On May 1, 2024, history was made in Alberta’s co-operative banking sector as Servus and connectFirst credit unions announced the successful completion of their merger.
This stands as the largest merger of credit unions in Canadian history and forms a new combined organization with over $30 billion in assets under administration. The merger brings together a workforce of about 3,000 individuals and extends services to nearly half a million members through 140 branches located in 80 communities across Alberta.
Our MLT Aikins team, led by Peter Drazic (as Credit Unions and Co-operatives practice group lead) and Yassir Alnaji, and supported by many other lawyers and support staff, is proud to have acted as joint transaction counsel and legal advisors to connectFirst and Servus throughout this historic transaction.
In line with earlier announcements, Ian Burns will be President and CEO of the newly formed credit union. Ian had this to say about the support of MLT Aikins throughout the transaction:
“We thoroughly enjoyed working with Peter, Yassir and the whole MLT Aikins team. Their niche understanding of the nuances of the credit union sector and cooperative principles allowed them to successfully guide our respective organizations through thoughtful engagement of multiple stakeholders. Mostly, I appreciated the way they worked with our teams to foster a positive environment and provided steady handed, practical and solution-oriented transaction management. MLT Aikins was a key component to our conclusion of a successful merger.”
We extend our congratulations to the credit union teams on achieving this historic transaction!