TC’s Coastal GasLink draws interest from Mubadala

The Coastal GasLink project, a natural gas pipeline TC Energy Corp. is selling, has drawn interest from potential investors including Mubadala Investment Co., according to people familiar with the matter.

Other suitors are circling the asset, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public.

TC Energy, which changed its name in May from TransCanada Corp., is working with an adviser to sell up to 75 per cent of Coastal GasLink, which is estimated to cost $4.7bn to build, it said in a regulatory filing in January. It’s not clear how much the stake would fetch in a sale.

“TC Energy does not comment on market rumours,” the Calgary-based company said in a statement. “As has been previously reported in our quarterly financial disclosures, we continue to advance funding plans for our Coastal GasLink Project including the potential sale of an ownership interest and project financing.”

A representative for Mubadala declined to comment.

TC Energy has been selling assets to strengthen its balance sheet and fund capital projects, following its $10.2bn takeover in 2016 of Columbia Pipeline Group Inc.

Coastal GasLink will connect gas fields in western Canada’s prolific Montney shale formation with the $30.05bn LNG Canada project on British Columbia’s coast. The 670-kilometers long pipeline is expected to go into service in 2023.

Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, spent about $19bn last year expanding into new industries as it seeks to diversify its economy.