Blackstone, pension funds buy into LNG Canada stake

Blackstone and four Canadian institutional investors have agreed to invest US$3.1 billion for a 49.9-per-cent, non-controlling interest in the Mitsubishi Corp. subsidiary that holds Mitsubishi’s share of LNG Canada, the New York-based firm announced Nov. 2.

The investor group includes the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), the Investment Management Corp. of Ontario and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, according to Blackstone’s news release. Blackstone’s funds are investing through its credit and insurance arm.

Mitsubishi holds a 15-per-cent interest in LNG Canada through the subsidiary, CBC News reported. The Japanese company will remain the controlling partner in the subsidiary and keep its full share of the plant’s liquefied natural gas, Blackstone said. The Globe and Mail reported that the Mitsubishi subsidiary stake being acquired is valued at US$1.6 billion.

LNG Canada, in Kitimat, B.C., is the country’s first large-scale LNG export terminal. It is a joint venture of Shell, PetroChina, Petronas, Mitsubishi and South Korea’s KOGAS. LNG Canada announced in September that it would go ahead with its Phase 2 expansion, which would double capacity to 28 million tonnes a year.

“LNG Canada is a high-quality, globally strategic asset with strong long-term fundamentals and attractive return potential for the CPP fund,” said Geoff Souter, head of real assets credit at CPP Investments, in the release. Rick Campbell, a senior managing director at Blackstone Credit & Insurance, said the project “will help meet rising energy demands across global markets.”

Environmental groups objected. Richard Brooks, climate finance director at Stand.earth, said Canadians should be “extremely alarmed” to see pension money go into LNG, according to a statement CBC News cited. He argued the capital should go to clean energy projects instead.

The deal comes as gas prices have climbed in Europe and Asia since the war on Iran began in February, which disrupted supplies from the Persian Gulf, CBC reported. Our earlier coverage looked at how European gas storage has fallen to a record low as prices tripled in 2026, and at what B.C. Conservatives promised on taxes, housing, LNG and DRIPA. Markets coverage is in our TSX preview for Nov. 3.

The announcement does not say when the transaction is expected to close, and the sources reviewed do not give regulatory conditions. Blackstone said Goldman Sachs was lead structuring agent and financial adviser, and Scotiabank also advised.

Sources: CBC News, Blackstone, The Globe and Mail.

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