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North America - United States • Energy

Akin

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Regularly advising on the sale and purchase of assets, company acquisitions, stock mergers, and public offerings, Akin is a popular choice for industry players, sponsors and investors engaging with oil & gas, petrochemicals and LNG. The team is frequently called upon by premium clients such as Tug Hill Inc. and DiamondBack energy as they expand their portfolios, and the group has been largely active on upstream and midstream M&A, often handling multi-billion-dollar deals. Co-head of the corporate practice, New York’s Zachary N. Wittenberg possesses a multifarious offering, working with public and private companies across a range of instructions. Sitting alongside Wittenberg at the head of the team and operating out of Dallas, Wesley Williams is an M&A specialist with a notable focus on upstream and midstream transactions. The Houston-based John Goodgame is often positioned as a financial advisor to clients, guiding them through capital raises. Cole Bredthauer operates out of Fort Worth and is a regular advisor to FireBird Energy II LCC alongside other exploration and production companies. Washington DC’s Emily Mallen adds further midstream knowledge and understanding to the team. David Patrick Elder departed the firm in February 2024.

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Key clients

  • Apache Corporation
  • Aquadrill, LLC
  • Cardinal Midstream Partners
  • Diamondback Energy, Inc.
  • Double Eagle Energy
  • Evercore Group
  • FireBird Energy, LLC
  • Genesis Energy, L.P.
  • HighPeak Energy, Inc.
  • New Fortress Energy, Inc.
  • Pan American Energy, S.L.
  • Pine Wave Energy Partners, LLC
  • Rattler Midstream LP
  • Talos Energy Inc.
  • Tapstone Energy, LLC
  • Tug Hill, Inc.
  • Viper Energy Partners LP
  • Vital Energy, Inc.

Work highlights

  • Represented Tug Hill Inc. and its affiliates in connection with the sale of upstream and midstream assets from oil & gas producer Tug Hill and pipeline company XcL Midstream to EQT Corporation for $5.2 billion.
  • Represented Evercore Group as the financial advisor to the special committee of the board of directors of DCP Midstream GP, LLC on the $3.8 billion acquisition by Phillips 66 of all of the publicly held common units of DCP Midstream, LP.
  • Represented FireBird Energy LLC, a private Midland Basin operator, on its agreement to sell all of its leasehold interests and related assets to Diamondback Energy Inc. in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at roughly $1.75 billion.

Lawyers

Leading partners

The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

John Goodgame

John Goodgame

Akin

John Goodgame helps clients navigate strategic transactions, primarily in the energy business. He advises public and private companies and private equity funds in initial public offerings (IPOs) and other public and private equity and debt offerings, as well as complex joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, John counsels public companies, their boards of directors and board committees in strategic and governance matters, including mergers, sales of control and conflict situations, as well as Securities and Exchange Commission reporting and compliance. Recently, among other high-profile transactions, he advised Talos Energy Inc. in its $1.29 billion agreement to acquire QuarterNorth Energy; Viper Energy, Inc. in its $1 billion acquisition of Permian Basin mineral and royalty interests, $264 million secondary common stock offering and $400 million senior notes offering; and Diamondback Energy, Inc. in its joint venture with Five Point Energy to form Deep Blue Midland Basin LLC. John was the partner in charge of the Houston office and the co-head of Akin’s global corporate practice until 2022. To learn more about John, please visit his full profile: https://www.akingump.com/en/lawyers-advisors/john-goodgame.html

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Zachary Wittenberg, Wesley Williams

Other key lawyers

John Goodgame, Cole Bredthauer, Emily Mallen