Louisiana’s 10 largest mergers or acquisitions in 2025 underscore the continued nationwide and worldwide curiosity within the state’s strategic infrastructure, pure sources, vitality providers and industrial expertise sectors. At the very least seven of the highest 10 offers handle these industries.

Apart from New Orleans-based Sazerac Firm’s SVEDKA acquisition, every transaction concerned a non-Louisiana purchaser buying a Louisiana-based enterprise.

In what has been one of many extra energetic years for Louisiana-based M&A in latest reminiscence, the state noticed 201 transactions involving a Louisiana goal, purchaser, or vendor introduced or closed in 2025. This compares to 171 in 2024.  Most transactions don’t disclose phrases.

Louisiana M&A exercise picked up within the second half of 2025 with decrease rates of interest and federal tax cuts that help capital funding. Of observe is the December announcement of Harbour Power’s pending acquisition of Covington-based LLOG Exploration, one of many largest privately held operators within the Gulf of Mexico, for a value of $3.2 billion.

Additionally in December, Baton Rouge-based Bernhard Capital Companions exited its electrical infrastructure portfolio firm, United Utility Providers, in a $1 billion sale to Sandbrook Capital and Blackstone Credit score & Insurance coverage, the personal credit score and insurance coverage arm of Blackstone Inc. The transaction positions United Utility to capitalize on rising demand and multi-year grid reliability and resiliency investments, supported by Sandbrook’s long-term capital and sector experience. New Orleans-based United Utility will proceed to function beneath its present model and management, with Colt Moedl persevering with as CEO.

Within the largest transaction of 2025, AT&T subsidiary Cast Fiber 37 LLC acquired considerably all the fiber web connectivity belongings of Lumen Applied sciences, Inc. for $5.75 billion, reinforcing AT&T’s push to increase its nationwide broadband footprint.

Nearly as massive was the $5.7 billion funding by Williams Firms to amass an 80% stake in Driftwood Pipeline and a ten% stake in Louisiana LNG LLC, marking its first direct funding in LNG and a long-term dedication to the U.S. Gulf Coast export market. This partnership with Woodside Power deepens Williams “wellhead to water” technique by integrating upstream fuel sourcing, midstream infrastructure, advertising, and LNG export capabilities.

2026 M&A market

Trying ahead to 2026, the U.S. M&A market is predicted to be a dynamic one, with energy within the tech, industrial and healthcare sectors, supported by personal fairness exercise and a positive financing atmosphere. The core catalyst for elevated exercise is technological innovation, propelled by AI transformation and vitality transition. Firms who’re seen to profit from AI tailwinds may even see outsized multiples and deal exercise.

Availability of capital is the lifeblood of M&A. The projected decline within the federal funds price from the present 3.50%-3/75% to a consensus of three.1% by 2027 suggests a extra accommodative atmosphere for deal making, as does the excessive stage of dry powder held by each private and non-private markets. Money on the steadiness sheets of the S&P 500 as of their most up-to-date quarterly filings was estimated to be $3.49 trillion. U.S. personal fairness held $990 million of capital prepared for funding at September 30, 2025, in accordance with PitchBook. A deep bench of institutional traders and different asset managers are additionally fueling the personal capital market, as are a rising checklist of household places of work.

Additionally influencing 2026 exercise will likely be personal fairness’s massive, unrealized portfolio worth, for which they have to handle timing and execution of exits. U.S. personal fairness holds over $4 trillion in belongings, with 40% held for greater than 4 years.  Including to this exercise is the Child Boomer technology, which nonetheless owns roughly 12 million U.S. companies. As much as 70% of these are anticipated to be bought over the following 10–15 years.

Market challenges persevering with into 2026 embrace geopolitics, uncertainty round tariffs, a extra fractured international commerce atmosphere, an unsure jobs market and the specter for elevated inflation. Nonetheless with actual GDP and S&P 500 EPS anticipated to develop in 2026, the macro backdrop ought to typically help deal making.

G.F. Homosexual Le Breton is managing director for Chaffe & Associates Inc., answerable for the company finance actions of the agency. Mitch Murray is a company finance analyst with the agency. Funding banking providers are offered by Chaffe Securities Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. For extra info, go to http://chaffe-associates.com.