The Canadian pipeline operator TransCanada will sell its Ontario (Canada) solar energy portfolio for C$540m (around US$426m). The assets have been sold to Axium Infinity Solar LP, a subsidiary of Axium Infrastructure Canada II Limited Partnership (a Montreal-based private equity firm) and they include eight facilities with a total generating capacity of 76 MW. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2017 subject to regulatory approvals as well as customary closing adjustments.
The solar PV assets were purchased by TransCanada back in 2013 and 2014 for around C$470m. However, the company's strategy is to focus on its C$24bn core projects programme. The company has been recently under pressure after consolidating to shed non-core assets as it has been grappling with overcapacity and sliding tariffs that have slowed dividend growth. TransCanada sold other non-core assets and offered new shares late last year along with stakes in two US natural gas pipelines to fund its C$24bn core projects programme, which includes TransCanada's US$10.3bn acquisition of the Columbia Pipeline Group. Besides, TransCanada is under pressure since its competitor Enbridge sold more than US$1bn in non-core assets to merge with Spectra Energy, a move that created North America's largest pipeline operator.
TransCanada currently operates a gas transmission network spreading over 91,500 km and a liquids pipeline network of 4,300 km. Besides, it owns around 653 bcf (18.5 bcm) of storage capacity and 6,200 MW of power generation assets in Canada and the United States.