Blackstone and Canadian pensions buy $3.1B stake in LNG Canada
Blackstone and four Canadian pension and investment funds will pay US$3.1 billion for 49.9 per cent of a Mitsubishi Corp. subsidiary that holds a 15 per cent stake in LNG Canada. Mitsubishi said that stake is worth US$1.6 billion, and the remaining US$1.5 billion will help fund the planned expansion. The investors include the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and OMERS, Ontario's municipal employees pension plan. Mitsubishi will remain the controlling partner and will keep its agreement to receive 2.1 million tonnes of LNG a year from the project. LNG Canada, led by Shell, is the country's first LNG export terminal, located in Kitimat, British Columbia. Its Phase 2 expansion, approved in September, will double capacity to 28 million tonnes a year. The transaction is expected to close in November, and climate advocates have criticized it as a risk to retirement savings.