C$2.7 billion transaction led by KKR in collaboration with Apollo to fund Aspen Point and Sunrise Expansion Programs

CALGARY, AB, Aug. 27, 2026 /CNW/ - Enbridge Inc. ("Enbridge") (TSX: ENB) (NYSE: ENB) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with KKR to form a new joint venture, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, led by capital accounts advised by KKR, in collaboration with funds and affiliates managed by Apollo. The joint venture will fund the previously sanctioned Aspen Point and Sunrise Expansion Programs (collectively, "the Expansions") of the Westcoast natural gas pipeline system. The Expansions have regulatory approval and are commercially underpinned by long-term take-or-pay contracts.

Under the agreement, KKR and Apollo will invest approximately C$2.7 billion to fund the Expansions, including C$0.7 billion of cash to Enbridge at closing, in exchange for an indirect, cumulative 29% interest in the aggregate Westcoast system upon Sunrise entering service. The investors will begin receiving distributions as each expansion project enters service. The Aspen Point Expansion Program is expected to enter service in 2026, followed by the Sunrise Expansion Program, in late 2028.

Enbridge will retain majority ownership and operational control over the Westcoast system, including responsibility for executing the Expansions. Enbridge also has the option to repurchase the investors' interest in the joint venture at any time between the seventh and fourteenth year following close.

"We are pleased to welcome KKR and Apollo as strategic partners to support the funding of Aspen Point and Sunrise," said Pat Murray, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "This transaction allows us to efficiently recycle capital, strengthen our balance sheet, and maintain financial flexibility while advancing a strong pipeline of high-returning growth opportunities. It also underscores our ongoing commitment to portfolio optimization and disciplined capital allocation. With this strategic partnership, we continue our longstanding capital recycling program, which has generated C$19 billion in proceeds since 2014."

"The Westcoast pipeline is an important natural gas transportation system serving customers across Western Canada and North America," said Paul Workman, Managing Director at KKR. "This investment reflects our strategy of investing alongside leading operators in key infrastructure with stable, long-term cash flows and attractive growth opportunities. We look forward to working with Enbridge to support the continued development of the Aspen Point and Sunrise Expansion Programs."

"Enbridge is one of the largest and most reputable energy infrastructure companies in North America, and the Westcoast Pipeline System is critical to serving growing natural gas demand across British Columbia, the U.S. Pacific Northwest and internationally via LNG," said Jamshid Ehsani, Partner at Apollo. "We are pleased to collaborate with KKR to provide long-term, flexible capital that supports Enbridge's expansion plans, building on our established track record of supporting leading companies in the energy sector globally."

The transaction is not material to Enbridge's 2026 financial guidance or medium-term financial outlook. A supplemental presentation has been posted to Enbridge's website with more details on the transaction.

Morgan Stanley Canada Limited acted as lead advisor and TD Securities acted as co-advisor to Enbridge on the transaction. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and McCarthy Tétrault LLP acted as legal advisors to Enbridge on the transaction.

CIBC Capital Markets acted as financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Bennett Jones LLP acted as legal advisors to KKR on the transaction. Scotiabank acted as financial advisor and Milbank LLP acted as legal counsel to the Apollo funds. 

About Enbridge's Westcoast natural gas pipeline system

Enbridge's Westcoast natural gas pipeline system is an essential piece of energy infrastructure. It is capable of transporting up to 3.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day (bcf/d) and that capacity is expected to increase to 3.9 bcf/d after the Sunrise Expansion Program enters service. The system stretches more than 2,900 kilometres from Fort Nelson in northeast B.C. and from Gordondale near the B.C.-Alberta border, south to the Canada-U.S. border at Huntingdon/Sumas. The natural gas transported on this pipeline system provides safe, secure and affordable energy that people rely on throughout B.C. and the Lower Mainland, Alberta and the U.S. Pacific Northwest. 

About Enbridge Inc.

