© 2016 The Texas Lawbook.
By Natalie Posgate
(Sept. 26) – Canonsburg, Pa.-based Rice Energy said today that they will acquire Englewood, Colo.-based Vantage Energy and Vantage Energy II in a deal worth $2.7 billion including assumption of debt.
As part of the deal, Rice Energy’s midstream-focused master limited partnership, Rice Midstream Partners, will purchase the acquired midstream assets from Rice Energy for $600 million.
The deal will cause Rice Energy to control hundreds of thousands of net acres in the Marcellus and Ohio Utica shale plays. It will allow Rice Midstream to control one of the largest and most concentrated core dry gas acreage dedications in the Marcellus Shale, an online statement from Rice said.
Lawyers from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Latham & Watkins and Vinson & Elkins represented the companies in the transaction.
Rice Energy hired Houston corporate partners Sean Wheeler and Bill Finnegan of Latham to lead its deal team. They received assistance from Houston corporate associates Chad MacDonald, Jayne Wabeke and tax associate Jared Grimley. Latham’s Washington, D.C. office also worked on the deal team.
Houston partners Vince Kendrick and Eric Muñoz and counsel Christopher Centrich of Akin Gump represented the conflicts committee of Rice Midstream.
Vantage Energy turned to Houston V&E partners Keith Fullenweider and Creighton Smith to lead its end of the deal. The remainder of the Houston-based deal team included corporate associates Shamus Crosby, Robert Hughes, Connor Long and Shauna DiGiovanni; tax partner John Lynch and associates Lina Dimachkieh, Allyson Seger and Christine Mainguy; executive compensation partner Stephen Jacobson; and labor and employment partner Sean Becker. V&E’s New York office was also involved in the deal.
Separately, V&E capital markets partners Doug McWilliams and Julian Seiguer are advising Vantage Energy in a potential initial public offering that it began prior to Rice’s purchase of the company. The IPO deal team also includes Crosby Scofield, Jessica Lewis and Connor Long.
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