Last week, notable transactions included a $9 billion AI platform deal, $1.3 billion in two deals by Mach Resources and the sale of The Dallas Morning News to Hearst. The week ending July 12 saw 15 deals valued at just over $13 billion dollars. The week prior, there were nine deals for $15.8 billion and this time last year there were 20 deals for $17.2 billion.
Have a deal we should include next week?
The CDT Roundup is a regular feature from The Texas Lawbook highlighting the work Texas dealmakers are doing inside and outside the state.
Please let us know at CDTRoundup@texaslawbook.net by sharing a news release or a short blurb containing the date of the deal, a brief description, a link to any public announcement, the lead lawyers and their offices, as well as any Texas lawyers who advised on the deal.
M&A/Fundings
Hearst acquires the Dallas Morning News, Medium Giant for $75M
In an all-cash, take-private deal valued at $74.9 million, The Dallas Morning News announced Thursday that it has agreed to join the Hearst Corporation, whose national chain of 28 daily newspapers will soon include the dailies of Texas’ four most populous cities.
The sale includes all outstanding stock of The News’ holding company, DallasNews Corporation, and Medium Giant, its wholly owned marketing subsidiary.
In Texas, Hearst owns the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News and, in February, announced its agreement to acquire the Austin American-Statesman from Gannett. Elsewhere in Texas, Hearst owns the Beaumont Enterprise, the Laredo Morning Times, the Midland Reporter-Telegram and the Plainview Herald.
In addition to its daily newspapers, Hearst owns and operates 50 weeklies across the U.S. For more details on the transaction, please see our daily coverage here.
CoreWeave to acquire Core Scientific in deal valued at $9.0B
Deal Description: In an all-stock transaction announced July 7, AI platform provider CoreWeave will acquire Core Scientific, a data center infrastructure provider headquartered in Austin. The acquisition of Core Scientific verticalizes CoreWeave’s own data center footprint with more than 1 Gigawatt of potential gross power available for expansion and enhance the company’s internal management of its infrastructure assets. Under the deal, Core Scientific stockholders will receive 0.1235 newly issued shares of CoreWeave Class A common stock for each share of Core Scientific common stock held as of July 3. The ratio implies a total equity value of $9 billion and a 66 percent premium on Core Scientific’s share value.
CoreWeave Financial Advisors: Goldman Sachs
Core Scientific Financial Advisors: Moelis & Company, PJT Partners
CoreWeave Outside Legal Counsel: Davis Polk & Wardwell and Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland Lead Lawyers: Melissa Kalka (Dallas) and David Feirstein (New York)
Texas Lawyers: Douglas Bacon (Houston), Daley Kei King (Dallas), Colleen Haile (Dallas), Lucas Spivey (Houston), Osaro Aifuwa (Houston), David Wheat (Dallas)
Elsewhere: Andrew Stuyvenberg (Washington, D.C.), Erin Bartlett (Washington, D.C.), Kimberly McGrath (Chicago), Michael Shultz (Los Angeles)
Note: The acquisition follows CoreWeave’s March IPO in which its stock (CRWV), priced at $40 per share when it opened on the Nasdaq, has risen to $160 per. By contrast, Core Scientific shares (CORZ) were down 17.6 percent by market close on the day of the announcement.
Sabinal, IKAV sell Permian, San Juan assets to Mach for $1.3B
Deal Description: In two separate purchases announced July 10, Oklahoma City-based Mach Resources announced the acquisition of assets in the Permian and San Juan Basins. In the Permian acquisition, Mach agreed to pay $500 million to Sabinal Energy for 130,000 acres averaging 11Mboe per day, of which 98 percent was liquids, 2 percent natural gas. The deal included $300 million of Mach common units and $200 million in cash. In the San Juan Basin acquisition, Mach acquired 570,000 acres from IKAV Energy producing 60Mboe per day, 94 percent of which is natural gas. Mach agreed to pay IKAV $787 million, including $462 million of Mach common units and the remaining $325 million in cash.
