King & Spalding transactional partner Jeff Malonson is jumping to Weil Gotshal & Manges as part of the latter firm’s planned expansion of its Houston office, according to a source close to the situation.
Malonson already informed K&S of his departure a couple of weeks ago. He will start at Weil on Sept. 23 when his move is expected to be publicly announced, the source said.
Tracie Renfroe, managing partner of K&S’ Houston office, didn’t respond to a request for comment. A Weil spokeswoman also didn’t respond.
Malonson isn’t expected to bring any associates over from K&S, as he typically worked with attorneys in the firm’s Atlanta office on private equity deals.
But Weil does plan to bring on both associates and partners from other firms to build out the Houston office’s ranks in private equity and transactional work as well as corporate finance and restructuring, the source said.
Weil’s Houston office has dwindled over the years to only 16 lawyers, mostly in the intellectual property and bankruptcy/reorganization areas.
Weil private equity partner Rodney Moore in Dallas is listed as having an office in Houston. Private equity and M&A associate Samuel Peca rejoined Weil in May after a 23 month stint at Kirkland & Ellis.
Malonson has advised on several large transactions while at K&S, including assisting Brookfield Infrastructure – a new client – on its $1.1 billion purchase of AT&T’s internet data center colocation operations last year. He also helped Brookfield unit Brookfield Principal Credit on its recapitalization of Cardone Industries Inc., the largest privately held automotive parts manufacturer in the world.
The attorney also worked on several transactions for NextDecade, including its $1.1 billion merger with special purpose acquisition company Harmony Merger Corp. last year, which made it a public company, and a capital raise to develop liquefied natural gas export terminals in Texas. He’s also advised Transocean, ConocoPhillips and Concho Resources on deals, including ConocoPhillips’ 2017 sale of of its western Canada assets to Cenovus Energy Inc. for $13.3 billion.
Malonson joined the firm in 2016 from Vinson & Elkins. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law.