Alta Marcellus Taps Kirkland for Two Christmas Week Acquisitions

© 2016 The Texas Lawbook.

By Mark Curriden

(Dec. 23) – Andrew Calder and the M&A team at Kirkland & Ellis helped Houston-based Alta Resources Development add two shiny new assets under the shale oil and gas developer’s Christmas tree.

Sidley Austin partner James Rice III and Anadarko Petroleum associate general counsel Randle Jones led a group of Houston lawyers advising the Houston E&P company in the sale of one of those transactions.

Alta announced Wednesday that it is purchasing upstream assets and operated midstream assets in the Marcellus Shale of north-central Pennsylvania from Anadarko for $1.24 billion.

On Thursday, Alta disclosed that it is paying $207 million to acquire Mitsui and Mitsui Oil Exploration Company’s interest in a Marcellus shale gas project in Pennsylvania.

Calder, who represented Alta three years ago in the company’s divestiture of Canadian shale assets, is the lead legal adviser for Alta in both transactions.

Other Kirkland lawyers who are working on the deal are Houston-based partners John Pitts, Will Bos, Lucas Spivey, Cody Carper, Justin Fitzgerald Hoffman, Matthew Nadworny and Chad McCormick. These associates also advised Alta: Lauren Dies, David Thompson, Barrett Schitka and David Moore, Jordan Roberts and Tim Campany.

Anadarko General Counsel Amanda McMillian chose associate GC Jones, Rice and Sidley associate Katy Lukaszewski to be Anadarko’s lead legal advisers. Sidley associates Eduardo Marquez Certucha and John Brannan III also worked on the deal.