Stephen S. Noh
Overview
Stephen Noh is a corporate partner in the Houston office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His practice focuses on representing private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies and other public and private companies in complex domestic and international business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, private equity and venture capital investments, leveraged buyouts, continuation fund transactions and offerings of equity and debt securities.
Stephen also advises clients in connection with the negotiation of partnership and LLC agreements, securities laws compliance, and corporate governance. He has advised clients across a broad range of industries, including energy and energy transition, infrastructure, technology, healthcare, construction, real estate, food & beverage and financial services.
Stephen was recognized as a Rising Star by Texas Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters) in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Experience
Representative Matters
Private Equity
- Apollo, KKR, Quantum and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners — Numerous auction bids and other potential majority and minority investments, particularly in the energy, energy transition and infrastructure sectors
- Apollo — $550 million acquisition of a 50% interest in a 2 GW solar and battery storage project renewables portfolio in Texas from TotalEnergies (NYSE: TTE)
- Apollo — $1 billion investment in bp Pipelines TAP, a subsidiary of bp (NYSE: BP), that holds a 20% share in Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG
- Global Infrastructure Partners — $12.5 billion acquisition by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK), creating a leading infrastructure private markets investment platform with over $150 billion in AUM
- Consortium and KKR — $15 billion acquisition of CyrusOne Inc. (NASDAQ: CONE), a premier global data center REIT
- KKR — $4.475 billion acquisition of the Atlantic Aviation business of Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. (NYSE: MIC)
- Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners — Formation and preferred equity commitment to Levo Mobility LLC, a $750 million sustainable infrastructure JV with Nuvve Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: NVVE), initially focused on utilizing Nuvve’s V2G technology to accelerate the deployment of electric fleets, including school buses
- Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners — Sale of an energy portfolio company to a private equity firm
- The Carlyle Group — Acquisition of a minority interest in an energy infrastructure company
- Oaktree Capital — Investment in a transportation and logistics portfolio company
- Sandbrook Capital — Acquisition of NeXtWind Capital Ltd, a German renewable energy company, and related $750 million equity commitment to acquire existing operating wind assets and fund future growth
- Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners — Acquisition of a majority stake in a blue ammonia project on the Gulf Coast to be developed with Sustainable Fuels Group
- Quantum Energy Partners — Acquisition by Bison Oil & Gas Partners IV, LLC of an upstream portfolio company in the DJ Basin from a private equity firm
- Quantum Energy Partners — Formation and $500 million equity commitment to Bison Oil & Gas Partners, IV LLC
- EIV Capital — Formation and equity commitment to Intensity Infrastructure, a growth-oriented energy infrastructure company focused on acquiring and developing midstream infrastructure
- Quantum Energy Partners — Formation and equity commitment to a new upstream company
- Palistar Capital — Acquisition of Parallel Infrastructure, a cell tower platform and build-to-suit provider, from funds managed by Apollo
- Carnelian Energy Capital — Preferred equity investment in upstream portfolio company
- Pathway Power, LLC — $36 million commitment to Pathway Power, a utility-scale solar and battery storage developer, from Forest Road Renewables, a climate-focused infrastructure platform within The Forest Road Company
- Ichthys Energy Partners, LLC — Formation and equity commitment from Post Oak Energy Capital to acquire and operate upstream assets in the Permian
- Riverstone Holdings — Formation and equity commitment to White River Renewables with White Summit Capital and acquisition of two solar plants in Mexico from JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS)*
- Riverstone Holdings — Formation and equity commitment to Vera Renovables with Opdenergy and acquisition of two solar plants in Mexico from Opdenergy*
- The Carlyle Group — Multiple investments in upstream portfolio companies*
- Lime Rock Partners — Formation and equity commitment to Silvertip Completion Services, LLC, a start-up oilfield services company focused on the Permian*
- CIC Partners — Acquisition of DynaGrid Construction Group LLC, a construction services company to the utilities industry*
- EVX Midstream Partners II — Formation and equity commitment from private equity firm, Five Point Energy, and simultaneous acquisition of saltwater disposal assets in the Eagle Ford*
- Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE: JEF) — $145 million equity investment in Vitesse Energy, LLC to fund the $190 million acquisition of Bakken assets*
- Management Team — Formation and equity commitment from a private equity firm in connection with the acquisition of operated oil & gas assets*
- Management Team — Sale of Pegasus Optimization Managers, LLC, a portfolio company of Apollo Global Management, to Kodiak Gas Services, LLC, a portfolio company of EQT Partners*
