DLA Piper (Canada) LLP and Boughton Law Corporation represented the First Nations ETF Limited Partnership in its previously announced C$545 million offering of 25 year senior secured notes and the acquisition of a 49% interest in the East Tank Farm Development.

The First Nations ETF Limited Partnership is a partnership formed by the Fort McKay First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation for the purpose of the transactions.

The East Tank Farm Development is a bitumen and diluent storage, blending and cooling facility located approximately 30 kilometers north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. It is primarily dedicated to servicing bitumen production from the Fort Hills oil sands mining project. Revenue from long-term terminal services agreements with the Fort Hills oil sands partners underpins the financing.

The transaction represents the largest ever business investment by a First Nation in Canada and will serve as a model for future equity ownership transactions between First Nations and industry.

The DLA team was led by Trevor Wong-Chor (capital markets) and Michael Styczen (corporate and banking) and included Matthew Pollock, Mitchell Smith (Canadian capital markets), Jamie Knox, Bea Hinton (U.S. capital markets), Sandra Mah (tax), and Robert Banno (First Nations).
The transactions closed on November 22, 2017.