IPO to fund pipeline

Photo: transmountain.com

Kinder Morgan says it will proceed with the $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion as long as it secures satisfactory financing for the project through its initial public offering.

The company announced Thursday its final investment decision on the project, which is conditional on the successful completion of the IPO. The company has offered 102.9 million shares at a price of $17 per share in an effort to raise $1.75 billion. The public offering is set to close May 31.

The IPO would be one of the biggest ever on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and Kinder Morgan spokesman Dave Conover says the company is confident it will be a success.

B.C.'s election has left the anti-pipeline Greens holding the balance of power in a minority situation in the legislature, raising concerns they will use their influence to persuade whichever party forms the government to take measures to block the project. 

"We're confident that we can work with whether it's a Clark minority government or a new coalition government," Conover said. "I'm sure that we'll be talking to all three of the parties as the months unfold."

B.C.'s Liberal government also negotiated a 20-year revenue-sharing agreement worth about $1 billion with Kinder Morgan before the election.

Kinder Morgan says it's expecting to begin construction for the project in September, with a completion date set for December 2019.