Bryant P. Lee

bryant.lee@lw.com

+1.713.546.7480

"Bryant has a mastery of partnership and transactional tax."

Chambers USA 2023

“Bryant’s technical expertise is matched only by his commercial practicality, making him a valuable part of any deal team.”

Chambers USA 2022

“Responsive, confidence-inspiring and tailors his advice to the situation at hand.”

Chambers USA 2022

“He is very good to work with, collaborative and smart.”

Chambers USA 2022

“A very good technical tax lawyer”

Chambers USA 2021

Profile

Bryant P. Lee, Chair of the Houston Tax Department, advises clients on the full spectrum of business taxation matters that arise across the energy and technology industries, particularly relating to partnerships.

Mr. Lee distills complicated tax concepts into actionable advice in the context of US federal income taxation of mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, and capital markets transactions for energy sector participants, including:

Publicly traded partnerships (PTPs)
Master limited partnerships (MLPs)
Corporations
Private equity firms and their portfolio companies
Investment banks

He identifies opportunities for transactional tax-efficiency and implements solutions for structured deals that optimize clients’ commercial outcomes, as well as aligns on cross-border transactions to sync tax strategy. Mr. Lee also helps taxpayers liaise with the Internal Revenue Service, including representing MLPs in connection with obtaining private letter rulings (PLRs) relating to qualifying income.

A recognized thought leader, Mr. Lee has presented at numerous conferences and industry events, including before the American Petroleum Institute, American Society of Appraisers, Credit Suisse MLP & Energy Logistics Conference, Deloitte National Publicly Traded Partnership Conference, PwC Master Limited Partnership User Conference, Tax Executives Institute, and Texas Federal Tax Institute.

He maintains an active pro bono practice, including helping clients navigate the IRS tax-exempt process.
Before law school, Mr. Lee practiced as a certified public accountant (CPA) in an international accounting firm’s assurance practice.

Mr. Lee serves on the firm’s Associates Committee.

Experience

Mr. Lee’s experience includes advising:

M&A

Magellan Midstream Partners on its US$18.8 billion merger with ONEOK
Montana Technologies on its business combination with Power & Digital Infrastructure Acquisition II Corp.
Green Plains Inc. on taking private its master limited partnership subsidiary, Green Plains Partners
Consolidated Communications on its US$3.1 billion sale to Searchlight Capital Partners and British Columbia Investment
Mercuria Energy Trading on:
- Forming a joint venture with Chevron USA to own and operate American Natural Gas and its network of 60 compressed natural gas stations across the US
- Selling Beyond6 to Chevron USA
East Resources Acquisition Company on its business combination with Abacus Settlements and Longevity Market Assets, resulting in Abacus becoming a publicly listed company
Falcon Minerals on its US$1.9 billion merger with Desert Peak Minerals
Hess Midstream Partners on its US$6.2 billion acquisition of Hess Infrastructure Partners
UGI on its US$1.28 billion acquisition of Columbia Midstream Group
Midstates Petroleum on its US$729 million acquisition by Amplify Energy
Energy Transfer on its:
- US$7.2 billion acquisition of Enable Midstream Partners
- US$5 billion acquisition of SemGroup
Energy Transfer Equity on its US$63 billion acquisition of Energy Transfer Partners
Layne Christensen on its US$536 million acquisition by Granite Construction
Energy Transfer Partners on its:
- US$20 billion acquisition by Sunoco Logistics Partners
- US$18 billion acquisition of Regency Energy Partners
Clayton Williams Energy on its US$3.5 billion acquisition by Noble Energy
QEP Resources on its US$600 million acquisition of 9,400 acres in the Permian Basin
Rosetta Resources on its US$3.9 billion acquisition by Noble Energy
Hess on its US$5.4 billion midstream joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partners
Access Midstream Partners on its US$50 billion acquisition by Williams Partners
The sponsor, partnership, or conflicts committee on numerous MLP dropdown transactions

Capital Markets

The initial purchasers on Kodiak Gas Services’ US$750 million offering of senior notes
Nogin on its US$22 million public offering
The underwriters on Atlas Energy Solutions’ US$324 million IPO
The underwriters on ProFrac’s US$328 million IPO
The underwriters on Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure’s US$130 million IPO
USD Partners on its US$155 million IPO
The underwriters on Viper Energy Partners’ US$149 million IPO
Cypress Energy Partners on its US$86 million IPO
The underwriters on Valero Energy Partners’ US$397 million IPO
QEP Midstream Partners on its US$483 million IPO
Phillips 66 Partners on its US$434 million IPO
The company or underwriters in numerous follow-on equity offerings, in both primary issuances and secondary sales in bought, marketed, and at-the-market transactions

Restructurings

Hi-Crush on its completed chapter 11 reorganization
American Energy Permian Basin on its out-of-court restructuring of US$2.2 billion of funded debt
Emerge Energy Services on its completed chapter 11 reorganization
The second-lien lenders to Atlas Resource Partners in connection with its completed chapter 11 reorganization

Qualifications

Bar Qualification

Texas

Education

JD, Columbia University School of Law, 2010
Editor, Columbia Business Law Review, Editor, Columbia Journal of Tax Law, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
BBA, Texas A&M University, 2003
cum laude
MS, Texas A&M University, 2003