Pipeline and transportation company TC Energy Corp. is pursuing a multibillion-dollar asset sale plan to reduce debt and fund new investments, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Calgary-based company is working on a the sale of a minority stake in the ANR Pipeline Co., which it has ascribed an enterprise valuation of about $3 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
TC is also looking at selling a minority of its Mexican operation, which has annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of about $600 million. Other potential transactions include a controlling stake in the Portland Natural Gas Transmission System and a significant minority stake in the Millennium Pipeline, both of which have enterprise values of more than $1 billion, the people said.
In all, those assets have a combined value of about $10 billion, although the stake-sale transactions would constitute only a portion of that total, the people said.
No final decisions have been made and TC could elect to keep some or all of the assets, the people said. The company said in an emailed statement that it doesn’t comment on rumors or speculation.
“As we have previously disclosed, as part of our ongoing capital rotation program, we continue to evaluate opportunities to further our de-leveraging objectives and optimally fund our secured capital program,” according to the statement.
The company’s US-traded shares have fallen 15% this year, giving it a market value of $35 billion.
TC is undergoing an overhaul under President and Chief Executive Officer Francois Poirier, with the company announcing in July a plan to spin off its Liquids Pipelines business and a partial sale of its Columbia Gas Transmission and Columbia Gulf Transmission business to Global Infrastructure Partners in a deal valued at $5.2 billion.
Company executives said in July that an additional $3 billion of divestitures over the next 18 months would be needed to bring the company’s debt ratio to its target of 4.75 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciations and amortization by the end of 2024.
The decision to look at sales comes amid a wave of pipeline asset transactions this year as companies look to take advantage of increasing free cash flow as usage increases post pandemic. ONEOK agreed to buy Magellan Midstream Partners for almost $19 billion, while Energy Transfer bought Crestwood Equity Partners, both in May, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
(Updates with divestiture plan details in ninth paragraph)
