September 5, 2007

Wake of the Flood: Q&A With N.O. Lawyer Scott Willis
Posted by Dana Cimilluca

With the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina recently upon us, Deal Journal wondered about deal making in New Orleans and how it was affected by the storm. We reached out to Scott Willis, a partner at Fishman Haygood Phelps Walmsley Willis & Swanson, a boutique law firm in the Big Easy. Here’s what he had to say:

Deal Journal: How has the storm affected deal flow in the region?

Scott Willis: We’ve seen pretty normal deal flow since the storm. In many cases valuations are higher after the storm than they were before. There’s been healthy acquisition and divestiture interest. You would have thought the opposite.

DJ: What’s fueling the increased acquisition demand?

SW: There has been a big influx in insurance payments after the storm. Banks are sitting on very sizeable deposits. Higher oil prices haven’t hurt either.
Deal Journal: Why aren’t there a lot of Louisiana M&A deals in the headlines?

SW: Louisiana isn’t home to a lot of Fortune 500 companies. Most of the M&A tends to be one private company buying another. Being private, many of them tend to fly below the radar.

DJ: Where is the action now, oil and gas?

SW: We’re diversifying out beyond oil and gas like Houston did 10-15 years ago. Health care, ports and tourism are the three pillars of the economy.

DJ: What else is driving deal making down there?

SW: There are a lot of new people coming in that have an entrepreneurial spirit. The more differentiated and diverse the people you have, the more opportunity for deal making you’ll have.

Wall Street Journal Deal Blog


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