In the face of a generally sluggish deals market, 2023 managed to present notable moments. The year was marked by significant activity in the energy sector, largely benefitting from commodity prices, while the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors also excelled, thanks to strong balance sheets bolstered by pandemic-related cash inflows. Notably, overall deals activity dropped by more than 14% to $777 billion through the third quarter, compared to the same period in the previous year.
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Exxon Mobil announced its all-stock $59.5 billion acquisition of rival Pioneer Natural Resources Co. in October, the year’s largest deal. Davis Polk & Wardwell and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher acted as legal advisers to ExxonMobil and Pioneer respectively.
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Chevron Corp. bought energy competitor Hess Corp. in an all-stock transaction worth $53 billion. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal advisers to Chevron and Hess respectively.
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Pfizer Inc. announced plans to acquire Seagen Inc., the cancer-drug maker, for $43 billion in March. Wachtell acted as Pfizer’s legal adviser while Sullivan & Cromwell advised Seagen.
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Cisco Systems Inc. announced its acquisition of Splunk for $28 billion in September. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as legal counsel, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore served as regulatory counsel to Cisco.
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KKR & Co. Inc. agreed to buy phone carrier Telecom Italia for around $24 billion in November, marking a significant deal amid a slowdown in private equity dealmaking.
However, such transactions are not without their complications. They are subject to regulatory approvals and could face potential roadblocks, particularly given the continued economic uncertainty.
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