On the Permian acquisition
Mach Financial Advisors: Moelis & Company, Truist Securities
Mach Outside Legal Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland Lead Lawyers: Chris Heasley (Houston) and Lindsey Jaquillard (Houston)
Texas Lawyers: Jarrod Gamble (Houston), Alex Lippert (Houston), Patrick Lingwall (Houston), Curtis French (Houston), Rachel Miller (Houston), Julian Seiguer (Houston), Michael Rigdon (Houston), Erin Meziere (Houston), Robbie Dillard (Houston), Mark Dundon (Houston), Jim Dolphin (Houston), Courtney Tibbetts (Dallas)
Elsewhere: David Gilbert (Salt Lake City), Jonathan Diener (Salt Lake City)
Sabinal financial Advisors: RBC Capital Markets
Sabinal Outside Legal Counsel: Vinson & Elkins
V&E Lead Lawyers: Brian Loocke (Houston) and Jackson O’Maley (Houston)
Texas Lawyers: Michael Zarcaro (Houston), Laura Byrd (Houston), Caroline Oakley (Houston), Sergio Tellez Noguez (Houston), Walt Baker (Houston), Lauren Perillo (Houston), Todd Way (Dallas), Dan Henderson (Houston), Kylan Kinkade (Houston), Becky Baker (Houston)
Elsewhere: Patricia Adams (New York), Brian DeShannon (New York)
On the San Juan acquisition
Mach Financial Advisors: Moelis & Company
Mach Outside Legal Counsel: Vinson & Elkins
V&E Lead Lawyers: Shay Kuperman (Houston)
Texas Lawyers: David Latham (Dallas), Mike Telle (Houston), Crosby Scofield (Houston), Elena Sauber (Dallas), Joseph Balhoff (Houston), Pranay Malempati (Dallas), Jessica Rosenwasser (Dallas), Kelly McGee (Houston), Layton Suchma (Houston), Chase Browndorf (Houston), Taylor Kopriva (Houston), Tyler Wagner (Dallas), Suzanne Clevenger (Houston), Mike Malenfant (Houston), Reagan Lutter (Houston), Sarah Mitchell (Dallas), Alexander Baker (Dallas), Victoria Bahrami-Negad (Dallas), Micah Tardy (Dallas), Jennifer Cornejo (Denver), Ryan Carney (Houston), Jeff Slusher (Dallas), Tripp Haskins (Houston), Matt Stammel (Dallas), Winnie Anderson (Houston), Becky Baker (Houston), Peter Goetschel (Houston), Julia Burns (Houston), Nicole Waterstradt (Dallas), Henry Crowell (Houston), Rajesh Patel (Houston), Haley Titcomb (Austin), Courtney Hammond (Dallas), Carrie Winkler (Dallas), Karley Jones (Dallas)
Elsewhere: Caitlin Turner (New York), Carter Olson (New York), Kelly Rondinelli (Washington, D.C.), Patricia Adams (New York), Kara Kuritz (Washington, D.C.), Rami Rashmawi (Washington, D.C.)
IKAV Financial Advisors: Wells Fargo
IKAV Outside Legal Counsel: Haynes Boone
Haynes Boone Lead Lawyer: Austin Elam (Houston)
Texas Lawyers: Reem Abdelrazik (Houston), Bradley Potts (Houston), Sam Richards (Houston), Stephen Grant (Houston), Danielle Marr (Houston)
H20 America to acquire Quadvest for $540M
Deal Description: H20 America, a publicly traded network of community water and wastewater treatment operators, broadened its reach in Texas with the acquisition by two of its affiliates of Quadvest, a similarly regulated, investor-owned water and wastewater utility in the Houston metro area. H20 America’s Texas affiliates, The Texas Water Company and Texas Water Operation Services will pay $540 million for all the assets owned by Quadvest, one of the largest providers in Texas. The assets include 50 water treatment plants and 27 wastewater facilities serving approximately 69 developments and more than 47,000 connections with another 80,000 under contract pending development. The acquisition will be paid for with a combination of private debt placement and equity infusions by H20 America. H20 America is based in San Jose, California.
