Mineral rights and royalties owner Desert Peak Minerals Inc's merger with rival Falcon Minerals Corp, whose lead counsel is Latham Watkins, was tapped by Reuters- Vinson Elkins.
Prior to Wednesday s deal, both law firms worked on Desert Peak's now-shelved initial public offering plans, according to an October U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Desert Peak's merger will take the company public. The combined company will own more than 139,000 net royalty acres in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico.
Royalty owners typically make income by leasing properties to oil and gas producers and taking a share of profits once the resources are sold.
Vinson Elkins' corporate partners Douglas McWilliams, Scott Rubinsky, and Benji Barron are advising Desert Peak, the firm said in a statement.
The Latham team, led by the Falcon Minerals, has been formed by Nick Dhesi, Ryan Lynch and William Finnegan. White Case is advising Falcon's transaction committee.
Deals in the energy sector helped boost Vinson Elkins and Latham's mergers and acquisitions practices.
In October, both firms said they worked on oil refiner Phillips 66's deal to buy a stake in the Phillips 66 Partners pipeline developer and operator for $3.4 billion.
Demand surpasses supply in the coming 2022 oil rally, analysts say.