- Hines Interests Limited Partnership — Preferred stock investment in proptech startup*
Mergers and Acquisitions
- Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: SOAC) — $2.9 billion business combination with DeepGreen Metals Inc., a developer of lower-impact battery metals from unattached seafloor polymetallic nodules
- El Paso Electric Company (NYSE: EE) — $4.3 billion merger with, and sale to, Infrastructure Investments Fund, which is advised by J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc.*
- Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) — $4 billion merger with, and acquisition of, WildHorse Resource Development Corporation (NYSE: WRD)*
- Naphtha Israel Petroleum Corporation Ltd. — $330 million acquisition and going private transaction of Isramco, Inc. (NASDAQ CM: ISRL)*
- Southern Company Gas, a subsidiary of The Southern Company (NYSE: SO) — $175 million sale of its share of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and its Pivotal LNG business, including LNG facilities in Florida and Alabama*
- Hi-Crush Partners LP (NYSE: HCLP) — Acquisition of remaining minority interest in Proppant Logistics, LLC, an end to end proppant logistics service provider*
- Inrock Drilling Systems, Inc. — Sale of horizontal directional drilling tools company to Sandvik AB (STO: SAND)*
- Hi-Crush Partners LP (NYSE: HCLP) — Acquisition of FB Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of silo-based frac sand management systems*
- Healix, Inc. — Sale of healthcare company to private equity firm, TA Associates*
- Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ) — $8 billion acquisition of Formula One from a private equity firm, CVC Capital Partners*
- Conflicts Committee of Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) — $11.4 billion financial repositioning transaction with The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE: WMB)*
- ESCO Corporation — Sale of Ulterra Drilling Technologies L.P., a drill bits manufacturer, to a private equity firm, American Securities*
- Bayou Workover Services, LLC — Sale of workover business to Ranger Energy Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNGR), backed by private equity firm, CSL Capital Management*
- Bayou Well Services, LLC — Sale of pressure pumping assets to a private equity firm, CSL Capital Management*
- Hi-Crush Partners LP (NYSE: HCLP) — Acquisition of majority interest in Pronghorn Logistics, LLC, an end to end proppant logistics service provider*
- Consolidated Harvest Company LLC — Acquisition of Local Bushel, Co., a regional food distribution company from venture capital firms*
- SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) — Multiple dropdown acquisitions by 8point3 Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ: CAFD) of $148.5 million of solar projects*
Continuation Fund Transactions
- Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners — $600 million single-asset continuation fund transaction acquiring 51% of the Gemini solar and storage project and 100% of the remaining Valley of Fire development portfolio
- Quantum Capital Group — Single-asset continuation fund transaction acquiring an energy portfolio company
- Riverstone Holdings — Single-asset continuation fund transaction acquiring an energy portfolio company
- Ridgewood Energy — Single-asset continuation fund transaction acquiring an energy portfolio company
Capital Markets – Issuer Representation
- Skydeck Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: SKYAU) — $200 million IPO of units
- CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) — $1.9 billion public offering of common stock*
- CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) — $978 million public offering of depositary shares representing a 1/20 interest in a share of its 7.00% Series B Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock*
- Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE: OII) — $300 million public offering of senior notes*
- Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG) — $1 billion public offering of common stock*
- Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA) — $440 million private placement of debt in connection with $1.4 billion acquisition of Arizona Chemical Holdings Corporation*
- Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE: ATW) — $190 million public offering of common stock*
Capital Markets – Underwriter Representation
- BP Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: BPMP) — $923 million IPO of common units*
- Rowan Companies plc (NYSE: RDC) — $500 million public offering of senior notes and $750 million debt tender offer*
- GlobeLTR Energy Inc. — $115 million private placement of convertible common stock in connection with the merger of Globe Energy Services, LLC and Light Tower Rentals, Inc.*
- Sanchez Production Partners LP (NYSE MKT: SPP) — $83 million re-IPO of common units to refocus the business from upstream activities to the acquisition and operation of midstream assets*
- SemGroup Corporation (NYSE: SEMG) — Commencement of $300 million at-the-market offering program*
- Western Refining Logistics, LP (NYSE: WNRL) — $193 million public offering of common units*
- SemGroup Corporation (NYSE: SEMG) — $232 million public offering of common stock*
*Matters prior to joining Kirkland
Prior Experience
More
Recognition
Memberships & Affiliations
State Bar of Texas
Houston Bar Association
Houston Young Lawyers Association
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2015Texas
Education
- University of Virginia School of LawJ.D.2015Editorial Board, Virginia Law & Business Review
- Rice UniversityB.A., Economics; Business Minorcum laude2012Varsity Football Letterman, Rice Owls