James is a highly experienced and responsive corporate services lawyer who efficiently assists clients with a broad range of complex corporate transactions and related matters, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capital markets transactions, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports, corporate governance and other commercial matters.
James also assists clients with public offerings and private placements of equity and debt securities. He has represented clients in the energy services, oil and gas exploration and production, engineering and construction, industrial products, technology, health care, retail, financial services and the chemical and mining and metals industries, among others.
A transactional lawyer for more than 25 years, and cited in The Legal 500 U.S. for his “responsiveness and judgment,” James has a particular wealth of experience analyzing, structuring, negotiating and executing highly complex M&A transactions. He regularly advises clients on sale and acquisition transactions that range from multibillion-dollar transactions to mid-market deals. James was the chair of the Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Groups at his previous firm.
Representative Matters
Mergers and Acquisitions
Thermon Group Holdings, Inc. - acquisition of Vapor Power International, Inc.
Acquisition of a geothermal energy company
Newpark Resources, Inc. - sale of U.S. mineral-grinding business
Sale of an e-commerce business in the health care industry to a private equity group
Sale of a data analytics company
Sale of a security company
Sale of a civil engineering business
Acquisition of a construction business
Acquisition of an industrial products company
Sale of a financial services business
Vectren Corporation - $6 billion merger with CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
McDermott International, Inc. - $6 billion combination with Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V.
Westar Energy, Inc. - $14 billion combination with Great Plains Energy Incorporated
Transocean Inc. - $58 billion combination with GlobalSantaFe Corporation
Transocean Inc. - $9 billion acquisition of R&B Falcon Corporation
Transocean Ltd. - $1.1 billion sale of 38 drilling rigs to a private equity group
Transocean Ltd. - acquisition of Transocean Partners LLC
J. Ray McDermott, S.A. - acquisition of the assets of Secunda International Limited; disposition of Secunda charter fleet
McDermott International, Inc. - sale of Hudson Products Corporation; sale of McDermott Engineers & Constructors (Canada) Ltd.; acquisition of Deepsea Group Limited
BMX Technologies, Inc. - Acquisitions of Marine Mechanical Corporation and Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc.
Special Committee of Plains Resources Inc. - acquisition by a group led by Paul G. Allen and members of management
An acquisition of an oil and gas measurement manufacturing business
A $200 million disposition of oil and gas properties
Securities Offerings
McDermott International, Inc. - private placement of $300 million of preferred stock and warrants
McDermott International, Inc. - offering of $1.3 billion of senior notes
Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. - private placement of $250 million of preferred stock and warrants
McDermott International, Inc. - $287.5 million public offering of tangible equity units; offering of $300 million of second lien secured notes
Transocean Ltd. - $2 billion offering of senior notes
Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. - $400 million offering of senior notes
Transocean Inc. - $6.6 billion public offering of convertible notes and $2.5 billion public offering of senior notes
Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. - $373 million public offering of convertible notes
Edge Petroleum Corporation - $138 million public offering of common stock and $138 million public offering of convertible perpetual preferred stock
Westlake Chemical Corporation - $170.6 million initial public offering; $250 million senior notes offering; $172 million secondary public offering for a selling stockholder
Transocean Inc. - $1 billion public offering of floating rate notes; $258.3 million secondary public offering of shares of TODCO; $242.3 million secondary public offering of shares of TODCO; exchange offers for $1.48 billion of notes; $400 million convertible debentures offering; $1.3 billion senior notes offering; $500 million zero coupon convertible debentures offering
J. Ray McDermott, S.A. - $200 million senior secured notes offering; tender offer for senior secured notes
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. - $575 million exchange offer for convertible notes
TODCO - separation form Transocean Inc. and $165.5 million initial public offering; $269.9 million secondary public offering
Non-U.S. Company - $377 million private placement of notes
Other Matters
Transocean Ltd. - redomestication to Switzerland
McDermott International, Inc. - spinoff of The Babcock & Wilcox Company
McDermott International, Inc. - settlement of Chapter 11 proceedings involving The Babcock & Wilcox Company
Media Coverage
Shook Launches Corporate Practice in Houston With Culhane Meadows M&A Chair, Texas Lawyer, June 1, 2023.
Presentations
When Deals and Disputes are Different - Contract Planning & Best Practices, Association of Corporate Counsel, November 16, 2023.