John M. Grand

Partner

Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity

“Clients call when they have complicated transactions and need timely, thoughtful and commercial solutions. It’s always gratifying to be a part of the solution and help clients achieve their goals.”

John M. Grand

Overview

John is Co-Head of the firm’s Corporate practice group. His corporate practice focuses primarily on private equity investments and mergers and acquisitions. He is experienced in advising clients in making energy investments in the upstream and midstream sectors.

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Experience

  • Validus Energy Holdings II LLC, in its acquisition of Citizen Energy Operating, LLC

  • QB Energy, KODA Resources and Quantum Energy in a $1.8 billion acquisition of oil and gas assets in the Piceance and Uintah Basins from Caerus Oil & Gas

  • Quantum Capital Group and FourPoint Resources, in partnership with Kayne Anderson, in their $2 billion acquisition of Ovintiv’s (NYSE, TSX: OVV) Uinta Basin assets

  • CrownRock, a joint venture of CrownQuest Operating and Lime Rock Partners, in its $12 billion sale to Occidental

  • PureWest Energy, a leading Rocky Mountain independent natural gas producer, in the completion of an all-cash merger with a newly formed entity sponsored by a private consortium of family offices and financial institutions, for a total consideration of $1.84 billion

  • Lario Oil & Gas Company in the $1.5 billion sale of Midland basin oil and gas assets to Diamondback Energy

  • Jonah Energy LLC in its $750 million upstream securitized financing transaction

  • Investors in Diversified Energy Company PLC and Oaktree Capital Management’s joint ESG-aligned $460 million asset-backed securitization of certain co-owned producing natural gas and oil assets

  • Pioneer Natural Resources in the $3.25 billion sale of its Delaware basin assets to Continental Resources

  • HighPeak Energy Partners, LP, an oil and gas exploration and production company, and its affiliates in a $900 million business combination with Pure Acquisition Corp.

  • Hartree Partners in its acquisition of a controlling interest in Sprague Resources from Axel Johnson and subsequent take-private of Sprague

  • Oaktree Capital Management in a $900 million pledge related to the launch of a partnership with FourPass Energy to acquire and operate large-scale, oil-weighted, producing oil and gas assets

  • Talos Energy Inc. in its $65 million acquisition of 16 selected assets from Castex Energy 2005

  • Chisholm Oil and Gas in its strategic combination with Gastar Exploration to create a leading STACK E&P company

  • Varde Partners in its sale of oil and gas interests in South Texas to Magnolia Oil & Gas

  • Pioneer Natural Resources in its $132 million sale of 2,900 net acres in the Sinor Nest field to an undisclosed third party

  • TPG Growth in the $1.2 billion sale of Discovery Midstream to KKR and Williams

  • Jonah Energy in its $580 million acquisition of natural gas and oil producing properties in the Jonah and Pinedale fields and surrounding area from LINN Energy

  • Oaktree Capital Management in its $600 million initial equity commitment and additional $300 million runway commitment to Charger Shale Oil Company, an oil and gas partnership focused in the Permian Basin

  • Pioneer Natural Resources in the $2.15 billion sale of EFS Midstream, an Eagle Ford Shale midstream company jointly owned with Reliance Holding USA, Inc., to Enterprise Products Partners 

  • Double Eagle Energy in the $200 million sale of its non-operated working interests in the SCOOP and STACK resource plays in southern and central Oklahoma to American Energy – NonOp

  • Harbinger Group in its $118.75 million acquisition of EXCO Resources’ interests in Compass Production Partners and Compass Production GP, operators of conventional oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin, as well as East Texas and North Louisiana

  • Trilantic Capital Partners in its partnership with Ward Petroleum Corporation to form a new oil and gas exploration and production company, Ward Energy Partners

  • TPG Capital in its $1.8 billion acquisition of natural gas properties in Wyoming’s Jonah field from Encana Corporation

