Canadian energy infrastructure pipeline company Enbridge said on Sept. 9 that it has acquired the crude oil business of Tallgrass Energy for $2.55 billion cash.
Sidley Austin led by Atman Shukla and Cliff Vrielink in Houston and Sullivan & Cromwell provided outside legal counsel to Enbridge.
Vinson & Elkins advised Tallgrass with a team led by Lande Spottswood in Houston and Will Myer in Denver.
The Calgary-based company said the acquired assets include 75 percent of the Pony Express Pipeline, a 1,050-mile system connecting Rockies production to Cushing, Oklahoma, as well as 51 percent of the Powder River Gateway system and storage capacity of about 8.4 million barrels across nine crude terminals connected to the pipeline, including a majority non-controlling stake in the Deeprock Crude Terminal in Cushing.
“This acquisition strengthens Enbridge’s position as North America’s leading crude oil transporter and expands its footprint into the U.S. Rockies region,” said Colin Gruending, president of Enbridge Liquids Pipelines. “The Pony Express system is a premier crude oil corridor connecting some of North America’s most productive basins with key refining and market centers. These assets complement our broader North American footprint. As operator of Pony Express, we look forward to leveraging Enbridge’s proven operational capabilities to safely and reliably serve customers across the system.”
Sidley’s Texas lawyers who counseled Enbridge include Stephen Boone, Anthony Hilbert, Angela Richards, Eric Ma, Heather Palmer, Tiphaine Kugener, Eva Romero-Sutherland and Ty Kennington in Houston. Eric Winwood, Lauren Grau and Estella Serrano advised from Dallas. Citi was exclusive financial advisor to Enbridge.
Vinson & Elkins Texas-based lawyers who also provided counsel to Tallgrass include Brad Rossiter, Jamie Jun, Sarah Mitchell, Courtney Hammond and Shane Tucker in Dallas; with Chase Browndorf, Lauren Perillo, Emily Brown, Will Sladic, Tate Shaw, Rachel Akpan-Smart, Henry Crowell, Becky Baker, Peter Goetschel, Justine Jia, Ryan Carney, James Sutherland, Suzanne Clevenger, Sarah Morgan, Alex Lewis, Chet Wynne, Chandni Jaggi and Sophie Belton in Houston.
Caitlin Turner, Rosario Galardi, Victoria Godfrey, Ryan Hoeffner, Hill Wellford, Evan Miller and Rami Rashmawi advised from Washington D.C. with Jennifer Cornejo in Denver.