Keyavash “Key” Hemyari

Since joining Kirkland, Key has been involved in the following representations:

• Oaktree Capital Management L.P. on its $100 million preferred equity investment in BKV Corporation, following BKV’s acquisition of Devon Energy Corporation‘s assets in the Barnett Shale. 
• Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) in its agreement to acquire a 41% stake (valued at approximately $7 billion) in liquefied natural gas producer Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSEMKT: CQP) from Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX).
• Cerberus Capital Management and its portfolio company Sparton Corporation’s sale of its Manufacturing and Design Services segment to One Equity Partners for an undisclosed sum.
• A private family office in connection with internal equity repurchases and related corporate restructuring matters relating to the ownership of a national basketball team.
• J. C. Penney Company, Inc. and 17 of its affiliates in their pre-arranged Chapter 11 cases. JCPenney, an iconic American retail staple tracing its roots back to 1902, includes private brands such as Liz Claiborne, St. John’s Bay, Stafford, and Arizona Jean Co. JCPenney employs more than 85,000 people, manages a massive supply chain with nearly 3,000 vendors and eleven domestic shipping facilities, and operates approximately 850 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, in addition to a substantial e-commerce business. With approximately $4.9 billion in debt, JCPenney entered bankruptcy with a Restructuring Support Agreement that carries broad first lien stakeholder support and is expected to substantially de-lever the company’s balance sheet.
• Akorn, Inc. and certain subsidiaries (“Akorn”), a specialty generic pharmaceuticals company with approximately $861.7 million of funded indebtedness, in their Chapter 11 cases filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
• Magnetar Capital in its up to $250 million preferred equity investment in WaterBridge Holdings, as part of an equity capital raise involving Five Point Energy, an affiliate of GIC and WaterBridge management to fund strategic acquisitions of water infrastructure from Primexx Energy Partners, Tall City Exploration III and Jetta Permian.
• Barneys and its affiliates, the iconic luxury retailer and Manhattan staple, in connection with the corporate and M&A aspects for the sale of certain assets pursuant to their restructuring efforts in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Barneys specializes in products from the world’s top designers, including men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and home goods.
• Murray Energy Holdings Co. and certain of its subsidiaries in connection with the corporate and M&A aspects of their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Murray is the largest privately-owned coal company in the United States, headquartered in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and has operations primarily in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Illinois, Utah, and Colombia, South America. Murray employs nearly 5,500 people, including approximately 2,400 active union members. Murray entered Chapter 11 with approximately $2.7 billion in prepetition funded debt and more than $8 billion in actual or potential pension and employee benefit obligations.

Prior to joining Kirkland, Key was involved in the following representations:

• Venator Materials PLC in its $522 million initial public offering of ordinary shares by a selling shareholder and separation from Huntsman Corporation;
• SemGroup Corporation in its acquisition of Houston Fuel Oil Terminal Company for consideration totaling approximately $1.5 billion;
• Denbury Resources Inc. in its attempted acquisition of Penn Virginia Corporation for cash and stock consideration totaling approximately $1.7 billion;
• Rice Energy Inc. in its merger with EQT Corporation for consideration totaling approximately $6.7 billion;
• Omega Protein Corporation in its sale to Cooke Aquaculture Inc. for consideration totaling $500 million;
• Andeavor Logistics in its agreement with Andeavor to acquire a portfolio of logistics assets for total consideration of $1.55 billion;
• Fifth Creek Energy Company, LLC, a portfolio company of Natural Gas Partners, in a strategic business combination with Bill Barrett Corporation valued at approximately $649 million.