Year-to-date, there have been 136 deals valued at $42.58 billion – about the same number of transactions at this time last year but 46 percent less in terms of value ($78.8 billion). Capital markets activity continued to build this past week, with six transactions valued at $1.262 billion versus 14 M&A/private equity/venture capital deals worth $1.771 billion. Texas Lawbook Senior M&A Writer Claire Poole has the inside details.
V&E, Akin advise on Targa’s $1.6B sale of Badlands stake to Blackstone/GSO
Houston-based Targa Resources Corp. announced Tuesday that it agreed to sell 45 percent of North Dakota unit Targa Badlands to funds managed by GSO Capital Partners and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities for $1.6 billion in cash. Claire Poole has the details.
Financial Advisor Rankings: Make Way For The ‘Bulge-Bracket Banker’
Barclays and Goldman Sachs top the 2018 league tables for investment banks advising on Texas deals. But the real story in exclusive Mergermarket data provided to The Texas Lawbook may be the trend toward fewer but bigger deals in the state and elsewhere. Claire Poole explains.
Mergermarket: Kirkland, then V&E Dominate Texas M&A
Locked in a five-year battle with V&E for top M&A firm in Texas, Kirkland represented more Texas-based companies in 2018 than any law firm in Texas history. New Mergermarket rankings show a growing separation between Kirkland and V&E, and even more separation between V&E and the rest of the pack. The Texas Lawbook has the details.
RSP’s James Mutrie: Putting Himself Out of a Job
It’s not much fun to be general counsel of a company going through a sale which, if successful, would likely put you out of a job. But Jim Mutrie handled his company’s $9.5 billion sale to Concho Resources last year like a pro. Now he’s RSP Permian’s former general counsel and a finalist for an Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award.
2018: The Most Deals Ever? Probably – But There Are Still Worries
Last year, 2018, was a good one for M&A. The deal count, a 12-year high, may have been the highest for Texas companies ever. The value of those deals was the second-best since 2007. But a sluggish fourth quarter gives pause for the new year, one that a Mergermarket expert describes as big dealmaking “in search of a catalyst.” Claire Poole explains.
Sidley Advises Luby’s on Proxy Fight Win Over Activist Investor
The management of Luby’s Inc. chalked up a big win on Friday – and so did several Sidley lawyers in Texas. The Houston-based restaurant chain beat back a proxy fight by Bandera, a New York-based investment firm run by Jeff Gramm, son of former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm. Claire Poole has the details.
Brooks & Talbott – Two EnLink Lawyers, One Team, Lots of Growth
EnLink Midstream Partners CLO Alaina Brooks and Deputy GC Kendall Talbott have been a team for a half-dozen years. Together, they implemented a $13 billion simplification, brought several midstream projects online, eliminated dozens of nuisance lawsuits and sold a $3.12 billion interest in EnLink. Now they’re finalists for an ACC-DFW award.
DBJ: Another Dallas Investment Firm Raising More than $1B for New Fund
Dallas private equity financier Newstone Capital Partners is aiming to raise $1.25 billion for a fourth fund, according to a recent regulatory filing.
2018 In Review: The Top 10 Texas M&A Deals
There are lots of reasons for mergers and acquisitions: to simplify corporate structure; to diversify product mix; to extend geographic reach. There is also the need for cash: to pay down debt, to boost shareholder return or to invest in lucrative prospects. In her Top 10 Texas M&A Deals, Claire Poole found an array of those motives on display in 2018.