Locke Lord Lawyers Recognized as Trusted Dealmakers as Firm’s Transactional Rankings Improve in Mergermarket and Texas Lawbook

August 10, 2016 – Locke Lord lawyers have represented numerous clients on major deals and transactions in the first half of 2016, boosting the Firm’s rank among deal tracking databases and publications. The Firm ranked 14th for deal count in the U.S. South region, according to Mergermarket’s H1 2016 Trend Report, a jump from 25th in the same time period the previous year. According to Mergermarket’s measuring tools Locke Lord’s southern region offices had 20 major deals in the first half of 2016, with more than 30 deals Firmwide.

In addition, Texas Lawbook has also ranked Locke Lord tied at 4th in its Corporate Deal Tracker for the first half of the year, crediting the Firm’s Austin, Dallas and Houston offices with 21 deal closures. Last year at this time, the Firm was in the 13th spot with four deal closures.

Locke Lord lawyers have provided counsel on deals valued at more than $7 billion during the first half of 2016. These transactions, varying in value and detail, have contributed to the Firm’s increased stature in rankings and trusted reputation as counsel and dealmakers in the Firm’s highly-regarded Mergers and Acquisitions Section and the Private Equity and Venture Capital Practice Group.

Some high profile and notable transactions led by Locke Lord lawyers in the first six months of 2016 are:

• Represented Waste Connections in the $3.5 billion merger with Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. closed on June 1, 2016. This complex transaction required a team effort across several offices – Corporate: David Taylor; Tax: Buddy Sanders, Jaremi Chilton; Benefits/Compensation: Ed Razim and Laura Ferguson.
• Served as legal counsel to Lamar Advertising in the $458.5 million acquisition of the assets of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., in five U.S. markets announced January 7, 2016. George Ticknor led the deal team which included Christine McCay and Megan Foscaldi.
• Provided counsel to National General Holdings Corp. in its agreement to buy Century-National Insurance Company for approximately $318 million. The closed transaction was announced on June 1, 2016. The Locke Lord team was led by Jeff Etherington and also included Chris Flanagan, Lori Basilico, Joe Farside and Zach Lerner.
• Served as legal counsel to Lucid Energy Group II, LLC, a full-service midstream provider based in Dallas, in the secured initial equity commitment of $350 million from EnCap Flatrock Midstream and the Lucid II management team on February 23, 2016. The Locke Lord team consisted of Bill Swanstrom, Paul Pruett, Rachel Fitzgerald and Sara Longtain.
• Locke Lord Partners Andrew Hughes and Paul Mahoney represented Silver Oak Services Partners in the February 2016 sale of National Distribution & Contracting, Inc. (NDC) to New York-based private equity firm Court Square Capital Partners.

About Locke Lord LLP
Locke Lord is a full-service, international law firm of more than 20 offices designed to meet clients’ needs around the world. The Firm has a history that spans more than 125 years and is a worldwide leader in the middle market sector. Locke Lord advises clients across a broad spectrum of industries including energy, financial services, fund formation, health care, insurance and reinsurance, private equity and venture capital, public finance, real estate, and technology, media and telecommunications, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, intellectual property, regulatory and transactional teams.