Thomas J. DeSplinter, whose practice focuses largely on transactions involving major companies and private equity firms, particularly within the energy industry, has joined McGuireWoods as a partner in Chicago.
DeSplinter advises Fortune 500 corporations, bulge-bracket and middle-market private equity firms and independent sponsors on mergers and acquisitions with a focus on the electric utility and oil and gas sectors. His practice also includes debt financings, corporate spinoffs, securities matters, going-private deals, equity and debt offerings and restructurings. He joins the firm from Winston & Strawn.
He gained firsthand experience with power and utility companies as vice president of corporate development at GridLiance Partners LLC, a Blackstone portfolio company, where he led deal teams that invested in regulated electricity transmission assets. He began work in commodity sales and trading at Goldman Sachs and in oil and gas supply and trading at BP North America prior to concurrently earning his J.D. and MBA from the University of Illinois.
“Tom’s rich experience at the intersection of energy and private equity helps us further strengthen areas where our firm excels and adds enormous value for our clients,” said Michael Woodard, chair of McGuireWoods’ Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Transactions Department.
“With Tom’s arrival, we add depth to our strong corporate practices in Chicago, including our work with healthcare and life sciences clients and our groundbreaking work nationally with independent sponsors,” added Chicago office managing partner Christina Egan.
DeSplinter joins a firm that earned top five rankings for the number of U.S. M&A deals handled in 2018 in league tables published by Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters, as well as top 10 rankings for mid-market private equity deals.
“McGuireWoods is known as the kind of industry-focused M&A and private equity powerhouse that is a great fit for a transactional lawyer like me,” DeSplinter said. “This is a firm that understands superior client service and I am honored to be part of it.”
DeSplinter is a major in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps and served in Afghanistan in 2013-2014 as the deputy director of acquisitions and legal at Kandahar Airfield. He intends to become involved with McGuireWoods’ Veteran Lawyers Network.
Mergers & Acquisitions magazine honored McGuireWoods as “Law Firm of the Year” in its Mid-Market M&A Awards. The firm also was honored in Financial Times’ North America Innovative Lawyers report for its nationwide initiative to connect independent sponsors with capital providers for specific private equity deals.