Samantha C. Seley

SAMANTHA (SAM) SELEY’s practice principally involves representing funds, management teams, and strategic investors in their investments in the energy, transportation and infrastructure industries, including energy transition, oil & gas, energy storage, digital infrastructure, telecommunications, rail, other infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. She assists clients in a range of private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, project development, equity financings and other corporate matters.

Sam was recognized by Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” for her work in Mergers & Acquisitions in Texas (2024). She was chosen to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America® for her practice in Energy Law (2022–2023, 2026), Corporate Law (2026), Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law (2026), and Mergers and Acquisitions Law (2026).

Sam earned her J.D., with honors, from The University of Texas School of Law, where she received the “Townes Hall Scholar” award. During law school she interned at Williamson County DA’s office and The Hon. Marina Garcia Marmolejo in Laredo, Texas. In 2009, she received her undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University in journalism. 

Prior to joining Sidley, she was a corporate associate at another international law firm in Houston.

Sam’s experience at Sidley includes the following representative matters:

• Neuberger and LuminArx in the US$165 million Series G preferred equity investment in Upgrade.
• Amberjack Capital Partners and its portfolio company, Entegra, in its sale to NDT Global.
• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners in its equity commitment with Longview Infrastructure, a newly formed electric transmission development and investment platform.
• A Canadian pension fund in the acquisition of interests in Sweetwater Royalties, a private industrial minerals royalty company, owning mineral estate in Wyoming containing trona resources.
• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners in its acquisition of Fleet Companies, a regional trailer dealership and leasing company. Headquartered in Tennessee, Fleet provides integrated offerings across dealership, leasing, drop yard, and maintenance operations.
• H.I.G. Capital in its acquisition of a controlling interest in Greenflash Infrastructure, LP. Greenflash Infrastructure is a grid-scale energy storage and power generation company.
• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners in its definitive documentation with American Tower subsidiary CoreSite to form a joint venture to develop, construct, and operate a new 18 megawatt data center campus in Denver, Colorado, with CoreSite operating the data center. 
• Wren House in its acquisition of a stake in SeaCube Containers. SeaCube Containers leases, finances, buys, sells, and manages intermodal equipment which enables the efficient movement of goods throughout the world via ship, rail, and road.
• Macquarie Infrastructure Partners (MIP) in its acquisition of 100% of the equity interests of RailUSA, LLC, an independent U.S. holding company that operates the 430-mile Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad in Florida and the 228-mile Grenada Railroad in Mississippi and Tennessee.
• GIC, OMERS Infrastructure and Wren House in their purchase of Direct ChassisLink, Inc. (DCLI) from funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management and EQT. DCLI is one of the largest chassis lessors in the U.S. with over 151,000 marine and 100,000 domestic chassis in its fleet, DCLI operates out of strategic locations across key port and rail terminals in the U.S.
• Norfolk Southern Railway Company in connection with an agreement with the City of Cincinnati to acquire substantially all of the assets of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, which owns a 337-mile rail line between Cincinnati, Ohio and Chattanooga, Tennessee, for approximately US$1.62 billion. 
• Leading global alternative investment firm H.I.G. Capital (H.I.G.) in its fall 2022 acquisition of Northern Biogas, LLC (Northern Biogas). Northern Biogas is a leading waste-to-renewable natural gas company, specializing in the development, construction, and operation of renewable natural gas (RNG) facilities that represent sustainable, clean energy solutions for waste generated from dairies, landfills, and other facilities producing organic waste, including food waste.
• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, as lead negotiator, in the sale by its portfolio company, Casper Crude to Rail Holdings LLC, of all the equity interests in a crude-to-rail loading facility located in Casper, WY, to USD Partners LP, a publicly traded master limited partnership, for aggregate consideration of US$225 million. 
• Elysian Carbon Management in an initial capital commitment of US$350 million from EnCap Flatrock Midstream. Elysian is a provider of integrated end-to-end carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions to owners of industrial and power facilities seeking to transition to low carbon products and address environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals through the reduction of emissions.
• A middle market private equity firm investing in Datagration, a leading developer of software focused on integrating data for the oil and gas industry to allow companies to better manage their businesses and optimize processes and results.
• Stonepeak in its debt and equity financing to Akumin in connection with Akumin’s acquisition of Alliance Healthcare Services.
• Briogeo in its acquisition by Wella Company, a beauty company with a portfolio comprised of brands including Wella Professionals, O·P·I, ghd, Nioxin, Sebastian Professional, and Clairol. Briogeo, founded by Nancy Twine, offers eco-ethical and natural hair care products.

Sam’s experience prior to joining Sidley includes the following:

• Sasol in the sale of a 50% stake in its Lake Charles Chemical Plant for US$2 billion.
• A private equity firm in its recapitalization of Enviva Holdings, LP, the world's largest producer of wood pellets.
• A private equity sponsor in its negotiation of a multi-billion, multi-party crude and y-grade pipeline joint venture.
• An oil and natural gas company in its take-private of Roan Resources.
• A consortium of private equity funds and their portfolio company, in its merger with a leading integrated solutions provider of clinical life science and technology.

Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.

• Member, American Bar Association