Adam Garmezy, P.C.

KKR & Co. Inc. said Thursday it has agreed to acquire Arctos Partners in a transaction valued at $1.4 billion in initial consideration, in a deal that will give the private equity firm a $15 billion sports-investing platform. KKR was advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as legal counsel, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP as sports counsel. Arctos was also advised by Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel. The $1.4 billion consideration consists of $300 million in cash, $900 million of equity issued to existing Arctos shareholders, and $200 million of additional equity to be allocated by 2028, with portions of the equity subject to vesting through 2033, the companies said in a statement. The deal also includes up to $550 million in additional future equity tied to KKR's share price and business performance targets, the companies said. Founded in 2019, Dallas-based Arctos is the largest institutional investor in professional sports franchise stakes and manages about $15 billion in assets, and also provides capital solutions to alternative asset managers. KKR co-CEOs Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall said in a statement that Arctos has "created a distinctive and scaled platform across sports investing and capital solutions for asset managers, and the team has extensive experience in secondaries, three areas where we see significant long-term opportunity." Arctos managing partners Ian Charles and Doc O'Connor said the tie-up would give the firm greater access to resources and distribution, calling KKR is a "preeminent global investment firm ... ideally positioned to help us achieve the vision we have for Arctos." Following the closing, Charles and O'Connor will join KKR as partners, and Arctos' full team will become part of the firm. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, certain sports league approvals, and other customary closing conditions. The Kirkland team advising Arctos is led by partners Jonathan Benloulou, Michael Considine, Adam Garmezy, and Victor Ghazal. The Kirkland team advising KKR is led by partners Frank Saviano, Jason Krochak, and Adam Rosenthal. The Simpson Thacher team advising KKR is led by partners Matt Rogers and Johanna Mayer.

Feb 5

2 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Energy Impact Partners on its partnership with OceanSound Partners to acquire Message Broadcast, a provider of customer engagement software for the electric utility industry, from LINK Mobility. The acquisition enables the newly independent Message Broadcast to bolster product innovation, increase investment in sales and support resources and deliver enhanced value to its customers. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Adam Larson and Adam Garmezy and associate Jacob Volz.

Apr 11

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis represented Tall Oak Midstream III (Tall Oak), a Tailwater Capital (Tailwater) portfolio company, on its definitive agreement to be acquired by Summit Midstream (NYSE: SMC) (Summit) for $450 million, comprised of $155 million of initial cash consideration, $25 million of contingent cash consideration and an approximate 40% equity interest in Summit. Kirkland also advised Tailwater Capital, in its capacity as the selling sponsor of Tall Oak, on the terms of its new partnership with Summit. At closing, Tailwater will hold its equity interest in Summit through an up-C structure and will appoint four Tailwater-affiliated directors to serve on the pro forma Summit board of directors. In addition to significantly de-levering Summit’s balance sheet, the transaction expands Summit’s operations to the Arkoma Basin, adding 440 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity, over 400 miles of pipelines and over 300,000 of dedicated acres with significant undeveloped locations. Read the Tailwater press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Kevin Crews, Adam Garmezy and Jacqueline Scioli, with support from corporate associate Carter Johnston; capital markets partner Matt Pacey and associate Sara Lampert; tax partners David Wheat and Joe Tobias; executive compensation partner Rob Fowler; employment & labor partner Christie Alcala; and environmental transactions partner Jon Kidwell.

Oct 2

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis counseled LM Energy, a Dallas-based midstream company backed by Old Ironsides Energy, on the sale of LM Energy’s natural gas gathering system in the Northern Delaware Basin to Trace Midstream, backed by Quantum. The transaction includes existing and under-construction high-and low-pressure gas gathering systems in Eddy and Lea counties in New Mexico consisting of 170 miles of pipelines and 12 compressor stations. The new high-pressure southern extension will allow producers access to multiple processing outlets. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team is led by corporate partners Kevin Crews and Adam Garmezy; and includes debt finance partner Lucas Spivey; and tax partner David Wheat.

Aug 6

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, a private infrastructure investment platform within Morgan Stanley Investment Management, on an unsecured term loan to The Pasha Group, a family-owned maritime transportation company, to support continued infrastructure investment in the Hawaii trade. Read Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners’ press release The Kirkland team was led by debt finance partners Jordan Roberts and Layton Bell; corporate partners Kevin Crews and Adam Garmezy; and tax partners David Wheat and Jon Nelsen, with assistance from debt finance associates Christina Godard and Hope Rovner.

Apr 1

1 min