Pillsbury Advises Western Refining on $775 Million Acquisition

Northern Tier’s assets are primarily located in Minnesota and Wisconsin and include an 89,500-barrels-per-day refinery located in St. Paul Park, Minnesota, the SuperAmerican retail channel and over 200 franchised and company-operated convenience stores.

As a result of the acquisition, Western's assets will include a refining capacity of 242,500 barrels-per-day, pipeline access to crude oil sources in the Bakken, Permian, San Juan, and western Canada regions and a network of over 450 convenience stores.

Pillsbury advised Western Refining on the transaction. Led by corporate and securities partner Patrick Devine, the San Francisco-based team included: energy team co-head Robert James; franchise and distribution practice leader Bruce McDiarmid; Eric Save; and tax partner Timothy Burns. Los Angeles-based environmental partner Michael McDonough and New York-based executive compensation and employee benefits partner Scott Landau also assisted on the deal.

Commenting in a press release, Jeff Stevens, Chief Executive Officer and President of Western Refining, said, “This investment further enhances our strategic goal of expanding our refining presence in areas with direct pipeline access to cost-advantaged crude oil resources.”

As reported by Reuters, Northern Tier’s refinery is closer to the Bakken shale field than most U.S. refineries and is also well-positioned to receive better-priced Canadian crude oil from the big pipeline networks that run through Minnesota.