TransCanada president and CEO Russ Girling speask during a year-end interview at the company's head quarters in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013.Jeff McIntosh/The Globe and Mail
TransCanada Corp. wasted little time in launching a new campaign to show investors that it is serious about trying to boost its share price, without breaking up the company.
TransCanada said on Wednesday it sold the remaining 30 per cent ownership of Bison Pipeline LLC, a U.S. Rockies natural gas pipeline, to its master limited partnership, TC Pipelines LP, for $215-million (U.S.).
The move comes after the pipeline and power generation company was said to be a potential target for activist investors who were sounding out shareholders on the concept of a split-up of assets. The rationale for the potential break-up is that the pipeline business would attract higher stock-market multiples than the combined operations.
TransCanada chief executive Russ Girling said so-called drop-downs of U.S. gas pipeline stakes into TC Pipelines will now be larger and more frequent as the company looks to fund $38-billion of major new projects in the coming years.
The MLP has the ability to complete drop-downs of $1-billion annually, the company said.
TransCanada's remaining U.S. assets targeted for eventual sale to TC Pipelines include a 30 per cent stake in Gas Transmission Northwest, 44.5 per cent of the Iroquois pipeline, 61.7 per cent of the Portland pipeline, 100 per cent of ANR Pipeline Company and 53.6 per cent of the Great Lakes pipeline.
Jeffrey Jones