H20 America Financial Advisors: J.P. Morgan Securities
H20 America Outside Legal Advisors: BakerMcKenzie and Spencer Fane (regulatory)
Quadvest Financial Advisors: Newport; WaterLogic Advisors
Quadvest Outside Legal Advisors: Porter Hedges; Gregg Law
Porter Hedges Lead Lawyers: Joe Morrel (Houston)
Texas Lawyers: Tripp Hise (Houston), Colin Cox (Houston), Adrienne Collins (Houston), Heather McGuire (Houston), Craig Bergez (Houston), Mandy Diaz (Houston), Kelly Ferrell (Houston), Beverly Young (Houston), Ashley Prieto (Houston), Adam Nalley (Houston), Miles Emery (Houston)
Trinity Hunt acquires HVAC platform Blackhawk Supply
Deal Description: Trinity Hunt Partners added an HVAC platform to its portfolio July 1, with the acquisition of Blackhawk Supply, which comes with two integrated commercial HVAC servicing brands: Blackhawk Supply and Midwest Supply. To lead the company Dallas-based Trinity Hunt tapped two experienced growth-oriented executives: Troy Vellinga as CEO and Jason Lewis as chief development officer. Blackhawk was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Trinity Outside Legal Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland Lead Lawyer: Thomas Laughlin (Dallas)
Texas Lawyers: Brad Johnson (Dallas), Sarah Walden (Dallas), David Wheat (Dallas), Jon Nelsen (Dallas)
Ezee Fiber, backed by I Squared to acquire Tachus Fiber Internet
Deal Description: Fiber internet provider Ezee Fiber announced July 7 its acquisition of Tachus Fiber Internet, a Woodlands-based provider backed by Crosstimbers Capital Group. Adding Tachus and its 60,000 underground fiber subscribers expands Ezee Fiber’s client base across Northern Houston, in step with the Houston-headquartered company’s announced expansions in Houston, New Mexico and the state of Washington. Ezee Fiber is backed by I Squared Capital. No terms were disclosed.
I Squared/Ezee Fiber Outside Legal Counsel: Sidley Austin
Sidley Lead Lawyers: Enrique Conde (Miami)
Texas Lawyers: Brian Bradshaw (Houston)
Elsewhere: Tara Higgins (New York), Alexandra Rios (Miami)
I Squared/Ezee Fiber Financial Advisors: TVG Consulting
Crosstimbers Outside Legal Counsel: Latham & Watkins
Latham Lead Lawyers: James Garrett (Houston) and Elizabeth More (Washington, D.C.)
Texas Lawyers: Alexandra Cumberland (Houston), Dominick Constantino (Houston), John Daywalt (Houston), Bryant Lee (Houston), Robert Brown (Houston), Andrew Abokhair (Austin)
Elsewhere: Jason Cruise (Washington, D.C.), Lindsey Champlin (Washington, D.C.), Nathaniel Amann (San Diego), Susan Parker (Boston), Julie Crisp (Los Angeles), Joseph Benedetto (Los Angeles), Morgan Wesner (Los Angeles), Priyanka Krishnamurthy Crissman (Boston), Shira Bressler (New York), David Langer (New York), Tal Carmeli (New York), Carlos Alvarez (New York), Adam Fovent (Boston), Matthew Murchison (Washington, D.C.), Elizabeth Park (Washington, D.C.), Maggie Guidotti (Boston), Bernie Archbold (Washington, D.C.)
