Overview | Experience
Overview
Vinson & Elkins represents issuers and underwriters in a wide variety of corporate finance transactions, including initial public offerings (IPOs), private placements, and public offerings of equity; debt (high yield and investment grade) and convertible securities; corporate recapitalizations; and mergers and acquisitions. We also provide disclosure, governance and general corporate advice to our public company clients. Our capital markets and securities practice is closely coordinated with our mergers and acquisitions and private equity practices to provide clients with a full range of transactional services.
Our capital markets practice consistently ranks among the leading law firms in Thomson Financial’s Year- End 2009 Capital Markets league tables:
- #2 for Global Equities by U.S. Issuers (Issuer Counsel, by number of issues)
- #2 for U.S. Common Stock (Issuer Counsel, by number of issues)
- #2 for U.S. Convertible Debt Offerings (Issuer Counsel, by number of issues)
- #3 for U.S. Equity & Equity-related (Issuer Counsel, by number of issues)
- #3 for U.S. High Yield Corporate Debt (Issuer Counsel, by number of issues)
- #6 for U.S. Debt, Equity & Equity-related (Issuer Counsel, by number of issues)
- #8 for Global Equity Issuance by U.S. Issuers (Manager Counsel, by number of issues)
- #8 for U.S. High Yield Corporate Debt (Manager Counsel, by number of issues)
- #9 for Global Equity by U.S. Issuers (Issuer Counsel, by proceeds)
- #9 for U.S. Straight Debt, Excluding MBS, ABS (Issuer Counsel, by number of issues)
- #10 for U.S. High Yield Corporate Debt (Issuer Counsel, by proceeds)
Practice Strengths
We have been fortunate to receive high accolades from major publications for our work for clients, including being named:
A significant portion of our capital markets practice focuses on initial public offerings, where we represented more IPO issuers than any other firm in the country in 2008. Our IPO activity has been fueled by significant demand for investment in master limited partnerships (MLPs) where lawyers with our firm have assisted issuers and underwriters in almost 90 percent of MLP IPOs completed in the last 20 years. Our IPO activity has also been driven by representation of private equity funds, with a substantial number of IPOs of portfolio company investments
Our capital markets practice consistently ranks among the leaders nationally in The American Lawyer’s annual Corporate Scorecard. In the 2009 publication, Vinson & Elkins was named as follows for calendar year 2008 results:
- #1 for High-Yield Debt (Issuer Counsel, by number of issues)
- #2 for IPOs (Issuer Counsel, by number of issues)
- #3 for Equities (Issuer Counsel, by number of issues)
- #3 for IPOs (Underwriter Counsel, by number of issues)
- #3 for High-Yield Debt (Issuer Counsel, by value)
- #4 for IPOs (Underwriter Counsel, by value)
Experience
During 2009, we handled more than 100 securities offerings with total transaction value of over $34 billion. During 2008, we handled more than 60 securities offerings with total transaction value of almost $27 billion. Our capital markets practice serves clients in multiple industries, with a heavy focus on energy transactions.
Our capital markets practice serves clients in multiple industries, including energy, airlines, finance, real estate, telecommunications, and technology.
Representation of both issuers and underwriters of high-yield debt securities is another important component of our capital markets practice. Our work in this area extends to convertible debt issues and related hedge transactions.
As a result of the depth of our capital markets work, we believe we have developed one of the most experienced teams of corporate partners and associates of any law firm in the country. Our lawyers are experienced in helping clients manage and complete every phase of the offering process, including corporate reorganization and recapitalization, assisting in the development and completion of SEC registration statements and the SEC review process, developing corporate governance structures, processes and procedures, implementing compensation plans and agreements, and managing the listing process with the NYSE and NASDAQ markets.