Bio

Mark Metts is a partner in the Corporate practice group in Sidley’s Houston office. He joined the firm as a partner in 2012. Mr. Metts has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, acquisitions for private equity clients and public offerings, especially relating to the energy industry. In the mergers and acquisitions area, Mr. Metts represents both buyers and sellers of public and private corporations and counsels boards of directors and financial advisors on acquisition, corporate and financial restructuring and corporate governance-related matters. For example, in 2010, Mr. Metts served as lead M&A counsel on behalf of Continental Airlines in its $8.5 billion all-stock merger of equals with UAL Corp. Mr. Metts has handled hundreds of private company acquisitions and divestitures in a variety of industries, but he primarily focuses on both upstream and midstream oil & gas transactions, including recent acquisitions and related financings for Energy Partners, Ltd. Also in the midstream category, Mr. Metts recently represented a large pipeline and processing concern in connection with a unique multi-year equity funding joint venture with an energy-focused private equity firm. Mr. Metts has represented several different private equity clients in numerous acquisitions in the energy industry, as well as in the food, restaurant, beauty care and other consumer 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. Corporate governance assignments have included advising public company boards, special transaction committees and special litigation committees. His most recent special committee representation involved the 2011 merger of a publicly traded crude oil shipping company with an affiliated publicly traded shipping company. Mr. Metts also regularly represents financial advisors to boards and board committees, primarily in connection with oil & gas transactions. Mr. Metts has significant experience in restructurings and corporate reorganizations, including having handled the corporate law aspects of the restructurings of Energy Partners, Ltd. and Baseline Oil & Gas. Mr. Metts is recognized in the 2014–2019 editions of The Best Lawyers in America in Corporate Law. He is also recognized in Houston Business Journal’s 2016 Who’s Who in Energy. Previously, Mr. Metts advised on the sale by Enron Corp. of its wind company’s turbine manufacturing business to GE Power Systems, and the takeover by Vitro S.A. of Anchor Glass Company (the first hostile takeover of a U.S. company by a Mexican company). He also represented the special committee of the Southland Corp. board of directors in the leveraged buyout of Southland by the Thompson Family and the recapitalization by Enron of Enron Oil & Gas.