In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the state of Texas secures a temporary restraining order against Johnson & Johnson from a judge in rural West Texas. The order came a few days after the pharmaceutical company asked a Travis County judge to bring an end to what it said were four retaliatory investigations launched after Johnson & Johnson got a win in Tylenol-related litigation the attorney general initiated in rural East Texas.
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Antero Resources and Antero Midstream Buy/Sell in Four Appalachian Basin Deals Totaling $5.1B
Antero Resources and its midstream provider Antero Midstream announced Monday (Dec. 8) their separate but coordinated acquisitions of Marcellus Basin assets from HG Energy II and HG Energy totaling $3.9 billion.
In two more similarly separated and coordinated announcements, Northern Oil and Gas and Infinity Natural Resources said they are acquiring a total of $1.2 billion of Utica Shale with Antero Resources and Antero Midstream on the sell side.
Gibson Dunn, Kirkland, Latham and V&E advised on the various transactions.
Jury Awards $10.45M to Woman Injured at Work Event
A Kaufman County jury found the corporate outing at Cornerstone Ranch was not properly planned and led to Felissa Gamero being struck in the hand with a 9mm projectile and needing surgery.
Ex-VP of Wichita Falls Bank Gets 4 Years in Pandemic Loan Scam
Kaylee Ree Lunn pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud, admitting that she used bank customers’ financial data to apply for bogus loans under the government’s Paycheck Protection Program.
Houston-area Energy Executive Convicted in Scheme to Bribe Mexican Officials
Jurors in the court of U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt found Alexandro Rovirosa guilty of conspiracy and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. A codefendant, Mario Avila, is a fugitive.
A Flavor for Every Sector Keeps Texas M&A Simmering
There was a little bit of everything in Texas M&A for the week ended Dec. 6, with 16 deals reported and a cumulative value of $9.9 billion.
And we do mean everything.
Industrial device manufacturing. Check. Texas bank consolidation. Check. Deals in the AI power generation ecosystem. Check. Billion-dollar Permian midstream deals. Check. Funding for defense drones. Check. Healthcare software. Check. Waste removal investment. Check. Variable PE swaps in school safety software, pool building, and HR assets. Check. And, of course, a few debt offerings reshuffling pandemic era debt. Also check.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
Lone Star Sells SPX Flow to ITT for $4.8B
Gibson Dunn advised Dallas-based Lone Star on the mostly-cash deal. Paul Hastings counseled Connecticut-headquartered ITT. Lone Star acquired SPX Flow in a 2022 take-private transaction.
Houston Jury Awards $138M, Finds Breach of Contract
A Southern District Court jury in Houston awarded $138 million to Carlo Civelli, who claimed Philippe Mulacek owed him money he loaned to him and broke agreements they made. The pair had worked together in a company, InterOil, which invested in properties in Papua New Guinea for potential oil and gas.
“It’s been a long and hard-fought battle to get to this point,” said Munsch Hardt’s Richard Schwartz, who represents Carlo Civelli.
Adding Texas Divestitures, DOJ Approves $16.4B Constellation/Calpine Merger
A $16.4 billion merger that would create the nation’s largest provider of wholesale electricity cleared its final hurdle Friday with an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice that Constellation Energy and Houston-based Calpine Energy had agreed to resolve antitrust concerns with the divestment of six power plants based in the Northeast and Texas.
Former USPS Employee Pleads Guilty to Bribery Scheme
Zechariah Yi is the fourth person to plead guilty in a bribery scheme that involved United States Postal Service contracts that awarded about a total of $15 million to three trucking companies. Yi’s sentencing is set for March 2026.