Kirkland & Ellis, which opened an office in Houston in 2014, did the most Texas M&A work in 2017, and Vinson & Elkins was the leading homegrown Texas firm for 2017 M&A in the Lone Star State, according to data provided by Mergermarket.

Kirkland & Ellis led two rankings of firms for Texas M&A in 2017. Kirkland topped the list of firms ranked by value of deals, with $83 billion, and also topped the list of firms ranked by number of deals, with 80. V&E was fifth among the firms for value, with a total value of $50 billion, and second for number of deals, with 68.

The number of M&A deals in Texas increased incrementally in 2017 compared with 2016, but the total value of those deals declined by 42.5 percent for the year compared with the previous year. In Texas, 986 deals involving a Texas target, bidder or seller, totaling $269.7 billion, were announced in 2017. That compares with 966 Texas deals valued at $469.3 billion the previous year, according to Mergermarket.