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Investor group includes CPP Investments, OMERS, IMCO and PSP Investments
Blackstone today announced that funds managed by Blackstone Credit & Insurance, in partnership with leading Canadian institutional investors, have agreed to invest $3.1 billion to acquire a 49.9% non-controlling interest in a Mitsubishi Corporation ("MC") subsidiary that holds MC's interest in the LNG Canada liquefaction business.
The Blackstone-led investor group includes Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), through wholly owned subsidiaries of CPPIB Credit Investments Inc., Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) and The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).
LNG Canada is Canada's first and only large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal. Once complete, its Phase 2 expansion will double the facility's production capacity to 28 million tonnes per annum, making it one of the largest LNG facilities in the world.
"We are proud to join Mitsubishi Corporation, a global leader with more than 50 years of experience across the LNG value chain, as a financial partner to support one of Canada's most significant energy projects. This project will help meet rising energy demands across global markets," said Rick Campbell, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone Credit & Insurance.
"This announcement builds on our deep conviction in Canada, our partnership with the country's leading institutional investors and our ability to provide large corporates with flexible solutions to unlock value from their most critical assets," added Zachary Rubenstein, Managing Director, Blackstone Credit & Insurance.
"LNG Canada is a high-quality, globally strategic asset with strong long-term fundamentals and attractive return potential for the CPP Fund," said Geoff Souter, Managing Director, Head of Real Assets Credit, CPP Investments. "We see this as a compelling opportunity to invest at scale here in Canada alongside Mitsubishi Corporation, Blackstone and our Canadian peers."
MC, one of Japan's largest LNG suppliers, will remain the controlling partner and retain its full share of LNG offtake.
Blackstone's Infrastructure and Asset Based Credit platform manages $140 billion and has over 100 investment professionals, among the largest in the asset-backed marketplace. Over the past two years, Blackstone has announced a number of large-scale corporate solutions investments in Canada and with companies building critical energy infrastructure globally, including a CDN$7 billion investment in Rogers , a CDN$2.5 billion investment in Aeroplan , a $16 billion partnership with Kuwait Oil Company , a $7 billion investment in Sempra Infrastructure Partners ' Port Arthur LNG Phase 2, a $5.34 billion investment in a joint venture with Williams , a $3.5 billion investment in a joint venture with EQT , among others.
Goldman Sachs served as lead structuring agent and financial advisor to Blackstone. Scotiabank also served as financial advisor. Kirkland & Ellis and Stikeman Elliott served as legal counsel to Blackstone.
About Blackstone Credit & Insurance
Blackstone Credit & Insurance ("BXCI") is one of the world's leading credit investors. Our investments span the credit markets, including private investment grade, asset based lending, public investment grade and high yield, sustainable resources, infrastructure debt, collateralized loan obligations, direct lending and opportunistic credit. We seek to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for institutional and individual investors by offering companies capital needed to strengthen and grow their businesses. BXCI is also a leading provider of investment management services for insurers, helping those companies better deliver for policyholders through our world-class capabilities in investment grade private credit.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261101011679/en/
Thomas Clements
Thomas.Clements@blackstone.com
(646) 482-6088
