Topic: How To Invest

The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, December 21, 2018

Article Excerpt

TRANSCANADA CORP., $49.99, Toronto symbol TRP, operates a 91,900-kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to eastern Canada and the U.S. Other operations include 4,900 kilometers of crude oil pipelines and 11 power plants. In July 2016, TransCanada acquired Texas-based Columbia Pipeline Group for $13.0 billion U.S. Columbia operates natural gas pipelines in the U.S. Northeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions; it also operates underground gas storage terminals. TransCanada had to borrow most of the funds it needed to buy Columbia. That pushed up the company’s long-term debt to $35.0 billion (as of September 30, 2018), or 76% of its $45.9 billion market cap. It also held cash of $1.1 billion. The company is now also selling some of its less-important operations to help pay down its debt. Those include this week’s deal to sell its Coolidge gas-fired power facility in Arizona to Southwest Generation Operating Co. for $623 million. If TransCanada receives the necessary regulatory and other approvals, it…