and associates Matthew Pinegar and Minzala Mvula.

Akin Gump, Latham Advise on Diamondback Energy Offering

Diamondback Energy announced last week the pricing of an offering of an aggregate of $2.2 billion in senior notes.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld advised Diamondback on the offering with a team that included corporate partners Seth Molay, Alan Laves, John Goodgame, Matt Bivona and Rosa Testani; senior counsel Irina Maistrenko; counsel John Clayton and Katie Dinett; and associates Morgan Francy and Laura Lindsay Tatum. Partners Alison Chen and Jocelyn Tau handled tax aspects of the transactions.

Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse Securities and J.P. Morgan Securities acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.

The offering was comprised of $650,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of 0.900% senior notes that will mature on March 24, 2023, $900,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of 3.125% senior notes that will mature on March 24, 2031, and $650,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of 4.400% senior notes that will mature on March 24, 2051.

The resulting net proceeds are expected to fund the purchase prices for the tender offers of Diamondback’s outstanding 5.375% Senior Notes due 2025 and QEP Resources Inc.’s outstanding 5.375% Senior Notes due 2022, 5.250% Senior Notes due 2023 and 5.625% Senior Notes due 2026, among other purposes.

Latham & Watkins represents the underwriters in the bond offering and dealer managers in the cash tender offers with a corporate team led by Houston partners Michael Chambers and David Miller, with associates Madeleine Neet, Evann Hall, Danielle Kinchen and Joseph Kmetz. Advice was also provide on tax matters by Houston partner Jim Cole, with associate Marianne Standley; and on environmental matters by Houston partner Joel Mack and Chicago counsel Sara Orr.

The same Akin Gump team was also involved in the tender offering for up to $800 million on senior notes previously issued by Diamondback, in addition to $1.6 billion in aggregate principal amount of senior notes issued by QEP, which Diamondback acquired as part of its merger that closed March 17.

Woodforest Offers Subordinated Notes With Aid from Bracewell

Bracewell recently represented Woodforest Financial Group, Inc., a financial services holding company based in The Woodlands, on the private placement of $125 million in aggregate principal amount of its Fixed-to-Floating Rate Subordinated Notes. The notes have a maturity date of 2031.

The Bracewell team included partners Will Anderson of Houston, Joshua T. McNulty of Dallas, Matthew B. Grunert of Houston and Don J. Lonczak, in addition to counsel Ian R. Brown of Dallas and associates Shannon Baldwin and Caroline E. Ellis, both of Houston.

US Bancorp Investments Inc. acted as the placement agent.

Baker Botts Advises Underwriters in $75M Global Partners Offering

Global Partners LP, an independent owner, supplier and operator of gas stations and convenience stores, announced on March 17 a $75 million offering of 9.50% Series B Fixed Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units. 

The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company plans to use the proceeds from the offering to pay down debt under its credit agreement. Global priced the offering of 3 million of its Series B Preferred Units at $25 per unit with distributions payable quarterly.

The joint-booking managers for the offering are Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC.

Baker Botts represented the underwriters in the offering with a team that involved Houston capital partners Josh Davidson and Justin Hoffman; senior associate Lakshmi Ramanthan; and associates Parker Hinman and William Cozzens.

The firm previously advised Global on a $350 million offering in September.

V&E Represents Oasis Midstream Partners in $450M Senior Note Offering

Oasis Midstream Partners unveiled its offering of $450 million in aggregate principal amount of Senior Unsecured Notes due 2029 as it seeks to use net proceeds to make a distribution to Oasis Midstream Services. The notes were priced on March 26.

The offering of $450 million is tied to a simplification transaction announced on March 22 with Oasis Petroleum for about $231.5 million and to repay about $205.5 million of borrowings under OMP’s revolving credit facility.

The Vinson & Elkin team advising Oasis Midstream Partners was led by partners David Oelman of Houston and Noel Hughes, with assistance from counsel Christianne Williams and associates Anthony Sanderson of Houston, Matthew Fiorillo of Houston and Taylor Kim.

Kirkland Advises Lead Edge Growth SPAC in $300M IPO

Lead Edge Growth Opportunities Ltd, a blank check company, announced March 22 its IPO aimed at producing $300 million in proceeds. The units are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market Exchange under the ticker symbol LEGAU.

Lead Edge Growth — headquartered in New York — is sponsored by Lead Edge Capital Management. The SPAC is seeking a target that would provide a significant investment in technology, particularly software and internet opportunities. The company CEO is Mitchell H. Green, a founder of Lead Edge and a former investment advisor for Eastern Advisors, Tiger hedge fund seeded by Julian Robertson and Bessemer Venture Partners. The company board includes Meg Whitman, former head of Hewlett Packard and former Republican presidential candidate.

Lead Edge Growth was advised by Kirkland team with a team led by capital markets partners Christian Nagler and Debbie Yee, and associates Sami Ghubril, Sarah Ashley Byrd and Jessica Stenglein; transactional partner Melissa Kalka and associate Brittany Scheier; and tax partners Michael Beinus and Scott Fryman.

Credit Suisse Securities and J.P. Morgan Securities are serving as joint book-running managers for this offering.

Kirkland Advises Accelerate Acquisition on $400M IPO

Accelerate Acquisition Corp., a blank check company led by the former head of Chrysler and Home Depot, announced March 22, the closing of a $400M public offering.

The company, headed by Robert Nardelli intends to pursue investment in a company in the transportation, industrial or retail sectors. The company began trading March 18.

The company was advised by Kirkland & Ellis with a team led by capital markets partners Christian Nagler, Debbie Yee and Lance Hancock, along with associates Ibe Alozie and Brett Mele. The team also included transactional partners Leo Greenberg and Maggie Flores, as well as associate Matt Benedetto, with tax partners Michael Beinus and Scott Fryman.

UBS Investment Bank was sole bookrunner.

In addition to Nardelli, who headed Home Depot from 2000 to 2007 and Chrysler from 2007 to 2009, the SPAC includes Michael Simoff, a former portfolio manager at Elliott Management and Jeff Kaplan, founder of Andalusian, a private investment firm.

Gibson Dunn, Latham Advise on $173.5M Secondary Offering at Western Midstream

Western Midstream Partners announced a $173.5 million underwritten secondary public offering of 10 million common units in the company owned by an affiliate of Occidental Petroleum. The offering was upsized from a previously announced 8 million common units.

Western Midstream is not itself selling any of the units and will not benefit from the proceeds of the sale.

Gibson & Dunn is representing BofA Securities, the sole book-running manager for the offering. Partner Hillary Holmes led the team from Houston with assistance from associates Melissa Pick, Brian Downs and Monika Kluziak. Tax advice was provided by partner James Chenoweth.

Latham & Watkins represented Western Midstream in the transaction with a corporate deal team led by Houston partners John Greer and Bill Finnegan, with Houston associates Ryan Lynch, Lexi Santa Ana, Jessica Sherman and Kirby Swartz. Advice was also provided on tax matters by Houston partners Tim Fenn and Jim Cole, with Houston associates Mike Rowe and Marianne Standley; and on environmental matters by Houston partner Joel Mack and Los Angeles counsel Joshua Marnitz.

Western Midstream operates its midstream assets in the Rocky Mountains, North-central Pennsylvania, Texas and New Mexico.