Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Mark Metts has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, acquisitions for private equity clients, and public offerings, especially relating to the energy industry.

Mark has been involved in numerous negotiated M&A deals, including the acquisitions by: Seagull Energy Corporation of Mesa Oil Properties (1991) and of Global Natural Resources (1996), Snyder Oil of Gerrity Oil to create Patina Oil & Gas (1996), and Enron Corp. of Portland General Corporation (1996-1997). In addition, he handled the merger of Lomak Oil with Domain Resources to create Range Resources (1998), the merger of Seagull Energy with Ocean Energy (1998), the sale by Enron of Portland General Corporation to Northwest Natural Gas Company (2001), and the sale by Enron of its wind company's turbine manufacturing business to GE Power Systems (2002).

He also has significant experience in unsolicited M&As, including: the takeover by Vitro S.A. of Anchor Glass Company (the first hostile takeover of a U.S. company by a Mexican company), coupled with the negotiated acquisition of Latchford Glass Company (1989-1990); the representation of Louis Dreyfus as a competitor to Parker & Parsley for the Graham oil and gas limited partnerships that resulted in the acquisition of a material portion of the partnerships' assets by Louis Dreyfus (1992); and the takeover by Enron of Wessex Water in the U.K. (1998).

Mark's corporate reorganizations experience has involved the representation of the special committee of the Southland Corp. board of directors in the leveraged buyout of Southland by the Thompson Family (1986); the recapitalization by Enron of Enron Oil & Gas, consisting of the exchange of EOG's international assets for Enron's shares of EOG (1999); and repurchase by Enron of the publicly traded shares of Azurix Corp. not owned by Enron (2000). Furthermore, Mark has represented several different private equity clients in numerous acquisitions in the energy industry and the food and over-the-counter drug categories, as well as in the subsequent follow-on acquisitions, public offerings, and dispositions; and he has worked as lead counsel on many equity and debt public offerings on behalf of issuers and underwriters.

Areas of Practice

• Private Equity
• Buyouts
• Fund Formation
• Venture Capital - Investor
• Venture Capital - Issuer
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• M&A
• Energy
• Energy Transactions
• Energy/Utilities

Representative Cases

• Acquisition of Anadarko Interests in Chaney Dell and Midkiff/Benedum Systems
• Acquisition of DTE Gas & Oil
• Acquisition of Interest in Alexia Foods
• Acquisition of Meguiar’s, Inc.
• Acquisition of Stone Energy
• Alterna Acquisition
• BMC Financing
• Buyout
• Buyout
• Buyout
• Buyout
• Buyout
• Buyout
• Issuance of Shares by Sonora Mills Foods, Inc.
• Joint Venture
• Management Buyout
• PureOlogy Acquisition
• Recapitalization
• Revolving Line of Credit
• Rule 144A, Regulation D and Regulation S Senior Notes Offering
• Sale of Apache China Corporation
• Sale of Enogex Arkansas Pipeline
• Welltec MBO

West Practice Categories

Banking & Finance Law, Business & Commercial Law, Business Organizations, Business Successions, Closely Held Businesses, Corporate Governance, Directors' & Officers' Liability, Dissolution, Formation & Business Planning, Franchising, Joint Ventures, Lending & Secured Transactions, Limited Liability Companies, Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures, Non-profit & Tax-exempt Organizations, Partnerships, Reorganizations, Shareholders' Rights, Trade Associations, Venture Capital

Bar Admissions

• Texas

Education

• U of Texas - Austin

Published Works

• SEC Modernizes Requirements for Reporting Oil and Gas Reserves, 2009

Address

717 Texas
Suite 3300
Houston, TX 77002-2712

Phones

1.832.239.3759 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.832.239.3600 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com