Enbridge to sell its stake in Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos SA

Enbridge Inc. (TSX: ENB NYSE: ENB) will sell its 25% stake in Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos SA to a group of investors for 876 million EUR (US$1.37 billion).

Photo: Enbridge to sell its stake in Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos SA

A Calgary, Alberta-based pipeline company reached a binding agreement with the following buyers group: units of Deutsche Bank AG, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn and AMP Capital Investors.

Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos CLH, S.A.(CLH) is engaged in storage, transport and distribution of hydrocarbons and chemical products, their derivatives and waste products, as well as the provision of counselling and technical assistance. For its basic logistics business, it has a network of 3,475 kilometres of oil pipelines and a fleet of 4 ships.

In addition the Group also supplies vessels (bunkering) at more than 20 facilities, competes on the Spanish and international chartering market, maintains dispensing devices and many other items for the main companies' service stations, calibrates standards for calibration companies and works with operators on the final distribution of petroleum products to the points of sale, with its fleet of tankers. The aviation sector consists of the provision of logistics services for the storage, distribution, and dispensation of all kinds of aviation fuels and lubricants at airports.

CLH was acquired by Enbridge for C$530 million (US$523 million) in 2002.

The deal (presumably to be closed in mid-June) will bring the company enough capital to fund a multibillion-dollar expansion of its North American pipeline, and to finance some C$12 billion worth of projects in the coming years.