Midcoast Energy Partners was formed by Enbridge Energy Partners in 2013 as an investment vehicle to own and grow its natural gas and NGL midstream business. It has minority stakes in Enbridge's network of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) gathering and transportation systems, natural gas processing and treating facilities, and NGL fractionation plants in Texas and Oklahoma. Organized as a limited partnership, Midcoast Energy Partners is exempt from paying income tax as long as it distributes quarterly dividends to shareholders. It went public in 2013, raising $333 million. In 2017 Enbridge Energy Partners agreed to acquire control of Midcoast Energy Partners.