Blackstone and Partners Invest $3.1 Billion in LNG Canada Stake
Key Facts
Blackstone announced on November 2, 2026, that funds managed by its credit and insurance investment unit, together with Canadian institutional investors, had agreed to invest $3.1 billion to acquire a 49.9% non-controlling stake in a Mitsubishi subsidiary. The subsidiary holds Mitsubishi’s interest in the liquefied natural gas business at the LNG Canada project. The investor group includes Canadian pension funds CPP Investments, OMERS, IMCO and PSP Investments. The companies’ disclosures distinguish the group’s total investment from Mitsubishi’s sale proceeds: Mitsubishi valued the transaction at about $1.6 billion, or 250 billion yen. Mitsubishi said the transaction would not affect the volumes of gas it receives or its customers, and that the investors’ resources would support expansion financing and improve the efficiency of capital invested in the project.
The transaction gives investors a stake in the subsidiary, but not a controlling interest, while Mitsubishi retains its interest in the project through the holding company. The company owns 15% of LNG Canada and currently receives 2.1 million tonnes of LNG a year in line with its ownership. The deal therefore brings institutional financing around Mitsubishi’s interest in the project while keeping delivery volumes and customer relationships unchanged, according to the company’s statement. The consortium includes four Canadian institutional investors alongside Blackstone funds, broadening the funding base linked to the subsidiary. Blackstone disclosed the total investment, while Mitsubishi separately reported the value of the sale of its stake in the subsidiary.
The transaction is tied to the LNG Canada expansion, for which project partners took a final investment decision in September 2026. Phase 2 will add two processing units to the Kitimat facility in British Columbia, along with an additional LNG storage tank, a loading berth and expanded utilities and processing systems. The expansion is expected to increase the project’s annual production capacity from 14 million tonnes to 28 million tonnes. Mitsubishi says the funds will help finance these investments while improving the efficiency of the capital it allocates to the project. The planned increase in capacity provides direct context for the sale of part of Mitsubishi’s interest in the subsidiary as the project prepares to expand its production and export infrastructure.
As for supplies attributable to Mitsubishi, the company expects its share to increase by 2.1 million tonnes a year once the expansion facilities begin operating, bringing the total to 4.2 million tonnes a year. Those volumes refer to what the company expects to receive, while the figures of 14 million and 28 million tonnes refer to the project’s total annual production capacity. Mitsubishi expects the expansion facilities to begin operating in the early 2030s. Its expected supply increase is therefore tied to the Phase 2 implementation schedule and does not represent an immediate change in the volumes it currently receives. The company also said the transaction itself would not change its receipt volumes or customers.
The project is located in Kitimat on Canada’s west coast, and Mitsubishi says shipments from there to Asia do not need to pass through major maritime chokepoints. The company says this route places the project among supply sources able to reach Asian markets without passing through those corridors. LNG Canada expects on-site expansion work to provide up to 4,000 construction jobs at peak activity in Kitimat. The Coastal GasLink expansion may also require about 2,100 jobs to build new compressor stations at the peak of construction. This work links the liquefaction facility to the infrastructure needed to deliver gas to it as part of the expansion aimed at doubling the project’s production capacity.
For infrastructure linked to gas supply, TC Energy expects construction of Phase 2 of the Coastal GasLink pipeline to begin in early 2027. The company says the new infrastructure is expected to enter service in the early 2030s, in line with Mitsubishi’s expected timing for the LNG Canada expansion facilities. Mitsubishi estimated the expansion’s cost at about 500 billion yen based on ownership shares, with production targeted to begin in the early 2030s. These dates remain announced estimates for the next phases of the project and pipeline, while Mitsubishi’s public official disclosure did not give a date for closing the stake sale. Blackstone shares closed at $118.19 and Mitsubishi shares at $30.4 in the November 3, 2026, session, according to EL7 data.