CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Dec. 1, 2016) - Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB) ("Enbridge" or the "Company") together with Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. (TSX:ENF) ("ENF") announced today that an affiliate of Enbridge Income Fund (the "Fund") has closed its previously announced sale of the Fund's South Prairie Region assets (the "Assets") to Tundra Energy Marketing Limited ("TEML") for $1.075 billion in cash.
The Assets sold are liquids pipelines and related facilities in southeast Saskatchewan and southwest Manitoba, and include the Saskatchewan Gathering and Weyburn gathering systems as well as the Westspur trunk line. The Assets do not include the Bakken Expansion Pipeline, which enables delivery of crude oil production in North Dakota to the Enbridge Mainline System at Cromer, Manitoba.
"The sale of the Assets at an attractive valuation provides an efficient source of financing for the Enbridge group, supporting its industry leading secured growth program and displacing equity that we would otherwise need to raise through issuance of new capital," said Enbridge Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer John Whelen. "It also represents about one-half of the target we set in September, in conjunction with the announcement of our planned acquisition of Spectra Energy, to monetize approximately $2 billion of non-core assets to strengthen the balance sheet and provide additional financing flexibility."
The proceeds from the sale will be re-invested into organic growth projects of the Fund, including the Wood Buffalo Extension, Athabasca Twin and Norlite projects.
"The proceeds from the sale are sufficient to meet all of the Fund's currently anticipated equity capital requirements through 2017 to fund its organic growth program, which supports our expected 10% annual increases in ENF's dividend through 2019," said ENF President Perry Schuldhaus.
Shipper commercial arrangements and contracts are expected to remain in place and it is expected that crude oil and NGL volumes delivered from the Assets will continue to flow onto the Enbridge Mainline at Cromer.
Forward Looking Information
Certain information provided in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate", "expect", "project", "estimate", "forecast" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to anticipated cash flow and dividend growth; achieving monetization targets; future divestiture or monetization transactions; sources of funding; financing flexibility; use of proceeds; anticipated equity capital requirements; dividend increases; shipper commercial arrangements and contracts; and deliveries of crude oil and NGL volumes to the Enbridge Mainline. Although Enbridge and ENF believe these statements are based on information which is current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties pertaining but not limited to estimated future cash flow and dividends; expected available cash flow from operations; financial strength and flexibility; debt and equity market conditions; and economic and competitive conditions. A further discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing Enbridge can be found in Enbridge and Enbridge Income Fund 's filings with Canadian and United States securities regulators. While Enbridge and ENF make these forward-looking statements in good faith, should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from those expected. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Enbridge and ENF assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About Enbridge Inc.
Enbridge Inc., a Canadian company, exists to fuel people's quality of life, and has done so for more than 65 years. A North American leader in delivering energy, Enbridge has been ranked on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations index for the past seven years. Enbridge operates the world's longest crude oil and liquids transportation system across Canada and the U.S., and has a significant and growing involvement in natural gas gathering, transmission and midstream business, as well as an increasing involvement in power transmission. Enbridge owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution company, serving residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. Enbridge has interests in more than 2,200 megawatts of net renewable and alternative generating capacity, and continues to expand into wind, solar and geothermal power. Enbridge employs approximately 10,000 people, primarily in Canada and the U.S., and has been ranked 15 times on the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers list, including the 2017 index.
Enbridge's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ENB. For more information, visit www.enbridge.com .
About Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc.
Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. is a publicly traded corporation. ENF, through its investment in Enbridge Income Fund, indirectly holds high quality, low risk energy infrastructure assets. The Fund's indirectly owned assets consist of a portfolio of Canadian liquids transportation and storage businesses, including the 2,306-kilometre Canadian segment of the Mainline System (the largest conduit of oil into the United States), the Regional Oil Sands System, the Canadian segment of the Southern Lights Pipeline, Class A units entitling the holder to receive defined cash flows from the US segment of the Southern Lights Pipeline, a 50 percent interest in the Alliance Pipeline, which transports natural gas from Canada to the U.S., and interests in more than 1,400 megawatts of renewable and alternative power generation capacity. Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ENF. Information about Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. is available on the Company's website at www.enbridgeincomefund.com .
