By Robb M. Stewart
Keyera has finalized the roughly US$3.9 billion acquisition of Plains All American Pipeline's natural gas liquids business in Canada despite the threat of regulatory opposition.
The transaction closed in its entirety Tuesday, Keyera said, wrapping up the Canadian energy company's largest-ever takeover.
The assets were picked up for 5.3 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of US$3.87 billion, including closing adjustments. The deal was funded in part by a C$2.07 billion sale of subscription receipts, which entitle each holder to Keyera shares.
The company finalized the acquisition despite the country's Commissioner of Competition earlier this month filing an application with the Competition Tribunal seeking to quash the deal due to worries it will entrench control over critical energy infrastructure.
The takeover establishes a natural gas liquids corridor in Canada with assets that include extraction, fractionation and storage operations, as well as rail and truck terminals in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Keyera has argued the combination will allow it to be more competitive in the services it offers and in terms of reliability, while bringing an opportunity to cut costs.
Keyera also has argued the deal repatriates important energy assets in Canada and will mean that cash flows from the acquired operations will be reinvested in the country.
The company said it disagrees with the commissioner's assertions and characterization of the transaction. Under the tribunal process, it has 45 days to file a response to the commissioner's application, after which the commissioner will have an opportunity to reply. The tribunal will then set up a schedule for proceedings.
The commissioner's officer contends the takeover reduces competition at a crucial natural-gas liquids-processing hub in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, that producers rely on to process natural-gas liquids into specific products and to store them. The Keyera-Plains deal will reduce the number of major integrated service providers at the hub from three to two, which would be insufficient competition to constrain a post-merger exercise of market power by Keyera, the filing said.
Keyera said it has been actively preparing for the integration of Plains' operations since the deal was announced in June. With the closing, it will begin integrating employees, systems and operations to capture efficiencies and realize savings, it said.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 12, 2026 11:03 ET (15:03 GMT)
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