At Enbridge, we safely connect millions of people to the energy they rely on every day, fueling quality of life through our North American natural gas, oil and renewable power networks and our European offshore wind portfolio. We're investing in modern energy delivery infrastructure to sustain access to secure, affordable energy and building on more than a century of operating conventional energy infrastructure and two decades of experience in renewable power. We're advancing new technologies including hydrogen, renewable natural gas, and carbon capture and storage. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Enbridge's common shares trade under the symbol ENB on the Toronto (TSX) and New York (NYSE) stock exchanges. To learn more, visit us at enbridge.com.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR's insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com. For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit Global Atlantic Financial Group's website at www.globalatlantic.com.

About Apollo

Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade credit to private equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of June 30, 2026, Apollo had approximately $1.05 trillion of assets under management.

Forward-Looking Statement

Forward-looking statements have been included in this news release to provide readers with information about Enbridge and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including management's assessment of Enbridge's and its subsidiaries' future plans and operations. This information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as ''anticipate'', ''expect'', ''project'', ''estimate'', ''forecast'', ''plan'', ''intend'', ''target'', ''believe'', "likely", and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking information or statements included or incorporated by reference in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Aspen Point and Sunrise expansion programs, including their expected in-service dates, the transaction with KKR and Apollo and its anticipated benefits, and related matters.

Although Enbridge believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable based on the information available on the date such statements are made and processes used to prepare the information, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Material assumptions include the following: the expected supply of, demand for, export of and prices of crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), liquefied natural gas (LNG), renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable energy; anticipated utilization of our assets; exchange rates; inflation; interest rates; tariffs and trade policies; availability and price of labor and construction materials; the stability of our supply chain; operational reliability; maintenance of support and regulatory approvals for our projects and transactions; anticipated in-service dates; weather; the timing, terms and closing of acquisitions, dispositions and other transactions; the realization of anticipated benefits of transactions; governmental legislation; litigation; estimated future dividends and impact of our dividend policy on our future cash flows; our credit ratings; capital project funding; hedging program; expected earnings before interest, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA); expected earnings/(loss); expected future cash flows; and expected distributable cash flow. Assumptions regarding the expected supply of and demand for crude oil, natural gas, NGL, LNG, RNG and renewable energy, and the prices of these commodities, are material to and underlie all forward-looking statements, as they may impact current and future levels of demand for our services. Similarly, exchange rates, inflation, interest rates and tariffs impact the economies and business environments in which we operate and may impact levels of demand for our services and cost of inputs and are therefore inherent in all forward-looking statements. The most relevant assumptions associated with forward-looking statements regarding announced projects and projects under construction, including estimated completion dates and expected capital expenditures, include the following: the availability and price of labor and construction materials; the stability of our supply chain; the effects of inflation and foreign exchange rates on labor and material costs; the effects of interest rates on borrowing costs; the impact of weather; and customer, government, court and regulatory approvals on construction and in-service schedules and cost recovery regimes.

Enbridge's forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties pertaining to the successful execution of our strategic priorities; operating performance; legislative and regulatory parameters; litigation; acquisitions, dispositions and other transactions and the realization of anticipated benefits therefrom; evolving government trade policies, including potential and announced tariffs, duties, fees, economic sanctions or other trade measures; operational dependence on third parties; dividend policy; project approval and support; renewals of rights-of-way; weather; economic and competitive conditions; public opinion; changes in tax laws and tax rates; exchange rates; inflation; interest rates; commodity prices; access to and cost of capital; our ability to maintain adequate insurance in the future at commercially reasonable rates and terms; political decisions; global geopolitical conditions; and the supply of, demand for and prices of commodities and other alternative energy, including but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties discussed in this news release and in our filings with Canadian and US securities regulators. The impact of any one assumption, risk, uncertainty or factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as these are interdependent and our future course of action depends on management's assessment of all information available at the relevant time.

Except to the extent required by applicable law, Enbridge assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement made in this news release or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.

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SOURCE Enbridge Inc.