A transaction assisted by Haynes and Boone, LLP was named Deal of the Year in the Exploration & Production (Upstream) category last week at ACG Houston’s annual awards ceremony. The mission of ACG’s annual awards “is to honor the deals and dealmakers who drive middle-market growth resulting in job growth, capital formation and the advancement of meaningful business relationships.”
In the winning deal, a multi-disciplinary team including attorneys Austin Elam, Kim Mai, Reem Abdelrazik, Brent Duddles, and Matt Stewart served as buyer’s counsel to IKAV Energy in its acquisition of Aera Energy from Shell and ExxonMobil that was initially announced last September.
IKAV is an international asset management group headquartered in Germany, and Aera is one of the largest oil and gas producers in California. In a release announcing the transaction, IKAV committed to continuing Aera’s strategy of producing safe, responsible and affordable energy for all of California as well as helping to achieve statewide carbon neutrality goals.
“Awards like this validate the quality of our work, but more importantly, they showcase and underscore what a great outcome this was for our client,” said Haynes Boone Oil and Gas Practice Group Co-Chair Austin Elam. “Congratulations everyone at IKAV and on the broader deal teams who made this deal happen, including JPMorgan, Citibank and Guggenheim.”
Of the 30 law firms shortlisted for awards this year, Haynes Boone led the field with five total nominations. Two of the remaining four nominations were also in the E&P category (both for Earthstone Energy). The other two were in the Technology and Business Services category (for work as senior debt counsel for Fifth Third Bank in the acquisition of Wise Men Consultants, Inc. by RTS OpCo, Inc.) and in the Consumer and Other Services category (seller’s counsel to Principle Health Systems).
The Deal of the Year award follows other recent recognitions for Haynes Boone’s Mergers and Acquisitions Group, In March, the firm was ranked the fifth most active M&A law firm by The Texas Lawbook for its 79 deals in 2022, and Partner Maria Hopper was named to The Deal’s Top Women Dealmakers of 2023 list.
Haynes Boone’s M&A Practice Group represents private equity firms, closely held corporations, founders, large financial institutions and Fortune 500 public companies. The Oil and Gas Group represents domestic and foreign public and private companies—whether small independents or large multinational companies—engaged in resource plays and shale plays.
Haynes and Boone, LLP is an international law firm with 19 offices spanning Texas, New York, California, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Virginia, Washington, D.C., London, Mexico City and Shanghai, providing a full spectrum of legal services in energy, technology, financial services, real estate, litigation, and private equity. With about 650 lawyers, Haynes Boone is ranked among the largest U.S.-based firms by The National Law Journal, The American Lawyer and The Lawyer. It was recognized in the BTI Consulting Group’s 2022 “A-Team” report, which identifies the law firms that in-house counsel commend for providing superior client service.
