Jones Day, Latham & Watkins and Simpson Thatcher Lead KKR’s $7.2 billion Purchase of Samson Investment Company

by Jessica Huseman, Staff Writer 
NOVEMBER 23 — A large contingent of Texas corporate lawyers kicked off the Thanksgiving holiday in style with the announcement that Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Natural Gas Partners, Crestview Partners and Itochu Corporation had agreed to purchase $7.2 billion in assets from Oklahoma-based Samson Investment Company, which is a large oil and gas exploration and production company.
More than two dozen lawyers from the Texas offices of Jones Day, Latham & Watkins, and Simpson Thatcher have been identified as having worked on the transaction.
Under the transaction, the investor group, lead by KKR, acquires all of Samson’s assets with the exception of its onshore Gulf Coast and offshore deep water Gulf of Mexico assets, which will continue to be owned by the Schusterman family.
Two Jones Day lawyers – Scott Cohen, a Dallas partner specializing in mergers and acquisitions, and Jeff Schlegel, a Houston partner specializing in energy – led the team representing Samson. Sampson is a long-time client of Cohen, who joined Jones Day earlier this year.
NGP was represented by Latham & Watkins’ Houston partners Charles Carpenter and Michael Chambers. Carpenter and Chambers also represent Energy transfer Equity in its $9.4 billion bid to purchase Southern Union Gas.
Simpson Thatcher, which is KKR’s long-time outside counsel, was led by partners based in New York, but had significant contributions from Houston partner Robert Rabalais and Houston associate Andrew Calder.
The agreement is expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.
“Samson is a family-owned business. Their interests and concerns go beyond purely legal and economic considerations, and their advisors have to understand that,” said Cohen. “In particular, the Schustermans are strongly committed to their community and their people, which was a significant focus of the sale process and the transaction negotiations. KKR was sensitive to, and supportive of, the family’s concerns, which is what made the deal possible.”
Cohen also represented Texas Instruments in its $6.5 billion acquisition of National Semiconductor Corp. in April.
Jessica Huseman is a staff writer for The Texas Lawbook. Her email is jessica.huseman@texaslawbook.net.