Port of Vancouver Breaks New Ground

(The National Post – Barrie Critchley)

By the middle of next week, another infrastructure-related government-linked entity will have priced an initial offering of debt securities. But this transaction is different: It will mark the first time that debt has been raised against a group of port assets.

Port Metro Vancouver, the marketing name for the country’s largest and busiest port – it handles about $75-billion in goods with more than 160 trading economies each year – is seeking to raise a maximum of $100-million by selling 10-year debt. Road shows get underway next week in Eastern Canada for the offering of unsecured debentures. The issuer, which will use the proceeds repay to bank debt, has been rated AA by Standard & Poor’s.

Port Metro Vancouver is responsible for the operation and development of the assets and jurisdictions of the combined former Fraser River Port Authority, North Fraser Port Authority and Vancouver Port Authority. It now operates as The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which is a non-shareholder, financially self-sufficient corporation, established by the federal government in January 2008. Read more here.