Michelle Williamson
Overview
Michelle Williamson is a debt finance partner in the Houston office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP which she joined after graduating the University of Texas School of Law. Her practice focuses on private equity, financing transactions and debt restructurings. Michelle has extensive experience representing private equity funds, hedge funds, financial institutions and public and private issuers in a wide variety of financing transactions, with a concentration on acquisition financing, investment grade lending, cash-flow based lending, asset-based lending (including reserve-based lending for oil and gas transactions), mezzanine financing and subordinated debt financing. Michelle also maintains active pro bono practice and enjoys various philanthropic organizations.
Experience
Representative Matters
Diversified Energy Company (NYSE:DEC) in the issuance of $610 million of asset-backed securities backed by producing wells, and the associated repayment of certain previously issued asset-backed securities
Savage in its acquisition of Texon, a midstream service provider of butane blending and energy marketing services
Transportation Infrastructure Partners, a joint venture between Ridgewood Infrastructure and Savage Enterprises, in its acquisition of The Dupuy Group, a provider of port logistics infrastructure and services
Raisa Energy LLC in the issuance of $636 million of asset-backed securities secured by over 9,000 producing oil and gas wells across six states, as part of a master trust
Altera Infrastructure L.P., a global provider of critical infrastructure assets to the offshore energy industry, in its entry into its debtor-in-possession credit facility, and subsequent financing of seven exit credit facilities totaling nearly $1.6 billion, in connection with its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Premium Oilfield Technologies, a portfolio company of Quantum Energy Partners, in the upsizing of its existing asset-based loan facility and addition of a sublimit secured by export-related inventory and accounts receivable guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank of the United States
Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE: CPE) in its revolving credit facility with $5.0 billion of maximum commitments, a $2.0 billion borrowing base and $1.5 billion of elected commitments
Blackstone Energy Partners in its $400 million investment in Xpansiv Limited, the leading market-infrastructure platform for global carbon and environmental commodities
EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT) in its unsecured revolving credit facility with $2.5 billion aggregate commitments
Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE: SWN) in its reserve-based revolving credit facility with $3.5 billion maximum commitments and $2.0 billion elected commitments, with investment grade “fallaway” provisions
Crescent Energy Company (NYSE: CRGY) in its $815 million all-cash acquisition of Uinta Basin assets from Verdun Oil Company II LLC
Seadrill Limited (Second Restructuring) — Represented Seadrill Limited and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries in their multi-jurisdictional restructuring of approximately $6.1 billion of funded debt. Seadrill is a leading global provider of offshore contract drilling services and employs nearly 3,100 individuals across 15 countries and five continents. Seadrill's Chapter 11 cases, one of the largest filings of 2021, equitized approximately $4.9 billion of secured debt across twelve silos and facilitated a capital investment of $350 million, enabling Seadrill to continue to operate its modern fleet of drilling units
ORIX Capital Partners in its acquisition of Odin Construction Solutions, a leading provider of environmental remediation and geotechnical construction services
Archaea Energy Operating, LLC, a subsidiary of Archaea Energy, Inc. (NYSE: LFG), a SPAC focused on the energy transition sector, in the debt financing related to the closing of its business combination with both Aria Energy LLC (an Ares portfolio company) and Archaea Energy LLC (a Rice Investment Group portfolio company)
Independence Energy Finance LLC, a portfolio company of KKR, in its internal reorganization of nearly all its domestic energy-related real property assets, including refinancing eight separate credit facilities with one $850 million reserve based lending credit facility and $500 million of senior notes
WPX Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WPX) in its $12 billion all-stock merger of equals with Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN)
Bruin E&P Partners, LLC, an exploration and production company, in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases through which they eliminated over $840 million in funded debt obligations, including obtaining a $230 million debtor-in-possession credit facility and a $230 million reserve-based revolving credit facility upon exit
Centennial Resource Development in its uptier exchange of $250 million unsecured notes for $130 million second lien notes, related amendment to its $700 million reserve-based credit facility and negotiation of related intercreditor arrangements
Vanguard Natural Resources, Inc. in its prepackaged plan of reorganization, including its $130 million debtor-in-possession financing and its $415 million exit credit facility
Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. in its prepackaged plan of reorganization to restructure $1.2 billion of funded debt obligations, including its $75 million in debtor-in-possession financing and first and second lien exit term loan credit facilities
Westmoreland Coal Company and certain of its affiliates (collectively, “Westmoreland”) in the marketing and sale of substantially all of their assets pursuant to section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. Westmoreland is the sixth largest North American coal producer, maintaining domestic coal operations in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Texas, New Mexico, and Ohio, and Canadian coal operations in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado
Blackstone Energy Partners in its investment of up to $500 million in Waterfield Midstream, a full-cycle water management and infrastructure services provider focused in the Permian Basin
HPS Investment Partners, LLC in the sale of Globecomm Systems Inc. (a leading provider of remote communications and multi-network infrastructure to Government, Maritime, and Enterprise sectors in over 100 countries) to Speedcast International Limited, a global Australian-headquartered provider of remote communications and IT services
Warburg Pincus in its $300 million capital commitment to Citizen Energy Holdings LLC, an Oklahoma-based oil and gas company
HarbourVest Partners, L.P. as part of a consortium, in a joint venture and drilling program with W&T Offshore, Inc. to drill up to 14 specified projects in the Gulf of Mexico
Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc. in its offering of $750 million of senior unsecured notes and concurrent tender offer to repurchase $500 million of its outstanding senior notes
Warburg Pincus in its $150 million capital commitment to Stronghold Energy II, a Midland-based oil and gas exploration and production company focused on the Central Basin Platform of the Permian Basin
More
Recognition
2023 Co-Chair for the Two Step for Small Steps Event
2017 Class Committee for the University of Texas School of Law
Memberships & Affiliations
Member of the Small Steps Nurturing Center Young Professionals Board
University of Texas Young Alumni Steering Committee
Member of the Young Professionals in Finance Board, 2018–2020
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2017Texas
Education
- University of Texas at Austin School of LawJ.D.2017
President of the Texas Business Law Society, 2015–2017
- Vanderbilt UniversityB.A., Economics2014
Scholarship Athlete on Vanderbilt Swim Team, 2010–2014
SEC Academic All American, 2010–2014