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There were three billion-dollar transactions last week: a shale E&P deal, an offshore drilling acquisition and a midstream divestiture. All were in energy, but they had something else in common: they are part of an on-going consolidation in nearly every phase of energy production. The CDT Roundup takes a look at what these latest deals tell us, along with the usual summation of last week's transactions and the lawyers and firms behind them.
Over the last few years, this space has seen more than a few deals involving Morgan Lewis Houston partner Jeff Dinerstein and his client Park Lawn, Inc., the Toronto-based purveyor of funerals, cremations and such. With the news this week that Park Lawn has agreed to be acquired for $1.2 billion, the CDT Roundup decided to review a few of Dinerstein's deals. And, of course, we include the usual summary of the lawyers and firms behind transactions reported last week.
The ongoing once-in-a-generation wave of oil & gas consolidation has gained serious momentum, as witnessed by the $22.5 billion merger agreement reached last week between ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil. What's driving it? The Roundup's Claire Poole tops off her weekly summary of Texas-related dealmaking with a roundup of factors behind the recent proliferation of big energy deals, and takes a bonus look at the prospect that they could lead to more.
We’re more used to writing about semiconductor chips than corn chips, but this week the CDT has the pleasure of highlighting the ones you stick in salsa. Yes, it’s a PE deal involving one of our favorites, And you can enjoy it alongside our usual review of last week’s dealmaking.
While the oil and gas business remains the endoskeleton of the Texas economy, oil and gas are currently living divergent performance experiences. Oil is experiencing boom times; natural gas, not so much. In such a market the semi-annual Haynes Boone borrowing base and price deck surveys can offer a valuable lenders'-eye view of the immediate future. The CDT Roundup mines the latest data, along with the usual survey of last week's Texas-related deals.
The $6.2 billion take-private sale of Minnesota utility Allete to a joint venture of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Global Infrastructure Partners would be noteworthy if just for the price tag alone. But a closer look reveals a common bond among the lawyers involved that graduates from noteworthy to extraordinary. The Roundup's Claire Poole takes that closer look, along with her usual list of Texas-related transactions reported last week.
If you happen upon a bank transaction in Texas (or even if it's not in Texas) there are a couple of lawyers you figure know something about it: Sandy Brown at Alston & Bird in Dallas and Chet Fenimore at Fenimore Kay Harrison in Austin. So, when Texas Dow Employees Credit Union announced its purchase of Sabine State Bank, The Roundup turned to them. Turns out, one of them was involved. CDT notes on that involvement, as well as the work of 87 lawyers who advised on deals last week.
M&A is "slowly on the mend," according to a new PitchBook report on global M&A activity. But like most statements of fact these days, that may depend on your point of view. In the first three months of 2024, M&A is down from Q4 2023, but that's okay. That previous quarter contained a few blockbuster deals and set a record valuation for energy M&A. The CDT Roundup this week looks a bit closer at the PitchBook metrics and even closer at the transactions reported last week. There are a few numbers that may surprise you.
In addition to its usual fare, the CDT Roundup this week includes a quarterly accounting of the volume and value of deals Texas firms reported to us during the first 13 weeks of 2024. It turns out we've logged a lot of lawyer names. We have that number, too.
The Roundup swings its spotlight in a different direction this week to focus on the fund formation world and a young lawyer to be reckoned with, Simpson Thacher partner Linda Tieh. The Harvard-trained lawyer earned her undergrad degree from the University of Texas, holds bar cards in New York and Texas and finds herself front and center in some of the largest and most complicated deals we cover, including our largest transaction this week. Claire Poole has more on Tieh's remarkable resume of transactions, as well as the usual summary of last week's deals.
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