John Goodgame handles strategic transactions for clients in the energy industry (upstream, midstream, downstream and power), with specific and extensive expertise regarding master limited partnerships (MLPs).

Practice & Background

Mr. Goodgame regularly handles:

  • Advising public and private companies and private equity funds in initial public offerings and other public and private equity and debt offerings
  • Advising public and private companies, private equity funds, Board committees and financial advisors in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions
  • Advising boards of directors, board committees, and controlling stockholders regarding corporate governance matters
  • Master limited partnership formation, financing, governance, transactions, and restructuring

Mr. Goodgame also regularly advises clients regarding SEC compliance and corporate governance matters.

Mr. Goodgame is a member of Akin Gump’s management committee, the hiring partner for the Houston office, and the co-head of the firm’s Securities Practice Group.

Mr. Goodgame received his B.S. in accounting from the University of Florida in 1993 and his J.D. with honors in 1997 from the University of Houston Law Center, where he served as publishing editor of the Houston Law Review and received the Order of the Barons. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

Representative Matters

Mergers and Acquisitions

Mr. Goodgame has handled a significant number of large strategic transactions for participants throughout the energy industry, including: 

  • the $4.4 billion merger of two public E&P corporations
  • the $1.4 billion sale of a midstream subsidiary to an MLP
  • the $837 million acquisition of a midstream logistics business
  • the $18 billion merger of two midstream MLPs
  • the $1.6 billion merger of an MLP and a public corporation
  • the $614 million merger of two MLPs
  • the $6 billion merger of two midstream MLPs
  • the $13 billion merger of two midstream MLPs
  • the $2.4 billion merger of a public power company with a private power company
  • the $1.5 billion dissolution of a public power company’s relationship with its most significant stockholder, including a sale of multiple power plants and projects
  • the $1.2 billion acquisition of gathering and processing assets by a midstream MLP
  • the $525 million sale of an E&P portfolio company by a private equity fund to an MLP
  • the $310 million sale of a minority interest in a midstream joint venture
  • the $107 million sale of a joint venture interest in an onshore natural gas processing plant
  • the $250 million sale of onshore natural gas gathering and processing assets
  • the $780 million acquisition of midstream assets by a midstream MLP
  • the $750 million acquisition of midstream assets by a midstream MLP
  • the $530 million acquisition of products pipelines and terminals by an MLP

Joint Ventures

Mr. Goodgame has represented energy industry participants in a number of strategic joint ventures, including:

  • onshore pipeline and processing facility joint ventures
  • fractionation facility joint ventures
  • offshore platform and pipeline joint ventures
  • power generation and development joint ventures

MLP Conflict Transactions

Mr. Goodgame currently regularly represents the conflicts committees of eight different MLPs. Mr. Goodgame has represented conflicts committees in over 30 “dropdown” transactions, and has also advised sponsor and MLP clients in some of the most complicated recent MLP conflict transactions, including MLP recapitalizations, MLP mergers, GP “tuck-in” transactions, IDR restructurings, and MLP-sponsor joint ventures and joint bid situations. 

Capital Markets Transactions

Mr. Goodgame regularly represents MLPs and other energy companies in capital markets transactions, including:

  • over $14 billion in cumulative senior and senior subordinated note offerings for MLPs and other energy industry companies
  • over $9 billion in cumulative common equity offerings, including MLP and corporate initial public offerings
  • over $2 billion in tender offers for publicly traded securities

Awards & Accolades

  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Capital Markets: Debt and Equity(2013 - 2016)
  • Goodgame was featured in The Deal’sannual “Faces of Deal Lawyers” as one of eight of the “best up-and-coming talents in transactional lawyering” in 2010.

Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist, “Midstream Contracts and MLP Relationships”, Credit Suisse Restructuring Mini-Conference (January 2016)
  • Panelist, “Bottoms Up: Doing Opportunistic Deals in Today’s Energy Sector”, UT Law 2015 Mergers and Acquisitions Institute in Dallas (October 2015)
  • Panelist, “Shale Revolution Survival Guide for Dealmakers”, UT Law 2014 Mergers and Acquisitions Institute in Dallas (November 2014)
  • Panelist, “US Energy Industry: Riding the Crest of Strong Valuations & Increased Transaction Activity,” Merrill Datasite Panel Discussion (July 2012)
  • Panelist, “MLP Legal and Regulatory Issues,” DealFlow Media 2011 MLP Conference
  • Chairman, Platts 2010 Midstream Development & Management Conference
  • “Proxy Season Review” presented in 2009 at SEC Hot Topics Institute.