United States: Corporate Energy Partner Carl von Merz Joins Hunton Andrews Kurth in Houston

Carl von Merz, a highly regarded corporate attorney with two decades of experience advising on large scale energy industry transactions, has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP in Houston, where he will serve as head of the firm’s U.S. Oil and Gas practice.

Von Merz represents private equity funds and public and private companies in their equity investments, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures across all sectors, with a particular focus on the upstream, midstream and energy transition sectors. He also works with private equity funds and management teams on the formation of entities for investments in the energy sector.

“Carl adds to the firm’s deep reservoir of upstream oil and gas experience with a demonstrated ability to navigate complex energy transactions on behalf of private equity investors and their portfolio companies as well as public and private global energy companies,” said Mike O’Leary, co-head of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s corporate team. “We are thrilled to welcome Carl to the firm.”

“Carl also brings valuable experience in the energy transition space, which remains a key driver for legal services in Texas and across the country,” added Hunton Andrews Kurth corporate partner Ian Goldberg. “Investors and energy producers continue to aggressively pursue opportunities relating to a range of developing technology and new energy sources.”

A selection of von Merz’s notable matters prior to joining the firm include:

• representing a private equity-backed company in its acquisition of producing and nonproducing assets in the Bakken shale play from a publicly traded, Canadian E&P company;
• representing a private equity-backed upstream company in over $450 million in acquisitions in the Permian basin;
• representing a private equity-backed midstream company in its acquisition of Bakken shale midstream assets;
• representing public and private companies in their carbon capture, use and sequestration projects in Texas and Louisiana; and
• advising upstream, midstream and oilfield services companies and management teams in their equity commitments from energy and infrastructure funds.

Von Merz joins Hunton Andrews Kurth from Mayer Brown LLP, where he served as leader of the firm’s Houston Corporate Practice and head of its U.S. Upstream Energy Practice. A fluent Spanish speaker, von Merz has represented clients in cross-border transactions in Latin America. Earlier in his career, von Merz was lead in-house M&A counsel for an international energy company with substantial U.S. oil and gas operations.

Von Merz graduated cum laude from Duke University in 1999. He earned his JD from The University of Chicago Law School in 2003.

Hunton Andrews Kurth’s integrated, multidisciplinary energy team advises on every facet of the energy landscape. Our clients include sponsors, lenders, investors, government enterprises and other project participants operating in virtually every segment of the industry, including traditional oil, gas, LNG, coal and nuclear power, and companies involved in developing, marketing and distributing energy derived from emerging and renewable sources such as wind, solar, hydro and biomass. We also represent clients focused on industry financials, including international and multilateral financial institutions, tax-equity investors, private sponsors and developers, and private equity investors, as well as governments and public-procurement entities.