Houston Chronicle and Texas Lawbook Quote Chris LaFollette on 2017 Texas M&A Activity

Houston Chronicle has quoted Akin Gump oil and gas partner Chris LaFollette in the article “Corporate deals in Texas remain flat during first half of 2017.” The article reports that M&A activity among Texas-based businesses, while still healthy, were far from the fast pace seen just a few years ago.

More than half the deals during the first six months of the year were in the energy sector, according to the article. LaFollette, who serves as partner in charge of Akin Gump’s Houston office, said the firm worked on $5 billion worth of energy deals during that period, despite falling oil prices later in the period and disagreement between buyers and sellers on prices.

“There was a lot of interest in the Eagle Ford and the Permian [basins], which was driven by private equity that still has funds to invest, and energy companies trying to rationalize their assets and focus on their core areas,” LaFollette said.

In a related story that appeared in The Texas Lawbook, “Experts: Texas M&A Activity Unpredictable for H2 2017,” LaFollette said the fact that capital markets moved from hot to cool this summer sapped financing methods to pay for acquisitions. She now expects private equity to become increasingly more active, particularly in joint ventures. LaFollette added that she also expects more consolidation among midstream, or infrastructure, companies.