Energy Deals Keep Texas M&A Lawyers Busy in Q1

By Mark Curriden The three months of 2012 were not good in the world of mergers and acquisitions law in the U.S. – unless you were an energy lawyer in Texas. Mergermarket reports that M&A activity in Q1 of 2012 across the U.S. was down 53.8 percent from the first quarter of 2011. The number of new deals announced dropped 37.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011. The number of energy deals also slowed during Q1, but much less so in Texas, according to Mergermarket. And the larger billion-dollar-plus energy deals were plentiful. Lawyers in Texas say they witnessed a significant uptick in new M&A work during the past six weeks. Four of the 10 largest U.S. deals announced during the first quarter involved energy companies, and Texas corporate and M&A lawyers did nearly all the legal work on those transactions.The largest deal was Apollo Global Management and Riverstone Holdings $7.15 billion purchase of oil and gas exploration business from El Paso on Feb. 24. Several firms, led by Vinson & Elkins, Weil Gotshal & Manges, and Locke, Lord, Bissell & Liddell, are handling the legal work. Mergermarket reports that V&E represented 16 Texas-based companies announcing new transactions during…