BlackRock acquires ElmTree Funds for new private lending platform
Deal Description: BlackRock Inc. announced July 7 that it is acquiring ElmTree Funds, a net-lease real estate investment firm based in St. Louis. No specific terms of the deal were disclosed, except that consideration would come mainly in terms of stock, with potential additional performance payments available for the next several years. BlackRock intends to integrate ElmTree and its $7.3 billion AUM portfolio into its Private Financing Solutions platform. That integration would combine it with HPS Partners, the private credit platform whose acquisition by BlackRock was closed July 1.
BlackRock/HPS Outside Legal Counsel: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson; Sidley Austin
Skadden Lead Lawyers: Peter Serating (New York) and Patrick Lewis (New York)
Texas Lawyers:Michael Hamilton (Houston)
Elsewhere: Nicholas Colombo (New York), Matthew Roberts(New York), Victor Hollender (New York), Shalom Huber (New York), Stuart Levi (New York), Heather Cruz (New York), David Schwartz (New York), Laura Kaufmann Belkhayat (New York), Kenneth Schwartz (New York)
ElmTree Outside Legal Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis
ElmTree Financial Advisors: Berkshire Global
Merit nabs minority investment from Constellation Wealth
Deal Description: Merit Financial Advisors announced that it has received a minority growth equity investment from alternative asset management platform Constellation Wealth Capital. Merit says it plans to use the additional capital to continue its organic growth strategy through recruitment and M&A. Merit claims $19.94 billion in assets under advisement in advisory, brokerage, retirement and ESOP assets. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
Merit Financial Advisors: Ardea Partners (lead); William Blair
Merit Outside Legal Counsel: Holland & Knight; Kirkland & Ellis
Constellation Financial Advisors: Goldman Sachs
Constellation Outside Legal Counsel: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
Gibson Lead Lawyer: Michael Piazza (Houston) and Daniela Stolman (Century City)
Texas Lawyers: Adri Langemeier (Houston), Luke Smith (Houston), Hunter Michielson (Houston), Ryan Searfoorce (Houston), Kimberly Schlanger (Houston)
Elsewhere: Andrew Abell (Denver), George Hang (San Francisco), Cromwell Montgomery (Los Angeles), Nicole Kim (Los Angeles), Sonari Chidi (Los Angeles), Daniel Zygielbaum (Washington, D.C.), Kate Long (New York), Sean Feller (Century City), Spencer Bankhead (Orange County), Eve Mrozek (New York), Tom Rossidis (New York), Ryan Adlem (New York), Kevin Bettsteller (Century City), Daniel Angel (New York), Cassandra Gaedt-Sheckter (Palo Alto)
Areas acquires Travel Hospitality Services
Deal Description: Areas, a Miami-based manager of airport dining and retail shops, announced its July 9 agreement to acquire the U.S.-based airport food and retail business of Delaware North known as Travel Hospitality Services for an undisclosed amount. The agreement turns over management of 237 THS managed locations in 22 airports and their estimated $500 million in revenue. The combined company will operate a total of 369 locations in 27 airports and 12 travel plazas supported by a U.S. workforce of 6,000 people. Globally, Areas expects $3 billion in annual revenue from 2,200 points of sale with 24,000 employees across 11 countries. Delaware North is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.
Delaware North Financial Advisors: BDT & MSD Partners; BofA Securities
Delaware North Outside Legal Counsel: Hogan Lovells
Areas Financial Advisors: Citigroup Global Markets AG
Areas Outside Legal Counsel: A&O Shearman
A&O Shearman Lead Lawyers: Alain Dermarkar (Dallas)
Texas Lawyers: Efren Lemus (Dallas) Garrett Engel (Dallas), Danielle Garcia (Dallas), Hamza Mallick (Dallas)
Glass Box gets equity investments from Panther Equity, Genesis Park
Deal Description: Glass Box, an IT design and management provider, announced July 8 a strategic investment of an undisclosed amount made by Panther Equity Group and Houston-based Genesis Park. Based in Carlsbad, California, and founded in 2012, Glass Box plans to use the capital infusion to scale its geographic reach.
