Corporate Deal Tracker: 2016 = More M&A Action for TX Lawyers

© 2017 The Texas Lawbook. By Natalie Posgate (Jan. 27) – One year ago, times were not great for many Texas M&A lawyers – notably, those handling energy deals. But now, those hard times appear to be out the door – or at the very least, on their way out. New data shows that a resurgence in energy deals, Texas’s most dominant sector for M&A, as well as a tremendous spike in deals from other sectors, drove a revival of M&A work for Texas-based lawyers. Lawyers who advised on some of those deals say the momentum is continuing into 2017. Texas-based lawyers represented companies all over the world in 705 mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures in 2016 – a 24 percent increase from the 565 such deals reported to The Texas Lawbook’s Corporate Deal Tracker in 2015. Even more impressive from the 18 percent increase in energy-related deals was the uptick of transactions that Texas lawyers worked on outside the energy sector: food & beverage increased by 566 percent, while tech deals more than doubled. Tech work by Texas lawyers during 2016 includes Microsoft’s $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn, PetSmart’s purchase of the pet adoption site, AllPaws.com; and Hewlett…