Article content continued

“Strategically, we believe the transaction should allow us to further improve our competitiveness to capture new investment opportunities and position Enbridge to deliver industry-leading growth beyond 2018,” Al Monaco, Enbridge’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

First announced in December, the deal will support Enbridge’s pledge to raise its dividend 33 per cent. The transaction also helps the subsidiary holding fund to support a 10 per cent increase in dividend with more dividend growth expected through 2019.

The company would transfer its Canadian liquids pipelines business, including the Mainline system and the regional oilsands system, as well as renewable assets including the Massif du Sud, Lac Alfred and Saint Robert Bellarmin wind projects in Quebec and the Blackspring Ridge wind project in Alberta.

The deal gives Enbridge the leverage to deploy capital on acquisitions or growth opportunities such as in the gas and power generation sector, or even “ramping up the dividend,” Al Monaco told investors on a conference call.

Enbridge has projects worth $44 billion planned for Canada and the U.S. during the next few years, including the Sarnia-to-Montreal Line 9 reversal and expansion. The figure includes spending by Enbridge Income, which expects to sell about $3 billion in new equity over the next three to four years.

The restructuring also allows the company to seek opportunities in the fledgling liquefied natural gas export sector in British Columbia, where rival TransCanada Corp. has already sewn up contracts to build pipelines.