  • BG Group and EXCO Resources in the $910 million sale of TGGT Holdings, a joint venture between the two companies that owns and operates natural gas gathering, transportation and treating assets, to Azure Midstream

  • Iracore International in the sale of the company, a Lime Rock Partners portfolio company and developer, manufacturer, and applicator of elastomeric products for pipelines and other equipment used in demanding industrial applications

  • Pioneer Natural Resources in its $1.7 billion joint venture with Sinochem to develop 207,000 acres in the Permian Basin

  • Lime Rock Partners in its $100 million line of equity commitment to Endurance Resources Holdings, an exploration and production company focused on the Bone Spring oil play in New Mexico

  • Denbury Resources in its $1.6 billion sale of Bakken assets to ExxonMobil and its wholly owned subsidiary XTO Energy 

  • Riverstone Holdings in its $200 million acquisition of Kerogen Exploration and BlackShale Resources, both focused on unconventional oil and liquids exploration and production in the United States and Canada, by newly formed portfolio company, Kerogen Exploration Holdings

  • Pioneer Natural Resources in its $297 million acquisition of Carmeuse Industrial Sands, a U.S. subsidiary of Carmeuse Holding

  • Pioneer Natural Resources in its $1.3 billion joint venture with Reliance Industries for the development of acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale

Credentials

Education

  • Louisiana State University Law Center, J.D., B.C.L., 2006 (Order of the Coif; Louisiana Law Review)
  • Centenary College, B.A., Political Science summa cum laude and with honors, 2002

Admissions

  • Texas

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Recognitions

  • Chambers Global, Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional) (USA), 2022–2026
  • Chambers USA, Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional)(Nationwide), 2020–2026
  • D Magazine, “The Best Lawyers in Dallas,” 2020
  • Legal 500 U.S., M&A/Corporate & Commercial: Private Equity Buyouts, 2016 and 2022–2026; Project Finance, 2018 and 2019; Energy: Transactions: Oil & Gas, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2026; Finance: Capital Markets Debt Offerings, 2023; Finance: Capital Markets: Equity Offerings, 2023; M&A/Corporate & Commercial: M&A: Large Deals ($1 Billion-Plus), 2023, 2024, and 2026; Investment Fund Formation & Management: Private Equity Funds, 2026
  • Selected to the Texas Super Lawyers list, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2022–2025
  • Selected to the Texas Rising Stars list, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2012−2020
  • Who’s Who Legal (Law Business Research Ltd.); Energy, 2015 and 2020; Energy: Oil & Gas, 2022; Energy: Oil & Gas, “Thought Leader (USA),” 2024
  • The Best Lawyers in America© (BL Rankings, LLC), Mergers & Acquisitions Law (Dallas), 2021–2027
  • IFLR1000, 2020–2023
  • Selected to the 500 Leading Energy Lawyers, Lawdragon, 2023–2026
Insights

Client Alerts

Chambers 2023 Energy: Oil & Gas Global Practice Guide

Vinson & Elkins partners John Grand and Doug Bland served as Contributing Editors to the Chambers 2023 Energy: Oil & …

August 18, 2023 • Previously Published by Chambers 2023 Energy: Oil & Gas Global Practice Guide

August 18, 2023 • 1-minute read

Don’t look back in anger – operational considerations in a project financing Background Image

Client Alerts

Credit Risk Retention in Oil & Gas ‘Securitizations’ of Proven, Developed and Producing (PDP) Wells

The purpose of this White Paper is to provide general guidance to transaction participants and practitioners in their consideration of the application of 17 C.F.R. Part 246, adopted jointly by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and five other federal agencies (the “Agencies”) in October of 2014 (the “CRR Rules”) pursuant to Section 15G of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as added by section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, to a typical issuance of secured notes by a newly formed special purpose vehicle that owns or will own, among other things, a portfolio of proven, developed and producing hydrocarbon wells (a “Structured PDP Well Financing”).

May 30, 2023 • V&E Finance Update

May 30, 2023 • 2-minute read

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