James H. Wilson is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP based in the Firm's Houston office. His practice focuses on corporate finance and securities, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions and public offerings.
Jim has counseled clients in connection with well over 100 domestic and international mergers and acquisitions transactions of all types, including several dozen public company mergers, hostile and negotiated tender offers, “going private” transactions and spin-offs. His international experience has included China, Egypt, Italy, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands and the U.K. He also has represented the issuer or the underwriters in over 50 initial and secondary public and Rule 144A offerings of all types of securities, including common stock, convertible securities, investment grade and high yield senior and senior subordinated debt, master limited partnership units and royalty trust units. He also has extensive experience in the private equity sector, including the formation and terms of private equity funds. In addition, he regularly counsels clients on securities law compliance, corporate governance and other general corporate matters. He has significant experience with clients involved in the energy and health care industries.
Jim has been listed as a leader in mergers and acquisitions for Texas in Chambers USA 2007 and has been recognized as a “Texas Rising Star” as well as a “Texas Super Lawyer” by Texas Monthly. He has also been listed as a leader in international mergers and acquisitions by The Legal 500, U.S. Volume 1: Corporate & Finance.
Jim is admitted to practice in Texas.
Representative Experience
- Represented a healthcare staffing company in its sale to a financial buyer
- Represented Newfield Exploration Company in its public offering of $550 million of senior subordinated notes
- Represented a large Chinese company (Sinopec) in its acquisition via an offshore vehicle of a privately held U.S. company that owned oil and gas licenses in Kazakhstan
- Represented a “mid-stream” MLP in its acquisition of a large private joint venture
- Represented Newfield Exploration Company in its $575 million acquisition of Inland Resources Inc. and its $174 million acquisition of Denbury Offshore, Inc.
- Represented one of the world’s leading energy companies in its disposition of one of its global chemical businesses
- Represented issuers and underwriters in connection with a number of initial public offerings, including Belco Oil & Gas Corp., Newfield Exploration Company, CHG Healthcare Services, Inc., Stone Energy Corporation, Torch Offshore, Inc., Eastex Energy Inc. and Vitro, SA
- Represented Newfield Exploration Company in its $750 million acquisition by merger of EEX Corporation and the formation of Treasure Island Royalty Trust
- Represented a healthcare staffing company in connection with four separate acquisitions of other healthcare staffing companies and the disposition of one of its business lines
- Represented a Fortune 500 company in its $8 billion acquisition by merger of Dresser Industries
- Represented a Fortune 500 company in connection with its $1.6 billion sale of the Dresser Equipment Group to an investor group led by First Reserve Corporation and Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC
- Represented Horizon/CMS Healthcare Corporation in its disposition in a $3 billion merger with HEALTHSOUTH Corporation
- Represented the minority owners of a sports related corporation that owned the Houston Astros Baseball Club in the sale of their interests
- Represented Snyder Oil Corporation in its formation of Patina Oil & Gas Corporation through the acquisition of Gerrity Oil & Gas Corporation
- Represented a Fortune 500 company in its $500 million acquisition by merger of Landmark Graphics Corporation, its $300 million acquisition by merger of NUMAR Corporation, both publicly traded companies, and its $300 million spin-off of Highlands Insurance Company
- Represented an oil and gas company in connection with the “roll-up” of a number of limited partnerships it sponsored followed by an IPO of the resulting company
- Represented a leading provider of proprietary and patented reservoir description, production enhancement and reservoir management services in its separate acquisitions of Saybolt International B.V. and Protechnics Company
- Represented a number of public oil and gas companies in their acquisitions of private oil and gas companies or assets in the U.S. and various other countries, including the U.K., Malaysia, China and Egypt
- Represented a specialized leasing company in its acquisition of an interest in a refined petroleum products trading and marketing company owned by the domestic subsidiary of a large Japanese company (Marubeni Corporation)
- Represented a large interstate pipeline company in its separate acquisitions by merger of two public companies
- Represented a building services company in a recapitalization transaction with a private equity investor and later in the sale of the company to a strategic buyer
- Represented the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) in all of its private equity investment activities
- Represented a Fortune 500 company in its $175 million acquisition of the data management business of Petroleum Geo-Services ASA and the sale of its interest in M-I L.L.C. (a drilling fluids company) to Smith International, Inc.
- Represented several medical supply and equipment companies in connection with a “roll-up” transaction
- Represented private equity funds and industry participants in numerous investments in companies involved in such businesses as technology, baby super stores, hearing aids, replacement automobile glass, specialty teas, staffing and administration, drill bit manufacturing, oil field services and oil and gas exploration
- Represented a healthcare company in its proposed hostile takeover of a large public company, its acquisition by merger or tender offer of several public companies and its acquisition of a number of private companies
- Represented the acquirer in a “going private” transaction involving Galveston-Houston Company
- Represented Vitro, SA (a large Mexican corporation) in its hostile acquisition by tender offer of Anchor Glass Container Corporation
- Represented Seagull Energy Corporation in its acquisition by merger of Global Natural Resources Inc., a public company, and its acquisition of several large private oil and gas companies.
Education
- University of Houston Law Center, J.D. (cum laude), 1989
- Missouri State University, B.S. (cum laude), 1984
