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There have been a number of utility/power deals in recent weeks, but none that seemed more significant than Constellation Energy's $26.6 billion acquisition of Houston's Calpine Energy. The deal is significant, not only for its size, but for what it says about our understanding of energy transition. Coupled, of course, with the usual CDT Roundup survey of last week's Texas-related energy transactions.
With a new year upon us, it's a time for reflection and evaluation. You know what we mean: numbers. Here at the CDT Roundup, in case you haven't noticed, we believe in numbers. We worship numbers. Even our headlines are numbers — with just enough words to let you know what we are counting: "Deals, Firms, Lawyers, Money." But we also keep track of the numbers we write about.
Just in time for Christmas, DOE has published its months-awaited study on the economic and environmental effects of LNG exports. The report was promised in January as a rationale for the Biden Administration's decision to pause permitting of new LNG export processing facilities. The CDT Roundup takes a brief look at the exhaustive study and wonders if DOE has missed the irony in its concern about the effect of LNG exports on future natural gas prices That, and the usual review of last week's major Texas-related transactions.
The biggest deal reported last week was the $2.4 billion sale of "non-core" assets along the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast by Dow, the chemical giant. The sale involved a 40 percent stake in Dow InfraCo sold to alternative asset manage Macquarie. The deal is only the latest in a series of "non-core" sell-offs, a phrase that is becoming as common as "consolidation" in the current market. The CDT takes a look at the "non-core" transaction trend and an observer of the Dow deal who less than impressed. And, of course, the usual report on last week's deals and dealmakers.
In the year that will soon be past, the sheer volume of energy-related, or energy-adjacent transactions are worth noting. Whether in O&G per se, data center energy demands or the more mundane multitude of PE acquisitions in HVAC manufacturing and service companies, the sides seem okay with the value. So, we weren’t that surprised by the November findings of the semi-annual Haynes Boone Borrowing Base Redeterminations Survey. The CDT Roundup takes a look at the details, along with the usual run-down of the week's M&A deals and the lawyers behind them.
As we approach the end of 2024, it's crucial to ensure that your submissions to the Corporate Deal Tracker are fully credited. The Texas Lawbook’s M&A team is committed to identifying all relevant submissions for deals involving Texas-based lawyers, and we want to make sure that no qualified deal from your firm goes unaccounted for. That and more, including last week's deals, in this edition of the CDT Roundup.
For some, it may be too soon to talk about it, but business leaders are already weighing in on how their industries might be impacted by the election results. In one of the first survey’s we’ve seen, Endeavor Business Intelligence deployed a short questionnaire to U.S. business leaders on their perceptions of the upcoming change in administrations. There were 160 respondents, not bad for a one-week project; and the answers proved more complex than one might expect. That and the usual review of last week's reported transactions.
Methane emissions are a sticky business in Texas, especially in the Permian where the colorless, odorless substance is simply a by-product of exploration and production for oil and gas on a massive scale. An $88 million satellite set into orbit in March, however, has begun to visualize and quantify the problem. The picture isn't pretty. But situation is complicated, as the CDT Roundup reports this week — along with its usual survey of transactions.
Elections mean change, and change is good, right? Maybe so, but there are concerns that a new administration might be inclined to make dramatic changes in policies regarding energy and manufacturing that have been the basis for billions in equity investments. Comments made by the president-elect shortly before the election have some worried that the seemingly uncontroversial CHIPS and Science Act could be in the crosshairs. The CDT Roundup looks at that concern and what the CHIPS Act has meant already to Texas. That and the usual roll call of last week's transactions.
A $50 billion data center joint venture is nothing to ignore. Neither are the footnotes that occasionally accompany a monumental deal. The CDT Roundup this week looks at the big numbers that are building up around AI-driven data centers, and a few tiny cautions about what to expect of them. FYI, we didn't ignore our usual roster of last week's deals — even those under $50 billion.
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