Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher is advising the blockbuster $21.1 billion cash and stock acquisition of El Paso Corporation by Kinder Morgan.
The deal, announced Oct. 16, will make KM the No. 4 energy company in North America and the largest “midstream” company with 80,000 miles of pipelines on the continent.
Richard Wheatley, media relations manager for El Paso, told O’Dwyer’s JFWBK is advising El Paso on the deal.
Joe Hollier, manager of media and emergency response communication for Kinder Morgan, said the company is not working with a firm.
Joele Frank advised KM in 2006 when the company, which was built on pipeline “cast-offs” from the collapsed Enron, pursued a $22B management buyout.
In announcing the El Paso deal, KM chairman and CEO Richard Kinder called it a “once in a lifetime transaction.”
Including El Paso debt, the deal is worth $38B. It is approved by both boards and expected to close in the second quarter of 2012.
El Paso will become a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, which said it will sell off El Paso’s exploration and production assets.
The combined company will be the largest natural gas pipeline network in the U.S.