Law360 Quotes Wes Williams, Rob Shearer and Ike Emehelu on Energy M&A in H1 2023

For its article “Energy Deals Gathered Steam In First Half Of 2023,” Law360 quoted Akin corporate partners Wes Williams and Rob Shearer and projects & energy transition co-head Ike Emehelu. The article looks at the growth in energy deal-making in the first half of this year following a shaky 2022.

Reviewing the start of the year, Wes, who co-heads the firm’s energy practice, said that there was a “fair amount of activity” in the first quarter, adding, “But if you look at how it compares to more recent trends in the upstream and midstream space, the deal activity was quite depressed in the first quarter.”

Discussing the power sector, Rob, whose practice features a strong focus on the traditional and renewable energy and infrastructure industries, pointed to activity by utilities: “Not necessarily mergers of utilities, but utilities acquiring strategic assets or divesting noncore assets.”

Discussing clean energy projects, Ike said “Prior to the IRA, those projects couldn’t pencil; frankly they didn’t make any sense. Now, investors are looking at them and saying, ‘OK, we can actually do this.’”