Glass Box Financial Advisors: Forbes Partners (Dan Roth), BSZ Consulting (Brian Zales)
Panther Equity Financial Advisors: Lucas Horsfall Advisors (Gaurav Malhotra); USI Insurance Service (Josh Goldberg)
Genesis Park Outside Legal Counsel: Troutman Pepper Locke
TPL Lead Lawyer: Allison Pearce (Houston)
Texas Lawyers: Brian Rose (Houston)
Elsewhere: Tom Phelan (Berwyn, IL), Mason Marek (Boston)
Morgan Stanley sells Red Oak power facility to Strategic Value Partners
Deal Description: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) July 8 its sale of its ownership stake in the Red Oak power facility in Sayreville, New Jersey to Strategic Value Partners. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. MSIP holds its stake in the 831MW combined cycle power plant through TigerGenCo Red Oak Holdings LLC, an investment made in 2017. Red Oak is part of the PJM Interconnection, the largest power market in North America. Red Oak was constructed in 2002 by the AES Corporation. TigerGenCo, also manages MSIP’s investment in Bayonne Energy Center.The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.
MSIP Financial Advice: Jefferies, Santander
MSIP Outside Legal Counsel: Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland Lead Lawyers: Rob Goodin (Houston) and Blake Longoria (Houston)
Texas Lawyers: Gabrielle Sumich (Houston), Phil Greenfield (Houston), Claire Wolf (Austin), David Wheat (Dallas), Rebecca Fine (Dallas)
Elsewhere: Rohit Chaudry (Washington, D.C.), Jia Ying (New York), John Decker (Washington, D.C.), Andrew Devore (Washington, D.C.)
Capital Markets/Credit
Viper Energy issues $1.6B in notes
Deal Description: Viper Energy announced July 11 the pricing of $1.6 billion in two issues of senior notes. In the first issue, a public offering of $500 million in 4.900 percent notes due 2030 was priced at 99.902 percent; in the second, a public offering $1.1 million in 5.700 percent notes due 2035 were priced at 99.636 percent. The Midland-based company expects the issues to close July 27.
Underwriters Outside Legal Counsel: Latham & Watkins
Latham Lead Lawyers: David Miller and Michael Chambers
Texas Lawyers: Samuel Rettew, Rachel Collier, Caitlyn Fiebrich, Carole Bale, Tim Fenn, Dominick Castantino
Elsewhere: Joshua Marnitz (Los Angeles), Nolan Fargo (Los Angeles)
Nassau Group issues $425M in senior notes
Deal Description: The Nassau Financial Group announced July 11 its upsized issue of $425 million in 7.875 percent senior notes due 2030. The issue is Nassau’s first debt issue in the capital markets. The Nassau Group is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut.
Nassau Outside Legal Counsel: Sidley Austin
Sidley Lead Lawyer: Rob Ryan (New York)
Texas Lawyers: Bruce Banks (Dallas)
Elsewhere: Michael Devins (New York)
New York Mortgage Trust offers $85M in notes
Deal Description: New York Mortgage Trust, Inc. closed its offering July 8 of $85 million of 9.875% senior notes due 2030. The company has also applied for a listing of the notes on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The company plans to use proceeds from the offerings to fund general corporate activities but may use them to acquire targeted assets.
Underwriters: Morgan Stanley; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods; Piper Sandler; RBC Capital Markets; UBS Investment Bank; Wells Fargo Securities (joint book-running managers)
NYMT Outside Legal Counsel: Vinson & Elkins
V&E Lead Lawyers: Chris Green (Washington D.C.) and Ben Heriaud (New York)
Texas Lawyers: Selena Govan (Houston) Maddie Brown (Austin), Paige Melton (Houston)
Elsewhere: Austin Scieszinski,, Kayla Duperrouzel (Washington, D.C.), Paige Anderson (Richmond)