V&E and Latham Advise ETP/ETE in $3.75 Billion Transaction

© 2013 The Texas Lawbook.By Mark Curriden Senior Writer for The Texas Lawbook (March 21, 2013) – Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, which is one of the largest and most diversified oil and gas companies in the U.S. with assets exceeding $16 billion, announced Thursday that its financial structures are overly complicated and need simplifying. Never has there been a more true statement. Follow me on this: ETP is purchasing a 60 percent ownership stake in its own holding company, ETP Holdco, from one of its sister corporations, Energy Transfer Equity, which owns the general partner and distribution rights of ETP. ETP and ETE created ETP Holdco to control the assets of two recent acquisitions – ETE’s $4.2 billion purchase of Southern Union in 2011 and ETP’s $5.3 billion acquisition of Sunoco Inc. in 2012. ETE owns 60 percent of ETP Holdco, while ETP owns 40 percent. Under Thursday’s agreement, ETP, which operates as a master limited partnership, agrees to pay $3.75 billion to ETE, which also is structured as an MLP. ETE will receive $2.35 billion of newly issued ETP units and $1.4 billion in cash. ETP also owns 70 percent of Lone Star NGL and 32 percent of Sunoco…