Bio

Steve Bartz is a partner in the Dallas office of DLA Piper LLP (US) and a member of the firm's Corporate Group. Steve has extensive experience advising private equity funds, venture capital funds, and privately owned companies in a variety of complex transactions, including private equity and venture capital fund formation transactions, mergers and acquisitions, control and minority investments, private placements of securities, strategic alliances, and joint ventures. Drawing on his deep experience in capital formation, Steve works with clients to implement transaction structures that meet their strategic business objectives. Those objectives often mandate implementing capital structures that are tailored to client-specific needs while also providing flexibility for the widest array of potential investors globally. Steve routinely works with clients on funds formation, sponsor formation, and strategic alliances/joint ventures. He also counsels clients in private capital markets transactions. After capital formation, Steve works with his clients to put their capital to work. Steve advises clients in structuring and executing portfolio company joint ventures; investments in private equity funds; and mergers, acquisitions, and dispositions of privately owned securities and other assets. His practice encompasses M&A transactions with both domestic and cross-border elements. Steve has been recognized in The Legal 500 US in the M&A/Corporate and Commercial—M&A Middle Market (Sub-$500M) and M&A Middle Market ($500M-999M) categories and in Texas Rising Stars® by Thomson Reuters. DLA Piper's Corporate/M&A practice is ranked as "Highly Regarded" by Chambers USA Guide. Steve also advises clients on compliance and regulatory issues relating to corporate governance, Advisers Act status and compliance, Investment Company Act matters, broker-dealer matters, and securities regulation as it applies to private transactions. Steve regularly represents and counsels clients on matters that cover a wide spectrum of sectors, such as the finance, hospitality and leisure, sport and entertainment, real estate, healthcare, and energy sectors, including the upstream, midstream, and oilfield services segments of the energy industry.