© 2014 The Texas Lawbook.
By Natalie Posgate – (October 1) – Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners LP on Wednesday purchased general partner and limited partner interests of Oiltanking Partners LP for $4.4 billion.
Andrews Kurth in Houston led the transaction for Enterprise, with corporate partner David Buck as the lead attorney. The corporate team also included partner John Clutterbuck and associates Phil Haines, Chris Griffith, Morgan Kenner, Chris Adcock, Coleman Wombwell and Jillian Rae.
Andews Kurth attorneys who handled other aspects of the deal included Houston tax partners Robert McNamara and Angela Richards, real property partner O’Banion Williams, Austin environmental partner Lisa Shelton and Dallas antitrust partner Kay Lynn Brumbaugh.
In 2010, Andrews Kurth represented Enterprise in an $8 billion merger when it bought-out its holding company, Enterprise GP Holdings LP.
Paul Hewitt of Akin Gump’s Washington, D.C. office teamed up with Andrews Kurth on antitrust matters for Enterprise.
Corporate counsel from Enterprise involved included Chris Wade and Stephanie Hildebrandt, the company’s general counsel. Before joining Enterprise, Hildebrandt worked in the Texaco legal department and the legal department of El Paso Corporation/GulfTerra Energy Partners before GulfTerra’s merger with Enterprise in 2004.
A Houston-based transactional team from Vinson & Elkins led the deal for Oiltanking Holdings Americas Inc., which is a subsidiary of the German parent company. Partners Alan Beck and Jeff Floyd and associates Kai Haakon Liekefett and Lande Spottswood acted as the lead attorneys, and received assistance from associates Bobak Fatemizadeh, Kate Rainey, John Hayes and Robert Wilson.
Others on the V&E team from Houston included tax partner Ryan Carney and associate Laura Gieseke, labor and employment partner Tom Wilson and associate Grace Ho, environmental partner Larry Nettles, finance associate Guy Gribov and capital markets associate Clint Smith. From the Dallas office, partner Shane Tucker and associate Casey Fisk handled employee benefits matters and partner Michael Holmes handled litigation matters.
In 2011, V&E represented Oiltanking in its $200 million initial public offering and has served as the company’s primary outside counsel since then.
New York partner David Levy of Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom also handled tax matters for Oiltanking.
On the in-house end, Oiltanking North America General Counsel Brian Brantley was involved. Before joining Oiltanking in 2012, Brantley practiced corporate law at V&E.
With the $4.4 billion price tag, Enterprise now has a 64.7 percent stake in Oiltanking Partners LP, as well as its 2 percent general partner interest and related incentive distribution rights.
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