Winston & Strawn bolstered its Houston corporate bench by adding two capital markets partners, the firm announced late Wednesday.
James R. Brown and Doug Lionberger have lateraled over from Thompson & Knight, where they practiced for nine months. Prior to TK, the pair worked together at Vinson & Elkins for more than a decade.
“The volume and complexity of corporate transactions native to Houston continues to increase in line with the state’s growth in a post-COVID environment,” Brown said in a statement.
“As more companies make Texas their home, there is a corresponding demand for legal expertise that can help clients navigate complex deal structures with an informed understanding of the region’s critical place in the energy sector. Winston’s global platform will also allow us to diversify our practice, both geographically and across the industries we service.”
In March, Lionberger and Brown, with TK partner Cassandra Mott, aided Austin-based Atlas Technical Consultants in completing a significant recapitalization and simplification of the company’s capital structure.
The TK team helped Atlas replace its current debt and preferred equity agreements with a new loan credit agreement consisting of $432 million of long-term debt maturing in 2028 and a $75 million committed delayed draw term loan from funds managed by Blackstone Credit. Atlas also replaced its existing revolving credit facility with a new five-year, $40 million asset based revolving credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase.
Lionberger also highlighted Winston’s experience advising clients on significant SPAC deals.
While at V&E last July, Lionberger was part of the deal team that advised the Apollo Global SPAC Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp. in its merger with Fisker, the California maker of electric vehicles. The business combination had a pro forma equity value of $2.9 billion.
In another energy-focused SPAC deal last summer, Lionberger worked with V&E partner Ramey Layne in representing Lightfoot Capital Partners-backed Tortoise Acquisition Corp. in a merger with Hyliion, an Austin-based developer and manufacturer of electrified power trains for Class 8 commercial vehicles. Hyliion Holdings Corp., the name of the combined company, was expected to have a pro forma market capitalization exceeding $1.5 billion.