Travis J. Wofford

Travis Wofford is Chair of the Corporate Department in Houston, Vice Chair of the Global M&A Practice, and member of the Securities Opinion Committee. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, shareholder engagement and corporate advisory work, for which he has been recognized in, among others, Lawdragon's "500 Leading Dealmakers in America" (2021). He regularly counsels clients on fiduciary duty, sustainability and corporate governance matters, including controlling stockholder and related party transactions, for which we has been recognized by, among others, the National Association of Corporate Directors’ “Directorship 100: Governance Professionals and Institutions” (2022). Travis has assisted many clients in takeover defense planning, including "poison pill" rights plans. Travis has particular experience in the energy and TMT sectors.

Travis is regularly sought after for complex securities matters. He was named a "2021 Texas Trailblazer" by Texas Lawyer Magazine/Law.com for his financing structures, including those for renewable energy investments. Travis also represented Liberty Media Corporation in sponsoring the first public-company-sponsored special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) for corporate financing purposes, as well as numerous parties to SPAC IPOs and "DeSPAC" business combinations.

Travis routinely advises management and directors of public companies on day-to-day corporate and securities matters, including corporate governance, public company reporting, and stock exchange rules and requirements. As an avid proponent of corporate governance education, Travis sits on the board of directors of NACD's Texas Tricities chapter and regularly provides board, individual director and general counsel training and guidance.

Travis has been sought out for his views on the market by, among others, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Politico, Law360, MergerMarket, and Institutional Investor.

Travis has broad mergers and acquisitions and capital markets experience spanning numerous transaction structures. Notable transactions include representing:*

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Sunnova Energy International, Inc. in its $325 million acquisition of SunStreet, the residential solar platform of Lennar Corporation, and related exclusive strategic partnership arrangement
• Special Committee of Barnes & Noble Inc. in its $683 million sale to Elliot Advisors
• McDermott International, Inc. in its $6 billion acquisition of Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V.
• Schlumberger Limited in its $14 billion acquisition of Cameron International Corporation
• Halliburton Company in its proposed $35 billion acquisition of Baker Hughes Incorporated
• Conflicts Committee of Williams Partners L.P. in its $10.5 billion acquisition by The Williams Companies Inc., its prior proposed $13.8 billion acquisition by The Williams Companies Inc. (resulting in $428 million buyer termination fee), its $50 billion merger with Access Midstream Partners, L.P. and its $11.4 billion simplification of incentive distribution rights and general partner interest and related $1.8 billion private placement
• Conflicts Committee of Arc Logistics Partners LP in its sale to Zenith Energy U.S. LP and Warburg Pincus LLC
• Various private investments by Liberty Media Corporation and other associated companies
• Sunnova Energy Corporation in acquisitions of distributed generation residential solar assets
• Chesapeake Energy Corporation in acquisitions and dispositions aggregating $2 billion in value, including the sale of upstream oil and gas assets in the Western Anadarko Basin to private equity investors and various sales of compression assets
• Ascent Capital Group in its merger with its subsidiary Monitronics International and the related Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Monitronics
• Qurate Retail Inc. in the disposition of its indirect stake in FTD Companies Inc.
• Independent directors of JDA Software Group in its $2 billion leveraged buyout by New Mountain Capital
• IBM in its $850 million divestiture of its point-of-sale technology business to Toshiba
• Lindsay Goldberg in its purchase from Lockheed Martin Corporation and other investors of Pacific Architects and Engineers Inc. and Defense Support Services
• Barnes & Noble in the joint venture and strategic investment by Microsoft in its NOOK business
• Civeo Corporation in its redomestication from Texas to British Columbia
• Various private businesses in deadlock resolutions with minority investors, including buyouts

Capital Markets/Securities

• Sunnova Energy International, Inc. in its initial public offering and subsequent follow-on common stock offerings and PIPE private placements of convertible notes
• Various parties to SPAC IPOs, including Liberty Media in its inaugural SPAC initial public offering of Liberty Media Acquisition Corp., the first public-company-sponsored corporate-finance SPAC; SHUAA Partners Acquisition Corp I in its $111 million SPAC IPO; the underwriters in Clean Earth Acquisitions Corp.’s $200 million SPAC IPO and the underwriters in Seaport Calibre Materials Acquisition Corp.’s $130 million SPAC IPO
• Qurate Retail Inc. in its $2 billion dividend to public stockholders of a new class of cumulative redeemable preferred stock and cash
• Dr. Pepper Snapple Group in its $400 million private offering of senior notes and related $250 million tender offer and redemption of outstanding senior notes
• Renewable energy company in various private company financings, including Series A, B and C fundraising rounds, convertible notes and recapitalizations
• Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. in various debt and equity offerings, including its aggregate $300 million Delaware Basin asset acquisition financing (including a preferred stock PIPE private placement to GSO Capital Partners and registered offerings of senior notes and common stock), its $300 million senior notes private offering to finance an acquisition of Eagle Ford assets, its $550 senior notes offering and related tender offer and redemption of outstanding senior notes, and various other offerings of senior notes and common stock
• Jones Energy, Inc. in its public offering of convertible preferred stock and concurrent public offering of common stock
• McDermott International, Inc. in its PIPE private placement of $300 million of redeemable preferred stock and warrants
• Helix Energy Solutions Group in its $125 million public offering of convertible senior notes
• Linn Energy, LLC in its privately-negotiated exchanges of $2 billion outstanding senior unsecured notes for $1 billion of newly issued senior secured second lien notes and its $1.0 billion bridge term loan facility and $1.1 billion public offering of senior notes in connection with its $2.3 billion asset acquisition from Devon Energy Corporation
• Noble Corporation plc in its public offering of senior notes and related $750 million cash tender offer for outstanding senior notes
• Westlake Chemical in a $500 million senior notes offering
• Initial purchasers in the $1.45 billion private offering of senior secured second lien notes by Energy XXI Ltd
• Initial purchasers in the $1.50 billion private offering of senior notes by Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC
• Underwriters in Summit Midstream Holdings' $500 million public offering of senior notes and related cash tender offer for outstanding senior notes
• Initial Purchasers in an $800 million senior notes offering by Texas Eastern Transmission, LP, a subsidiary of Spectra Energy Partners, LP
• Initial purchaser and dealer manager in Chesapeake Energy Corporation's $2 billion public offering of senior notes and related tender offer/consent solicitation for outstanding senior notes and a $1.1 billion PIPE private placement of cumulative non-voting convertible preferred stock
• Underwriters in various common stock offerings, including Tesco Corporation, Core Laboratories

Securitizations

• Sunnova Energy International, Inc. in more than a dozen securitizations of residential solar assets, including its first asset-backed securitization collateralized by a pool of distributed generation solar assets, its first loan-backed securitization collateralized by a pool of consumer loans, and its first delayed-draw private placement securitization facility layered over tax equity facilities.
• Crown Castle International, Inc. in two securitizations of cell phone towers for an aggregate $3.4 billion of Senior Secured Tower Revenue Notes
• Private energy company in its proposed securitization of oil and gas interests (private rating)

* Includes matters handled prior to joining Baker Botts L.L.P.

Recognized in NACD's Directorship 100: Governance Professionals and Institutions, 2022

Recognized as one of the "500 Leading Dealmakers in America" by Lawdragon, 2021

Named as a "Stand-out Lawyer" by Thomson Reuters, 2019-2022

Recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer-Rising Star (Thomson Reuters), 2016-2020