Trans Mountain IPO to proceed

Kinder Morgan says it expects to proceed today with its initial public offering for the Trans Mountain expansion, just as the anti-pipeline Greens and NDP in B.C. announced they have come to an agreement that could cast the project’s future into doubt.

Dave Conover, a spokesman for the Houston-based energy company, said in an email that the share listing will go ahead on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Conover’s confirmation came shortly after the leaders of the B.C. Greens and NDP said they came to a deal that could see the formation of a minority NDP government in the province.

Both parties have voiced their opposition to the Trans Mountain expansion, which would see the capacity of a pipeline running from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., nearly triple its capacity to 890,000 barrels of oil per day.

In a press conference Monday, Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver said he’s been heavily invested in the Kinder Morgan pipeline issue, and that it was an important part of negotiating terms with the NDP that will be released today.

“This issue of Kinder Morgan was one that was critical to us and I think you’ll see that reflected in tomorrow’s announcement,” said Weaver.

The IPO is intended to raise $1.75 billion to help fund the $7.4-billion Trans Mountain expansion.

Kinder Morgan has put up 102.9 million shares on offer at $17 each — down from $19 to $21 it had initially sought — which will leave it with control of about 70 per cent of the Canadian entity.

The offering would be the largest on the Toronto Stock Exchange since Hydro One’s $1.83-billion listing in 2015, with only insurers Sun Life Financial and Manulife Financial having bigger debuts.